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Over the last two decades, scholars of the medieval and early modern periods have explored the ‘constructedness’ of gender and the ways that pre-modern subjects theorised, articulated, and in some cases subverted traditional gender roles. Moreover, in the wake of studies such Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble and Thomas Laquer’s Making Sex, scholars have become increasingly aware of the complexities and pluralities that comprise genders and sexualities.
Medievalists are now applying these theories in more nuanced ways. The papers presented at the ‘Genders and Sexualities’ conference held at Leeds in 2005 emphasised the need to re(de)fine the oft-discussed ‘third’ gender category, the possibilities for subjects to transform or shift between genders without necessarily losing their sexed identity, and the ways in which authors, readers, and viewers subverted traditional binary (heterosexual) oppositions.
The volume we are proposing, Construction, Transformation, and Subversion: Re/Presenting Medieval Genders and Sexualities, will develop the themes presented at this conference and explore their application to all areas of medieval scholarship. We are seeking abstracts of papers that deal with the presentation or transformation of gender, third-gender, and the relationship between gender and sexual identity dealing with any discipline from the medieval period. Our aim is to create a coherent, ground-breaking volume that draws out the themes of construction, transformation, and subversion that were important unifying threads in the various topics treated by the conference contributors.
If you would like your paper to be considered for inclusion, please send us a 300 word abstract by November 18, 2005, bearing in mind that final papers will probably be in the region of 8,500 words (including references).
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