BL Stowe 39, f. 8v. The illustrations are from The Abbey of the Holy Ghost, c. 1400-1450
Call for papers: Gender and Transgression in the Middle Ages
Gender and Transgression in the Middle Ages
26-28 April 2016
Call for Papers
We are pleased to announce the call for papers for Gender and Transgression in the Middle Ages 2016, an interdisciplinary conference hosted by the University of St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies (SAIMS). Entering into its eighth year, this conference welcomes participation from postgraduate, postdoctoral and early career researchers interested in one or both of our focal themes of gender studies or more general ideas of transgression in the mediaeval period.
This year’s conference will have two keynote presentations by Dr Stuart Airlie (University of Glasgow) and Professor Caroline Humfress (University of St Andrews). Other speakers include Dr Huw Grange, Dr Rachel Moss and Dr Liana Saif.
We invite proposals for papers of approximately 20 minutes that engage with the themes of gender and/or transgression from various disciplinary standpoints, such as historical, linguistic, literary, archaeological, art historical, or others. This year, the conference will prioritise comparative approaches to the themes of gender and transgression across different time periods and, in particular, different regions. Thus, we strongly encourage abstracts which focus not only on western Christendom, but also the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world. We also welcome proposals which contain a strong comparative element.
Possible topics may include, but are by no means limited to:
- Emotional history
- Legal Studies: women in the courtroom, gendered crimes, law breaking and law making
- Orthodoxy and Heresy: transgressing orthodox thought, portrayals of religious ‘outsiders’, monasticism, lay religion, mysticism
- Moral transgression
- Homosexuality and sexual deviancy
- Masculinity and/or femininity in the Middle Ages: ideas of gender norms and their application within current historiography
- New approaches and theories: social network theory, use of the digital humanities
Those wishing to participate should please submit an abstract of approximately 250
words to genderandtransgression@st-andrews.ac.uk by 12 February 2016. Please attach your abstract to your email as a Microsoft Word or PDF file and include your name, home institution and stage of your postgraduate or postdoctoral career.
Registration for the conference will be £15. This will cover tea, coffee, lunch and two wine receptions. All delegates are also warmly invited to the conference meal on Thursday 28 April. Further details can be found at http://genderandtransgression.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk as they become available.
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