Thirty Years of Feasting and Fasting: A Roundtable on Caroline Bynum's Holy Feast and Holy Fast, 1987-2017 (A Roundtable)

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Hagiography Society

Organizer Name

Sara Ritchey

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of Louisiana-Lafayette

Presider Name

Neslihan Senocak

Presider Affiliation

Columbia Univ.

Paper Title 1

Discussant

Presenter 1 Name

Barbara Newman

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Northwestern Univ.

Paper Title 2

Discussant

Presenter 2 Name

Sara S. Poor

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Princeton Univ.

Paper Title 3

Discussant

Presenter 3 Name

Dyan Elliott

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Northwestern Univ.

Paper Title 4

Discussant

Presenter 4 Name

Steven P. Marrone

Presenter 4 Affiliation

Tufts Univ.

Start Date

12-5-2017 3:30 PM

Session Location

Schneider 1355

Description

2017 marks the thirty-year anniversary of Caroline Walker Bynum’s pivotal Holy Feast and Holy Fast, which powerfully transformed the study of medieval Christianity by calling attention to underlying patterns that explain some of the unique characteristics associated with female devotion (eucharistic ecstasy, fasting, somatic piety). Holy Feast and Holy Fast continues to generate novel arguments and insights, to inspire new students and studies, as scholars of late medieval hagiography can scarcely develop research without first accounting for and positioning their arguments within Bynum’s assessment of the role of body in Christian devotion. We invite scholars to discuss the continued generative potential of Holy Feast and Holy Fast, to reflect on the significance of this study for future research and pedagogy, and to revisit Bynum’s observations from the vantage of subsequent theoretical perspectives, critical insights, or empirical evidence.

Sara Ritchey