History of Gender Commons^™

Holy Matter Making Holy Meaning: Fashioning Memory, Community And Dissimilar Similitude In Middle Dutch Sister-Books And The Book Of Margery Kempe, Godelinde G. Perk

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

The Middle Dutch sister-books and The Book of Margery Kempe are fifteenth-century vernacular texts by women chronicling their female subjects’ conversion and arduous attempts at a holy life. They share an (auto)hagiographic enterprise and formal and thematic features, including a display of rags and riches by the vitae’s subjects and a desire for mnemonic engagement on the part of the readers with the text. This article is the first to present the Diepenveen and Deventer sister-books and the Book as conversation partners. I draw on two main conceptual tools: 1) medieval memoria and 2) the notion of “dissimilar similitude” …

Miraculous Monstrosity: Birth And Female Sexuality In The Illuminated Scivias And Cloisters Apocalypse, Jenna M. Mckellips

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

This paper compares the illuminations in two medieval apocalypses, the Cloisters Apocalypse and Hildegard von Bingen’s Scivias, to inspect their similar constructions of female sexuality, motherhood, and monstrosity. It first analyzes the monstrosity of female sexual organs found in Hildegard’s portrayal of the Church and the Mother of the Antichrist. The paper then goes on to consider the uncanny slippage between images of birth and death in the Cloisters’s depiction of John and the Woman of Revelation 12. Ultimately, the paper not only explores the monstrosity of female bodies in apocalyptic manuscripts, but also concludes that medieval women’s …

Precarious Manhood: Adolescence And Group Rape In Late Medieval Europe, Michelle Armstrong-Partida

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

Sexual assault, through coercion or violence, was omnipresent at every level of medieval society and perpetrated by males from all socio-economic backgrounds. This article argues that a specific type of sexual violence—group rape—committed by two or more individuals, was a phase of men’s social development. It explores the connection between adolescence and sexual aggression to show that collective rape was a feature of male youth culture used a form of recreation to gain sexual experience, forge bonds with peers, and publicly prove masculinity as adolescents transitioned from childhood to adulthood. Many young males first learned to rape in groups before …

Reading The Old Norse-Icelandic Maríu Saga In Its Manuscript Contexts, Daniel Najork

Northern Medieval World

Maríu saga, the Old Norse-Icelandic life of the Virgin Mary, survives in nineteen manuscripts. In the extant manuscripts Maríu saga rarely exists in the codex by itself. This study restores the saga to its manuscript contexts in order to better understand the meaning of the text within its manuscript matrix, why it was copied in the specific manuscripts it was, and how it was read and used by the different communities that preserved the manuscripts.

Medieval Futurity: Essays For The Future Of A Queer Medieval Studies, Will Rogers, Christopher Michael Roman

New Queer Medievalisms

This collection of essays asks contributors to take the capaciousness of the word "queer" to heart in order to think about what medieval queers would have looked like and how they may have existed on the margins and borders of dominant, normative sexuality and desire. The contributors work with recent trends in queer medieval studies, blending together modern concepts of sexuality and desire with the queer configurations of eroticism, desire, and materiality as they might have existed for medieval audiences.

Monsters In Society: Alterity, Transgression, And The Use Of The Past In Medieval Iceland, Rebecca Merkelbach

Northern Medieval World

Dragons, giants, and the monsters of learned discourse are rarely encountered in the Sagas of Icelanders, and therefore, the general teratological focus on physical monstrosity yields only limited results when applied to them. This, however, does not equal an absence of monstrosity — it only means that monstrosity is conceived of differently. This book shifts the view of monstrosity from the physical to the social, accounting for the unique social circumstances presented in the Íslendingasögur and demonstrating how closely interwoven the social and the monstrous are in this genre. Employing literary and cultural theory as well as anthropological and historical …

Opportunism & Duty: Gendered Perceptions Of Women's Involvement In Crusade Negotiation And Mediation (1147-1254), Gordon M. Reynolds

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

Women’s involvement in negotiation and mediation during the Middle Ages has received close scrutiny. However, few scholars have concentrated their investigations on the trends in female-led negotiations during the crusades in the Near East, and the significance of the religious connotations of such leadership in this theatre. There were dramatic societal shifts in the Latin East during the twelfth-thirteenth centuries, most significantly in the aftermath of the Battle of Hattin and loss of Jerusalem in 1187. The destruction of much of the Latin East’s crusader states that followed Jerusalem’s fall displaced many individuals, and with a plethora of Christian nobles …

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project 2018 Annual Report, Michael S. Nassaney

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Western Michigan University (WMU) hosted its 43rd annual archaeological field school this past July and August under the auspices of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project. The Project is a long-term, multidisciplinary, community-based partnership between the City of Niles and WMU that investigates and interprets colonialism and the fur trade in the region.

