The Society for Renaissance Studies is an academic society

Learned society

A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...

 whose aim is to provide a forum for all those interested in studying the Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

. It pursues this though various meetings and publications and providing this and other support for interdisciplinary

Interdisciplinarity

Interdisciplinarity involves the combining of two or more academic fields into one single discipline. An interdisciplinary field crosses traditional boundaries between academic disciplines or schools of thought, as new needs and professions have emerged....

 teaching and research. The society was formed in 1967 with a founding general meeting being held at the Institute of Historical Research

Institute of Historical Research

The Institute of Historical Research is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate House. The Institute was founded in 1921 by A. F...

. This meeting was chaired by the noted art historian Ernst Gombrich

Ernst Gombrich

Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich, OM, CBE was an Austrian-born art historian who became naturalized British citizen in 1947. He spent most of his working life in the United Kingdom...

 and amongst those participating was Kenneth Clark

Kenneth Clark

Kenneth McKenzie Clark, Baron Clark, OM, CH, KCB, FBA was a British author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the best-known art historians of his generation...

.

Its major publication is Renaissance Studies .

Chairs

The past and current chairs of the society include the following:

• 1967-1970 Peter Murray
• 1970-1973 Nicolai Rubinstein
• 1973-1976 John Hale
  John Rigby Hale
  Sir John Rigby Hale was a British Renaissance historian, translator, editor, and university professor.John Rigby Hale was born September 17, 1923, in Ashford, Kent, in the United Kingdom. He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford . He also attended Johns Hopkins University and Harvard University...
  
  
• 1976-1980 Margaret Mann Phillips
  Margaret Mann Phillips
  Margaret Mann Phillips was a British academic who specialized in Renaissance literature and history.She is most noted for work on Erasmus.- Personal details:...
  
  
• 1980-1983 Dominic Baker-Smith
• 1983-1986 Peter Burke
  Peter Burke
  Peter Burke is a British historian and professor.He was born to a Roman Catholic father and Jewish mother . He was educated by the Jesuits and at St John's College, Oxford, and was a doctoral candidate at St Antony's College...
  
  
• 1986-1989 Sydney Anglo
• 1989-1992 Robert Knecht
  Robert Knecht
  Robert Jean Knecht is a historian, an expert on 16th century France, Emeritus Professor of French history at the University of Birmingham, where he taught during 1956–1994....
  
  
• 1992-1995 Susan Foister
• 1995-1998 Francis Ames-Lewis
• 1998-2001 Gordon Campbell
• 2001-2004 David Chambers
• 2004-2007 Brian Vickers
• 2007-2010 John Law
• 2010-2013 Judith Bryce