Emotion as Truth: Expressions of Affectivity in Medieval Popular Thought

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Special Session

Organizer Name

Jeanette Zissell

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of Connecticut

Presider Name

Leah Schwebel

Presider Affiliation

Univ. of Connecticut

Paper Title 1

An Epidemiology of Love: Julian of Norwich’s Showings

Presenter 1 Name

Christopher Haynes

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Univ. of Colorado-Boulder

Paper Title 2

Olfaction as Truth in Medieval Popular Thought

Presenter 2 Name

Ruth H. Mullet

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Cornell Univ.

Paper Title 3

Blood Imagery and the Community of Salvation in Piers Plowman

Presenter 3 Name

Jeanette Zissell

Start Date

11-5-2013 1:30 PM

Session Location

Valley III Stinson Lounge

Description

Affective Piety is a high medieval invention that has demonstrated a lasting impact on the cultural history of the western world. With its focus on emotion as a revealer of elemental truth, medieval affectivity revolutionized art, literature, and philosophy. From depictions of Christ as a man of sorrows to the tearful speeches of allegorical figures in medieval stagecraft, affective expression focused on honest emotional reaction as a litmus test for true meaning.

Much scholarly work has been done on the philosophical and art-historical framework for medieval affectivity, but this session hopes to bring the discussion more fully into the literary/ cultural arena. The session seeks papers that explore the affective tradition from a popular standpoint: in vernacular literatures, popular art and entertainment, and other cultural expressions rooted in everyday life. By doing so, the session will further our understanding of how emotion and intellect combined in the popular imagination of the medieval world.

Jeanette Zissell