About

This blog owes its name to a book first published in 1733: Microcosmische Vorspiele Des Neuen Himmels und der Neuen Erde (Microcosmic Preludes of the New Heaven and the New Earth; on the question of authorship, see this post for now). This is but one of many intriguing, though mostly forgotten books that have come down to us from the turbulent early-modern period (by general consensus, roughly 1492 to 1789), an era ripe with political, religious and scientific tensions. And it is to such barely remembered books that this blog is dedicated, books I come across during my research and would love to investigate more closely than time permits, due to the fascinating glimpses of the lives and thoughts of our early-modern ancestors they provide.

With this in mind, the blog will serve as a channel for productive procrastination and an outlet for whatever thoughts I might jot down regarding such books, and who knows, the posts might turn out to be the seeds of something bigger—microcosmic preludes, as it were.

By way of a blissfully short introduction, my name is Mike A. Zuber and I’m a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam. (For the record, Mike happens to be my actual given name as stated in all official documents, so please don’t call me Michael.) My research project is concerned with what I’ve tentatively called ‘theosophical chymistry’ in the early eighteenth century, particularly in German-speaking contexts. If you’d like to find out more about my research and academic activities, you’re welcome to stop by at Academia.edu.

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