We selected the theme “Technology Then and Now,” to focus our activities in 2019. We recognize that technology is not only important in the 21st century, but has defined humanity since our earliest ancestors crafted simple tools to assist them in their survival. Most of the archaeological …

Curation, Erika K. Hartley, Miro Dunham

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Table of Contents

• Preserving the Past for the Future
• Common Curation Challenges
• Fort St. Joseph Collection
• Did You Know?
• Collection Challenges
• Fort St. Joseph Curatorial Fellowship
• How You Can Help

The Third Gender And Ælfric's Lives Of Saints, Rhonda L. Mcdaniel

Richard Rawlinson Center Series

In The Third Gender, McDaniel addresses the idea of the "third gender" in early hagiography and Latin treatises on virginity and then examines Ælfric's treatment of gender in his translations of Latin monastic Lives for his non-monastic audiences. She first investigates patristic ideas about a "third gender" by describing this concept within the theoretical frameworks of monasticism provided by the four Latin Doctors and illustrated in the early Latin Lives of Roman martyrs, revealing the importance of memory in the construction of the monastic "third gender." In the second section McDaniel turns to creating a historical and theological cultural …

Technology Then And Now 2: Glass Beads, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

People at Fort St. Joseph used glass beads to embellish their appearance in the eighteenth century.

Technology Then and Now was developed by the students (Nicole Aquino, John Campbell, Patrick Dwyer, Abby Floyd, Jacob Kowalczyk, Allie Lewis, Amanda Owens, Brendan Sapato, and Callisto Wojcikowski) in the Museum Studies class (HIST 4080) at Western Michigan University under the direction of Professor Michael Nassaney. The research, contents, and design of the exhibit were made possible through the support and assistance of Christina Arseneau, David Brose, Mary Ellen Drolet, Joe Hines, Larry Horrigan, Cori Ivens, Erika Loveland, Meghan Williams and Michael Worline.

Full …

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project 2017 Annual Report, Michael Nassaney

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

In 2017, the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project (hereafter the "Project") continued its focus on discovering and sharing the history of Fort St. Joseph while emphasizing the importance of community partnerships. This was a logical theme for 2017 since the Project has long been a collaboration between Western Michigan University (WMU) faculty and students, the City of Niles, the Fort St. Joseph Archaeology Advisory Committee (see Appendix A), interested stakeholders, supporters, members, and community volunteers in the greater Niles area. In addition, the Project has embraced a community service-learning model to guide our field, laboratory, and outreach activities. Students learn …

Technology Then And Now 6: Flintlock Muskets, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Flintlocks were imported from Europe and widely distributed in New France for hunting and warfare.

Technology Then and Now was developed by the students (Nicole Aquino, John Campbell, Patrick Dwyer, Abby Floyd, Jacob Kowalczyk, Allie Lewis, Amanda Owens, Brendan Sapato, and Callisto Wojcikowski) in the Museum Studies class (HIST 4080) at Western Michigan University under the direction of Professor Michael Nassaney. The research, contents, and design of the exhibit were made possible through the support and assistance of Christina Arseneau, David Brose, Mary Ellen Drolet, Joe Hines, Larry Horrigan, Cori Ivens, Erika Loveland, Meghan Williams and Michael Worline.

Full size …

Technology Then And Now 3: Building A House In New France, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph buildings were constructed using Old World techniques and local and imported raw materials.

Technology Then and Now was developed by the students (Nicole Aquino, John Campbell, Patrick Dwyer, Abby Floyd, Jacob Kowalczyk, Allie Lewis, Amanda Owens, Brendan Sapato, and Callisto Wojcikowski) in the Museum Studies class (HIST 4080) at Western Michigan University under the direction of Professor Michael Nassaney. The research, contents, and design of the exhibit were made possible through the support and assistance of Christina Arseneau, David Brose, Mary Ellen Drolet, Joe Hines, Larry Horrigan, Cori Ivens, Erika Loveland, Meghan Williams and Michael Worline.

Full …

Technology Then And Now 5: Birch Bark Canoes, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Birch bark canoes were a technologically-sophisticated means to travel and transport goods during the fur trade.

Technology Then and Now was developed by the students (Nicole Aquino, John Campbell, Patrick Dwyer, Abby Floyd, Jacob Kowalczyk, Allie Lewis, Amanda Owens, Brendan Sapato, and Callisto Wojcikowski) in the Museum Studies class (HIST 4080) at Western Michigan University under the direction of Professor Michael Nassaney. The research, contents, and design of the exhibit were made possible through the support and assistance of Christina Arseneau, David Brose, Mary Ellen Drolet, Joe Hines, Larry Horrigan, Cori Ivens, Erika Loveland, Meghan Williams and Michael Worline.

Full …

Technology Then And Now 4: Hide Processing In The Fur Trade, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Native Americans were the primary procedures of hides in the fur trade.

