Critical Approaches to Medieval Men and Masculinities

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship (SMFS)

Organizer Name

Amy Burge

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of Birmingham

Presider Name

Jack Wiegand

Presider Affiliation

Univ. of Toronto

Paper Title 1

Filthy Men: The Boundaries of Masculinity in the Somme le Roi Tradition

Presenter 1 Name

Jennifer Garrison

Presenter 1 Affiliation

St. Mary's Univ.

Paper Title 2

Not a Real Man? Richard II, Childlessness, and Gender Trouble

Presenter 2 Name

Kristen Geaman

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Univ. of Toledo

Paper Title 3

Weeping and Wailing: Heroic Men and Masculinity in Medieval Gaelic Literature

Presenter 3 Name

Robbie MacLeod

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Univ. of Glasgow

Paper Title 4

Not All Men: Racism, Exclusion, and the Toxic Legacy of Medieval Alpha Masculinity

Presenter 4 Name

Amy Burge

Start Date

10-5-2019 1:30 PM

Session Location

Sangren 1740

Description

The cultural turn in the critical study of men and masculinities has, in recent decades, encouraged increasing engagement in medieval studies with questions of gender, space and identity as they relate to medieval men and masculinities. From the hypermasculine heroes of romance to Abelard’s eunuch body, performative medieval masculinities both uphold and challenge the structural frameworks that define medieval culture and society. As such, an understanding of medieval masculinities and their role in shaping culture and society is vital to a full reading of masculinities in the twenty-first century. This panel invites papers which contribute to and extend scholarship on medieval men and masculinities, particularly those which explore queer and intersectional masculinities.

The papers in this panel build upon critical work in this area, in particular developing scholarly knowledge of marginalised men and masculinities. Amy Burge