Voice, Dialogue, and Conversation in Later Medieval Religious Literature
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Special Session
Organizer Name
Jenny C. Bledsoe
Organizer Affiliation
Harvard Divinity School
Presider Name
A. Joseph McMullen
Presider Affiliation
Harvard Univ.
Paper Title 1
Christological Voice in Women's Visionary Texts
Presenter 1 Name
Barbara Zimbalist
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Univ. of California-Davis
Paper Title 2
Performative Prayer and Apotropaic Sacramental Action in the "Katherine Group" Liflade ant te Passiun of Seinte Iuliene
Presenter 2 Name
Jenny C. Bledsoe
Paper Title 3
False Confession and the Lollardization of Saint Marina
Presenter 3 Name
Helen Cushman
Presenter 3 Affiliation
Harvard Univ.
Start Date
11-5-2013 10:00 AM
Session Location
Valley III Stinson Lounge
Description
This session will explore the use of voice, dialogue, and conversation in later medieval religious literature, including texts produced during the high and late Middle Ages (c. 1000-1500). The session will engage with current scholarly discourse from a number of disciplinary angles, including studies of the performativity and rhetoric of medieval religious texts as well as the study of the history of dialogue. The papers in the session will seek to expand upon J.L. Austin's historic studies of performative speech and also to converse with newer criticism, such as Mary Hayes's 2011 book, "Divine Ventriloquism in Medieval English Literature: Power, Anxiety, and Subversion". With its focus on a particular theme in religious literature, the session will allow a number of scholars to engage with the question of voice from various perspectives. Scholars of visionary literature may contribute by exploring God's voice and the mystic's authorial and visionary "I". Because this session does not limit itself to the religious literature of a particular language, a paper might engage with the fascinating linguistic and theological question of whether or not God speaks in the vernacular or in Latin. Other presenters may explore the medieval Christian's voice in prayer and his or her engagement in dialogue with the divine. Later medieval religious writings provide a nearly exclusive avenue through which the typically politically voiceless – namely the laity and women – are able to speak. By engaging with the question of voice, medieval literary scholars will gain the opportunity to enhance their engagement with the performative aspects of religious literature and address questions of listening, speaking, and conversing in the historically-significant genre of religious dialogue literature.
Jenny C. Bledsoe
Voice, Dialogue, and Conversation in Later Medieval Religious Literature
Valley III Stinson Lounge
This session will explore the use of voice, dialogue, and conversation in later medieval religious literature, including texts produced during the high and late Middle Ages (c. 1000-1500). The session will engage with current scholarly discourse from a number of disciplinary angles, including studies of the performativity and rhetoric of medieval religious texts as well as the study of the history of dialogue. The papers in the session will seek to expand upon J.L. Austin's historic studies of performative speech and also to converse with newer criticism, such as Mary Hayes's 2011 book, "Divine Ventriloquism in Medieval English Literature: Power, Anxiety, and Subversion". With its focus on a particular theme in religious literature, the session will allow a number of scholars to engage with the question of voice from various perspectives. Scholars of visionary literature may contribute by exploring God's voice and the mystic's authorial and visionary "I". Because this session does not limit itself to the religious literature of a particular language, a paper might engage with the fascinating linguistic and theological question of whether or not God speaks in the vernacular or in Latin. Other presenters may explore the medieval Christian's voice in prayer and his or her engagement in dialogue with the divine. Later medieval religious writings provide a nearly exclusive avenue through which the typically politically voiceless – namely the laity and women – are able to speak. By engaging with the question of voice, medieval literary scholars will gain the opportunity to enhance their engagement with the performative aspects of religious literature and address questions of listening, speaking, and conversing in the historically-significant genre of religious dialogue literature.
Jenny C. Bledsoe