IMC 2019: Sessions

Texture is a term than can be defined as 'the quality of something that can be decided by touch; the degree to which something is rough or smooth, or soft or hard'. When talking about queer textures, this round table addresses the possibility of finding queer objects, immaterialities in the past, exploring the role these have within the frame in which they are encapsulated: narrative, social, historical, artistic, or cultural. Our intention is to demonstrate that by queering the look towards the past and our interpretation of it, and adapting the historical context to the horizon of expectations in a given time, we can obtain a clearer view of historical characters or alternative ways of bonding and creating communities. This round table discussion brings together scholars from different disciplines and curators working in ways in which queer stories can be visible for the audience. Diane Watt and Roberta Magnani will talk about touching manuscripts and queer historiography. Olivia Robinson will explore alternative ways of bonding through convent theatre and its materialities: building all-female communities. Helen F. Leslie-Jacobsen will talk about how same-sex relationships are framed in medieval and early modern Norwegian law manuscripts. Jonah Coman will explore senses of intimacy: how medieval material culture can help modern queer Christians. Matthew Storey from Historical Royal Palaces will explain how to find queer objects in museum collections and how to build and give visibility to queer stories, delving into the work of researchers.

Participants include Jonah Coman (Glasgow School of Arts), Helen F. Leslie-Jacobsen (Universitetet i Bergen), Roberta Magnani (Swansea University), Olivia Robinson (Université de Fribourg), Matthew Storey (Historic Royal Palaces), and Diane Watt (University of Surrey).