A Feminist Renaissance in Anglo-Saxon Studies II

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Special Session

Organizer Name

Rebecca Stephenson, Robin Norris, Renée R. Trilling

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. College Dublin, Carleton Univ., Univ. of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign

Presider Name

Rebecca Stephenson

Paper Title 1

The Birds and the Bedes: Race, Sexuality, and Gender in Bede's De cantica canticorum and Historia ecclesiastica

Presenter 1 Name

Erik Wade

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Rutgers Univ.

Paper Title 2

Rewriting Virginity in Aldhelm and the Old English Judith

Presenter 2 Name

Jill M. Fitzgerald

Presenter 2 Affiliation

United States Naval Academy

Paper Title 3

Chaste Bodies and Virgin History: Bede, Æthelthryth, and the Implications of Anglo-Saxon Virginity

Presenter 3 Name

Lisa M. C. Weston

Presenter 3 Affiliation

California State Univ.-Fresno

Start Date

13-5-2017 10:00 AM

Session Location

Fetzer 2020

Description

Allegations of misogyny and sexual harassment against prominent members of our field in January 2016 caused a firestorm on social media and came as a shock to many Anglo-Saxonists. Under the leadership of ISAS and the Old English Division of the MLA, as well as grassroots efforts, such as a new mentoring program for Anglo-Saxonists, by Kalamazoo 2016 what had been a demoralizing time has been transformed into a watershed moment. Our positive, productive contribution to this ongoing conversation has been to propose a new volume of essays that takes feminist approaches to Anglo-Saxon culture, with both of those terms as broadly defined as possible. This session creates a space for feminist ideas to be heard and explored.

Rebecca L. Stephenson