IMC 2005: Sessions

Session 623: Medieval Drama Studies in Honour of Alexandra Johnston, I: Contexts Medieval and Modern

Tuesday 12 July 2005, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:	Medieval and Renaissance Drama Society
Organiser:	Peter Greenfield, Department of English, University of Puget Sound, Washington
Moderator/Chair:	Jane Cowling, Independent Scholar, Cheltenham
Paper 623-a	Libellous Songs and the Circulation of Gender Stereotypes (Language: English) C. Edward McGee, Department of English, St Jerome's University, University of Waterloo, Ontario Index terms: Gender Studies, Music, Performance Art - Drama
Paper 623-b	Norwich: A Theatrical Topography, 1540-1642 (Language: English) Jennifer Roberts-Smith, University of Toronto, Downtown Index terms: Archaeology - Sites, Language and Literature - Middle English, Local History, Performance Art - Drama
Paper 623-c	Popularizing Medieval Theatre: Scholarship and the Mass Media (Language: English) Margaret Rogerson, Department of English, University of Sydney Index terms: Language and Literature - Middle English, Performance Art - Drama
Abstract	The session honors Alexandra Johnston on her retirement by examining contexts for the study of medieval drama that have developed from Johnston’s scholarship and teaching. McGee examines how gender stereotypes circulate in the libelous songs that he has found in researching dramatic records in the west of England. Roberts-Smith explores new evidence for playing places in Norwich, including the guildhall, inns and the Duke of Norfolk’s Palace. Rogerson compares scholarship’s approach to medieval theatre to that of mass media, finding not just misinformation, but similarities like the use of Shakespeare and Chaucer as benchmarks.