Jacob Soll
Encyclopedia
Jacob Soll is a historian of early modern Europe who is researching the origins of the modern state. He is currently a professor at Rutgers University-Camden
and has won the 2005 Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History and been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
in 2009. In 2011 he was awarded a $500,000 MacArthur Fellowship.
He has authored two books: Publishing "The Prince" (2005) and The Information Master (2009).
. His parents are David Soll, a molecular geneticist, and Beth Soll
, née Bronfenbrenner, a modern dance choreographer. His grandfather is child psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner
. Through his maternal Grandmother, Liese Bronfenbrenner, née Price, Soll is the great grandson of the English author and professor, Hereward Thimbleby Price
, and a descendent of the Prym
family of industrialists and academics from Aachen, Stolberg, Düren and Bonn, Germany. Early hometowns included Cambridge, Massachusetts
, Iowa City
and Paris, France. He earned a a B.A. from the University of Iowa
in 1991, a D.E.A. in 1993 from École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
, and a Ph.D. in 1998 from Magdalene College, Cambridge
. He has worked in Lisbon, Portugal as Bolseiro of the Biblioteca Nacionale de Lisboa and in Florence, Italy as a Fernand Braudel Fellow at the European University Institute
.
He studies the intellectual, political, cultural, and institutional history of 16th-18th century Western Europe, to explore how political thought and criticism develop in relation to government institutions. Soll's first book, Publishing "The Prince" (2005), examines the role of commentaries, editions, and translations of Machiavelli produced by the previously little-studied figure Amelot de La Houssaye (1634-1706), who became the most influential writer on secular politics during the reign of Louis XIV. Grounded in analysis of archival, manuscript, and early printed sources, Soll shows how Amelot and his publishers arranged prefaces, columns, and footnotes in a manner that transformed established works, imbuing books previously considered as supporting royal power with an alternate, even revolutionary, political message. Publishing "The Prince" was the winner of the American Philosophical Society's 2005 Barzun Prize.
In his second book, The Information Master (2009), he investigates the formation of a state-information gathering and classifying network by Louis XIV's chief minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert
, revealing that Colbert's passion for information was both a means of control and a medium for his own political advancement: his systematic and encyclopedic information collection served to strengthen and uphold Louis XIV's absolute rule. With these and other projects in progress including an intellectual and practical history of accounting and its role in governance in the modern world and a study of the composition of library catalogues during the Enlightenment.
Rutgers-Camden
Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey, USA , is a state-funded, coeducational, public, research university. Founded in the 1920s, Rutgers–Camden began as an amalgam of the South Jersey Law School and the College of South Jersey. It is the southernmost of the three regional campuses of Rutgers,...
and has won the 2005 Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History and been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 2009. In 2011 he was awarded a $500,000 MacArthur Fellowship.
He has authored two books: Publishing "The Prince" (2005) and The Information Master (2009).
Early life and career
Soll was born in Madison, WisconsinMadison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. His parents are David Soll, a molecular geneticist, and Beth Soll
Beth Soll
Beth Soll is an American dancer. She began training with Romanian modern dancers Iris Barbura and Vergiu Cornea and then continued studying in the European tradition at Essen Volkwangschule, and at the Kreutzbergschule in Switzerland...
, née Bronfenbrenner, a modern dance choreographer. His grandfather is child psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner
Urie Bronfenbrenner
Urie Bronfenbrenner was a Russian American psychologist, known for developing his Ecological Systems Theory, and as a co-founder of the Head Start program in the United States for disadvantaged pre-school children....
. Through his maternal Grandmother, Liese Bronfenbrenner, née Price, Soll is the great grandson of the English author and professor, Hereward Thimbleby Price
Hereward Thimbleby Price
Hereward Thimbleby Price was an English author and Professor of English at the University of Michigan.Price was born in a small town in Madagascar named Ambatolahinandrianisiahana as a son of an English missionary. Returning to England he was educated at various private schools, and in 1899 he was...
, and a descendent of the Prym
Prym
The "William Prym GmbH & Co. KG" is the oldest family business in Germany. The holding company is located in Stolberg , the main shareholder is currently Michael-Dominic Prym.- History :...
family of industrialists and academics from Aachen, Stolberg, Düren and Bonn, Germany. Early hometowns included Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Iowa City
Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...
and Paris, France. He earned a a B.A. from the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
in 1991, a D.E.A. in 1993 from École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
The École des hautes études en sciences sociales is a leading French institution for research and higher education, a Grand Établissement. Its mission is research and research training in the social sciences, including the relationship these latter maintain with the natural and life sciences...
, and a Ph.D. in 1998 from Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
. He has worked in Lisbon, Portugal as Bolseiro of the Biblioteca Nacionale de Lisboa and in Florence, Italy as a Fernand Braudel Fellow at the European University Institute
European University Institute
The European University Institute ' in Florence is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute established by European Union member states to contribute to cultural and scientific development in the social sciences, in a European perspective...
.
He studies the intellectual, political, cultural, and institutional history of 16th-18th century Western Europe, to explore how political thought and criticism develop in relation to government institutions. Soll's first book, Publishing "The Prince" (2005), examines the role of commentaries, editions, and translations of Machiavelli produced by the previously little-studied figure Amelot de La Houssaye (1634-1706), who became the most influential writer on secular politics during the reign of Louis XIV. Grounded in analysis of archival, manuscript, and early printed sources, Soll shows how Amelot and his publishers arranged prefaces, columns, and footnotes in a manner that transformed established works, imbuing books previously considered as supporting royal power with an alternate, even revolutionary, political message. Publishing "The Prince" was the winner of the American Philosophical Society's 2005 Barzun Prize.
In his second book, The Information Master (2009), he investigates the formation of a state-information gathering and classifying network by Louis XIV's chief minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing...
, revealing that Colbert's passion for information was both a means of control and a medium for his own political advancement: his systematic and encyclopedic information collection served to strengthen and uphold Louis XIV's absolute rule. With these and other projects in progress including an intellectual and practical history of accounting and its role in governance in the modern world and a study of the composition of library catalogues during the Enlightenment.
External links
- http://articles.philly.com/2011-09-20/news/30180604_1_macarthur-fellows-macarthur-grant-practical-joke