CONGRESS CANCELED The Monstrous Woman and the Norms of Civility (A Roundtable)

Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University

Description

Monstrosity is a shifting concept. What is deemed monstrous for one generation might not be so for the next. Similarly, the societal norms that shape/restrict behavior labeled as acceptable/unacceptable for women are also in flux. What, then, are the points of intersection between the monstrous and the female – when/how does a woman become monstrous? How do the norms of civility produce the monstrous woman, both in the past and the present? The current historical/cultural moment, with an impetus toward redefining/limiting women’s behavior, requires that we examine these questions alongside medieval representations of monstrous women. Ann M. Martinez

 
May 9th, 1:30 PM

CONGRESS CANCELED The Monstrous Woman and the Norms of Civility (A Roundtable)

Fetzer 1010

Monstrosity is a shifting concept. What is deemed monstrous for one generation might not be so for the next. Similarly, the societal norms that shape/restrict behavior labeled as acceptable/unacceptable for women are also in flux. What, then, are the points of intersection between the monstrous and the female – when/how does a woman become monstrous? How do the norms of civility produce the monstrous woman, both in the past and the present? The current historical/cultural moment, with an impetus toward redefining/limiting women’s behavior, requires that we examine these questions alongside medieval representations of monstrous women. Ann M. Martinez