Dr Zoe Screti is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow and early modern historian interested in manuscript studies, the history of science, and digital humanities methods. Her project, ‘Burn This: The Destruction of Personal Papers During the European Enlightenment’, explores the intentional destruction of manuscripts during the long eighteenth century and combines digital humanities techniques with more traditional archival research to model and understand archival loss in this period. Zoe was formerly the Astra Foundation Research Fellow in Manuscript Studies at the Voltaire Foundation where she worked on the Catalogue of Manuscripts relating to Voltaire. For CMV, Zoe established the data model for the catalogue, identified fields for inclusion, created catalogue entries, and considered ways in which CMV could link to the wider Digital Voltaire project. She continues to contribute to the catalogue alongside her Leverhulme ECF project.
Zoe has a BA in History, an MA in Early Modern History, and a PhD in History, all from the University of Birmingham. Her doctoral thesis explored the relationship between religious reform and alchemy in early modern England, questioning what the collation, circulation, and use of alchemical manuscripts can reveal about the ways in which alchemy was shaped by the Reformation. She was awarded the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry's New Scholar Award in 2020 in recognition of the value of her research, a Three Minute Thesis Development Grant in 2021, and a research grant from the Scientific Instruments Society in 2023. Whilst studying at the University of Birmingham, she taught on the global history of the early modern period and worked as the Centre for Reformation and Early Modern Studies' Communications Officer.
Outside of her research, Zoe teaches on the history of science, is a member of the Oxford Centre for the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology's Advisory Committee, works as an Observer of the European Chemical Society, and contributes to the Bodleian Student Editions sessions.
