IMC 2018: Sessions
Session 1110: Rethinking Agency, I: Reading Women
Wednesday 4 July 2018, 11.15-12.45
| Sponsor: | Medieval Prosopography |
|---|---|
| Organisers: | Charlotte Pickard, Centre for Continuing & Professional Education, Cardiff University Rebecca Searby, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York |
| Moderator/Chair: | Amy Livingstone, Department of History, Wittenberg University, Ohio |
| Paper 1110-a | Queen or Puppet Lady?: Æthelflaed's Agency in the Politics, Power, and Identity of Mercia (Language: English) Index terms: Archaeology - General, Politics and Diplomacy, Women's Studies |
| Paper 1110-b | Rethinking Female Agency and the Formal Expression of Female Power in 13th-Century Royal Letters (Language: English) Index terms: Charters and Diplomatics, Gender Studies, Politics and Diplomacy, Women's Studies |
| Abstract | Detecting 'agency' in the medieval world, in recent years, has shaped the research of historians searching for the lesser voices of the past. It is a term often attributed to unusual 'action' or 'will' beyond the scope of societal expectation. Given its vast application, there is a pressing need to consider how we detect, define, and interpret agency across medieval record collections. Are we reading moments of individual will or is this a more complicated process that requires renewed appreciation? Using case studies from England, France, and the kingdom of Aragon, this session will explore the concept of female agency. |