Celebrating Occitania Then and Now: Responses across Disciplines

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Société Guilhem IX

Organizer Name

Valerie M. Wilhite

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of the Virgin Islands

Presider Name

Courtney Wells

Presider Affiliation

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Paper Title 1

Maintaining Creative Independence in the Late Fourteenth Century

Presenter 1 Name

Wendy Pfeffer

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Univ. of Louisville

Paper Title 2

"Si me non osculeris, hinc mihi cura nec ulla est": Radegund, the Leper’s Kiss, and Holy Healing in Poitou

Presenter 2 Name

Jennifer C. Edwards

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Manhattan College

Paper Title 3

Òc and Roll: Mixing Present and Past in Occitania Today

Presenter 3 Name

Nancy Washer

Presenter 3 Affiliation

College at Brockport

Start Date

14-5-2015 1:30 PM

Session Location

Schneider 1350

Description

While the Cathars were persecuted in Languedoc during the Albigensian Crusade, the will to survive encouraged a resistance to power and invading forces; mandates were subverted and expectations were foiled. Subversion and resistance characterize moments in Occitanian history from the Middle Ages until today. Ermengarda of Narbonne went forth with greater force than her advisors would have imagined; as legend has it, the Cathars of Montségur refused to renounce their faith, leading to the population being burned. This panel celebrates the will of Occitania and/or its inhabitants to thrive by inviting papers that narrate and examine Occitania’s endurance as it triumphs its oppressors and the odds by refusing to let its language, cultural identity, or its sense of autonomy fade away completely. Where did agency reside or hide in the moments of crisis? Where was truth and power found in the land of heresy? How were identities constructed or inner-lives concealed in order to hang on?

Valerie M. Wilhite