During her time at Clare Hall, Life Member and former Visiting Fellow Dr Linn Holmberg of the Stockholm University worked on a book titled The Dictionary Craze in Enlightenment Europe, which is now close to completion. Her research was also the subject of a well received Colloquium talk, where she discussed how eighteenth-century enthusiasm for dictionaries sparked concerns that easy access to information might weaken young people’s focus, memory, and independent thinking.

Stockholm University has now released a short film about the project, focusing on how historical reactions to dictionaries offer striking perspectives on contemporary anxieties around artificial intelligence.

Clare Hall warmly congratulates Dr Holmberg on this engaging project and is delighted to see her research reaching new audiences in such an accessible and imaginative way.