Dr Alexander Cowan (1949-2011)
PhD, BA, F.R.Hist S.
It is with great sorrow that we report that Alex Cowan passed away, after a sudden and unexpected diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, on 30th November 2011. He is survived by his widow Michèle, daughter Charlotte and son Benjamin.
Alex was one of the most influential figures in the development of the study of History at Northumbria over more than three-and-a-half decades. He came to us after Warwick and a doctorate at the London School of Economics as long ago as 1973. In those days, Newcastle Polytechnic was still emerging from an amalgam of constituent local colleges. Several early colleagues had experienced wartime service and few had what would now be considered an orthodox academic background. So Alex was one of that first generation of truly professional historians and played a major role in shaping History’s future here.
From his first appointment as Lecturer, Alex progressed to the grades of Senior Lecturer and Acting Principal Lecturer, before he won his cherished Readership in History in 2006. He saw the Polytechnic reincarnated as Northumbria University in 1992 and he served with distinction, dedication and pride until his retirement and appointment to a Visiting Fellowship at the end of the 2010. Throughout the latter stages of his career Alex played the role of senior colleague with warmth, collegiality and friendship. He was an ever-present: always reliable, a cool-headed guide and mentor to more junior colleagues. On two occasions he stepped in as Head of History, during a period of significant changes. It is in part testimony to his achievement that when he retired the History group was flourishing as never before.
Alex was a gifted classroom teacher. Over the years he inspired and motivated students by their thousands with his relaxed, approachable manner and his vast command of his subject. A great family man himself, his modules on the history of family and society passed into Northumbria folklore. Alex gave a shining example of how research should inform teaching. And what a researcher he was! No-one whom he taught could have missed the passion for Venice. His work on that city and on Lübeck and his more recent focus on gossip and orality in early-modern Europe resulted in a host of monographs, edited collections, articles and conference papers. His contribution to local, national and European research projects and his leadership of research groups speak volumes for his industry and drive. From 2007 to 2011 he was editor of the internationally acclaimed journal Parliaments, Estates and Representations – just one example of how he constantly sought to enhance the research image of Northumbria University.
Mention must also be made of Alex the activist. He cared deeply about the importance of History as a discipline. He devoted his energies to raising the profile of History in schools, organising conferences in collaboration with the Historical Association. But more tellingly still, he was founding chairman of the campaign for ‘Public Sector History’ (PUSH) and one of the leading lights of the ‘History in the Universities Defence Group’ (HUDG), national pressure groups arguing the case for our discipline, in the dark days when it looked as if ill-informed political decisions might eradicate History from Higher Education. We shall never truly know how much the up-coming generation of historians owes to Alex and his colleagues who fought our corner.
Alex’s passing will leave an enduring gap in the History group at Northumbria. He was a superb teacher, a prolific researcher and, above all, a dear, trusted friend who will be sorely missed. His legacy lives on.
Publications
Books:
Marriage, Manners and Mobility in Early Modern Venice (Ashgate, 2007), 209pp.
[co-edited with Jill Steward] The City and the Senses: European Urban Culture, 1500 to the Present (Ashgate, 2006), 245pp.
(edited) Mediterranean Urban Culture, 1400-1700 (University of Exeter Press, 2000), 277pp.
Urban Europe 1500-1700 (Arnold, 1998), 229pp.
The Urban Patriciate: Lübeck, 1500-1700 (Böhlau Verlag, 1986), 267pp.
Chapters and articles:
‘Seeing is believing. Urban gossip and the balcony in early modern Venice’, Gender and History (2011).
‘Touching her reputation: marriage, gossip and social networks in early modern Venice’, Acta Histriae (2011).
‘Social derogation and political irresponsibility in early modern Venice’ in F. Soddu (ed.) Papers of the ICHRPI conference in Alghero, Sardinia (2011).
‘Chaste widows and Lusty widows in early modern Venice’, in A. Bellavitis and I. Chabot (eds), Famiglie e poteri in Italia tra Medioevo et Età moderna (Ecole Française de Rome, 2009).
‘History UK (HE)’, in ‘Making History’, published online in November 2008 by the Institute of Historical Research, University of London.
‘Gossip and street culture in early modern Venice’, Journal of Early Modern History (2008).
‘Cities, towns and new forms of culture’, in J. J. Martin (ed.), The Renaissance World (Routledge, 2007).
‘Les étrangers et la ville, le cas d’un grand marchand néerlandais à Venise au dix-septième siècle’, in A. Burkhardt (ed.), Commerce, Voyage et Expérience Religieuse à L'époque Moderne (XVe-XVIIIe siècles) (Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2007).
‘Nodes and Networks’, in D. Calabi and S.T. Christensen (eds), Cities and Cultural change in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2007).
‘Cultural Traffic in Lübeck and Danzig in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries’, Scandinavian Journal of History, 28, 3-4 (2003), pp. 175-85.
‘Mogli non ufficiali e figlie illegittime a Venezia nella prima età moderna’, Quaderni Storici, 114, 3 (2003), pp. 849-65.
'Introduction', and 'Foreigners and the city - the case of the immigrant merchant', in Alexander Cowan (ed.), Mediterranean Urban Culture, 1400-1700 (University of Exeter Press, 2000).
'Innuendo and Inheritance: Strategies of scurrility in medieval and renaissance Venice', in D. Cavanagh and T. Kirk (eds.), Scurrility and Subversion, Popular Discourse in Europe from 1500 to the Present (Ashgate, 2000).
'Patricians and Partners in early modern Venice', in T. F. Madden and E. Kittell (eds.), Medieval and Renaissance Venice (University of Illinois Press, 1999).
'Designing a History Curriculum', in A. Booth and P. Hyland (eds.), History in Higher Education: New Directions in Teaching and Learning (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1995).
'Love, honour and the Avogaria di Comun in early modern Venice', Archivio Veneto, 1995, Ser. V, cxliv, 5-19.
'The urban patriciate: an endangered species?', Historical Research, 64, (1991), pp. 123-37.
'Rich and poor among the patriciate in early modern Venice', Studi Veneziani, 1982, n.s. vi, pp. 147-60.
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