New Books Network Sam Fullerton, "Sexual Politics in Revolutionary England" (Manchester UP, 2026)
Jan 15, 2026
Samuel Fullerton, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Texas, explores the unexpected world of 17th-century sexual politics in English culture. He reveals how explicit sexual language surged during the English Civil Wars, transforming public discourse. Fullerton discusses how lewd pamphlets portrayed royalists and parliamentarians and argues that sexual rhetoric mobilized the masses more effectively than traditional political debate. He also connects sexual politics to the Restoration and examines its lasting legacy in shaping political identities.
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Archive Sparked The Project
- Samuel Fullerton describes discovering raunchy 17th-century pamphlets during grad school after a study-abroad in London.
- His advisor handed him sources on early modern sexual slurs and told him to see what he made of them, which launched the project.
1640s Mark A Durable Break
- Fullerton argues the culture worked hard to keep explicit sexual material underground before the 1640s.
- He shows that the 1640s mark a durable break when graphic sex-talk exploded into print and public discourse.
Broadening 'Sexual Politics'
- Fullerton expands 'sexual politics' to mean any collision between discourses of sex, gender, the body, and the political.
- He embeds Kate Millett's framework but uses a broader, more elastic definition to analyze pamphlet culture.
