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IMC 2003: Sessions

Session 1004: Sexualities and Communities, Pre- and Postmodern: Interrogating Dinshaw's Getting Medieval

Wednesday 16 July 2003, 09.00-10.30

Sponsor:Departments of English and French, King's College, University of London
Organisers:Emma Campbell, Department of French, University of Leeds
Robert Mills, Department of English Language & Literature, King's College London
Moderator/Chair:Diane Watt, Department of English Literature & Creative Writing, Aberystwyth University
Paper 1004-aThe Kiss of Judas: Christian Communities and the Touch of the Queer in Late-Medieval Passion Narratives
(Language: English)
Robert Mills, Department of English Language & Literature, King's College London
Index terms: Gender Studies, Language and Literature - Middle English, Language and Literature - Latin, Sexuality
Paper 1004-bTouching the Past: The Hermeneutics of Community in Old French Hagiography
(Language: English)
Emma Campbell, Department of French, University of Leeds
Index terms: Gender Studies, Language and Literature - French/ Occitan, Sexuality
Paper 1004-cUntouched: Sex in the Apophatic Community
(Language: English)
Cary S. Howie, Department of Comparative Literature, Stanford University
Index terms: Gender Studies, Language and Literature - Comparative, Sexuality
Abstract

The point of departure for this session will be a critical consideration of the theories of sexuality and community adopted by Carolyn Dinshaw in her recent book, "Getting Medieval" (1999). Papers will approach different aspects of Dinshaw's argument in connection with a range of high and late medieval religious writings, in both Latin and vernacular languages. Issues that will constitute the focus for this engagement include Dinshaw's notion of the 'touch of the queer', the nature of 'postmodern' community and its relationship to medieval studies, and questions of cultural appropriation. As such, we hope that the session will provide a means both of problematising Dinshaw's theories and at the same time of engaging with and developing what the contributors find to be the most interesting aspects of her work.