Christine and the Body

Sponsoring Organization(s)

International Christine de Pizan Society, North American Branch

Organizer Name

Benjamin M. Semple

Organizer Affiliation

Gonzaga Univ.

Presider Name

Julia A. Nephew

Presider Affiliation

Independent Scholar

Paper Title 1

The Material Landscape of Knowledge in the Chemin de long estude

Presenter 1 Name

Suzanne Conklin Akbari

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Univ. of Toronto

Paper Title 2

From Her Safekeeping, from Her Mind, from Her Heart, from Her Womb: Birthing Metaphors in Christine de Pizan's Oeuvre

Presenter 2 Name

Berkeley Becker

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Univ. of Toledo

Paper Title 3

Castrating Ovid: Christine de Pizan and the Reversal of Reproductive Violence

Presenter 3 Name

Caitlin Rose Brenner

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Texas A&M Univ.

Start Date

13-5-2017 10:00 AM

Session Location

Schneider 1255

Description

This session will address the many ways in which the body is evoked and inscribed in the works of Christine de Pizan. Not only is her thought strongly influenced by the Christian dichotomy of soul and body, but she also understands the body as a site of sexual difference, as she describes in many of her works. In her works, she investigates how human societies further overlay sexual difference with expectations and beliefs about gender roles, often questioning the presumed link between biology and socially constructed notions about gender. The session on "Christine and the Body" will provide a forum to examine the varying representations of the body in her work, in relation to her religious and social thought.

Benjamin M. Semple