Towards a Medieval Transgender Studies
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship (SMFS)
Organizer Name
M. W. Bychowski
Organizer Affiliation
Case Western Reserve Univ.
Presider Name
Micah Goodrich
Presider Affiliation
Univ. of Connecticut
Paper Title 1
That Detestable, Unmentionable, and Ignominious Vice: Trans Women and Sex Work in Cross-Cultural and Cross-Temporal Perspectives
Presenter 1 Name
Alina Boyden
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison
Paper Title 2
Trans Knights, Then and Now
Presenter 2 Name
Ced Block
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Independent Scholar
Paper Title 3
Radical Pedagogy and New Medievalisms: Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, and the Medieval Imaginary
Presenter 3 Name
Nicholas Hoffman; Joy Ellison
Presenter 3 Affiliation
Ohio State Univ.; Ohio State Univ.
Paper Title 4
The Future of Medieval Transgender Studies
Presenter 4 Name
M. W. Bychowski
Start Date
12-5-2018 10:00 AM
Session Location
Schneider 1120
Description
Facing resistance in regards to its place in contemporary society, transgender studies is beginning to look for roots within premodern eras. In recent years, a question has been floating around medieval and transgender studies, spurring conference papers and special issues of the Medieval Feminist Forum and Transgender Studies Quarterly: how might we begin to articulate a medieval transgender studies? Gaining momentum, a critical turn towards a medieval transgender studies shows signs of emergence. If such a movement is to be possible, much work remains to be done. Following in the tradition of interventions by queer, disability, and feminist scholarship, debates are arising regarding language, identity, narrative, historicism, and methodologies. This session will serve as a forum where presenters will articulate the challenges, the promises, and the resources that lay on the road towards a trans future for the past. Participants are encouraged to consider the archives of medieval history, theology, art, medicine, science, and literature that can be put into critical dialog with trans voices from the past and today.
Gabrielle Bychowski
Towards a Medieval Transgender Studies
Schneider 1120
Facing resistance in regards to its place in contemporary society, transgender studies is beginning to look for roots within premodern eras. In recent years, a question has been floating around medieval and transgender studies, spurring conference papers and special issues of the Medieval Feminist Forum and Transgender Studies Quarterly: how might we begin to articulate a medieval transgender studies? Gaining momentum, a critical turn towards a medieval transgender studies shows signs of emergence. If such a movement is to be possible, much work remains to be done. Following in the tradition of interventions by queer, disability, and feminist scholarship, debates are arising regarding language, identity, narrative, historicism, and methodologies. This session will serve as a forum where presenters will articulate the challenges, the promises, and the resources that lay on the road towards a trans future for the past. Participants are encouraged to consider the archives of medieval history, theology, art, medicine, science, and literature that can be put into critical dialog with trans voices from the past and today.
Gabrielle Bychowski