Technology Then and Now was developed by the students (Nicole Aquino, John Campbell, Patrick Dwyer, Abby Floyd, Jacob Kowalczyk, Allie Lewis, Amanda Owens, Brendan Sapato, and Callisto Wojcikowski) in the Museum Studies class (HIST 4080) at Western Michigan University under the direction of Professor Michael Nassaney. The research, contents, and design of the exhibit were made possible through the support and assistance of Christina Arseneau, David Brose, Mary Ellen Drolet, Joe Hines, Larry Horrigan, Cori Ivens, Erika Loveland, Meghan Williams and Michael Worline.

Full size panel available as …

Technology Then And Now 1: Technology Then And Now, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Archaeologists employ technology to learn how goods were made and used at Fort St. Joseph in the eighteenth century.

Technology Then and Now was developed by the students (Nicole Aquino, John Campbell, Patrick Dwyer, Abby Floyd, Jacob Kowalczyk, Allie Lewis, Amanda Owens, Brendan Sapato, and Callisto Wojcikowski) in the Museum Studies class (HIST 4080) at Western Michigan University under the direction of Professor Michael Nassaney. The research, contents, and design of the exhibit were made possible through the support and assistance of Christina Arseneau, David Brose, Mary Ellen Drolet, Joe Hines, Larry Horrigan, Cori Ivens, Erika Loveland, Meghan Williams and …

Life Among Good Women: The Social And Religious Impact Of The Cathar Perfectae In The Thirteenth-Century Lauragais, Derek Robert Benson

Masters Theses

This Master’s Thesis builds on the work of previous historians, such as Anne Brenon and John Arnold. It is primarily a study of gendered aspects in the Cathar heresy. Using inquisitorial registers from the mid-thirteenth century to the early-fourteenth, as well as a few poetic and prose sources, it seeks to understand how the Cathar “Good Women” were perceived by their lay believers. The methodology of prosopography is utilized throughout to measure witness testimonies against one another and to compare the connections between the Cathar constituency and the female ministers.

Two main inquiries are investigated: the sacerdotal and pastoral roles …

Depending On Sex? Tongue, Sieve, And Ladle Shaped Pendants From Late Iron Age Gotland, Meghan P. Mattsson Mcginnis

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

Artifacts of female dress such as brooches and pendants have long been objects of interest to scholars of late Iron Age /early medieval Scandinavia. They figure in dating and tracing stylistic developments, and their presence is often (controversially) used to help assign gender to burials. There are three types of pendants which constitute a type of feminine adornment unique to Viking Age Gotland: the so-called tongue, sieve, and ladle pendants. The purpose of this paper is to examine these pendant types and the possible symbolic and magical functions behind their forms and manner of use, and how these functions intersected …

More Than One Way To Measure: Masculinity In The Zurkaneh Of Safavid Iran, Zachary T. Smith

The Hilltop Review

The zurkhaneh of early modern Safavid Iran was an institution where men undertook physical training, in some ways reminiscent of a modern-day gymn. This paper attempts to theorize the zurkhaneh as a public space in which primarily non-elite men participated in the social economy of early modern Safavid Iran based upon their pursuit of the ideal of javanmardi, or young manliness. To accomplish this, this paper will combine the themes of publicity, the social utility of the body, and the authority of textuality with an examination of the physical culture of the zurkhaneh to theorize the utility, representation, and …

Unconfessing Transgender: Dysphoric Youths And The Medicalization Of Madness In John Gower’S “Tale Of Iphis And Ianthe”, M W. Bychowski

Accessus

On the brink of the twenty-first century, Judith Butler argues in “Undiagnosing Gender” that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) defines the psychiatric condition of “Gender Identity Disorder” (or “Gender Dysphoria”) in ways that control biological diversity and construct “transgender” as a marginalized identity. By turning the study of gender away from vulnerable individuals and towards the broader systems of power, Butler works to liberate bodies from the medical mechanisms managing difference and precluding potentially disruptive innovations in forms of life and embodiment by creating categories of gender and disability.

Turning to the brink of the 15 …

Fort St. Joseph Post - Spring 2016, Michael S. Nassaney

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

We hope you enjoy this issue of the Fort St. Joseph Post, filled with information about current activities that are being conducted under the auspices of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, a partnership between the City of Niles and Western Michigan University. As you can see, students, staff, faculty, and volunteers are busy investigating, interpreting, and promoting the archaeology of Fort St. Joseph, one of the most important French colonial sites in the western Great Lakes region. We are regularly present at professional conferences, community events, and other venues sharing information about the fort and inviting the public to …

7: Public Archaeology At Fort St. Joseph, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project practices community service learning.

8: Religious Life At Fort St. Joseph, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Written documents indicate that the Jesuit priests settled among neighboring Native American groups and were successful at creating some converts at the St. Joseph mission.

6: Military Presence At Fort St. Joseph, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

From 1691 the 1698 and from 1717 to 1761, French military personnel occupied Fort St. Joseph to defend the site's strategic position on a major trade route near the portage between the St. Joseph and Kankakee rivers, while maintaining alliances with friendly Native American groups to facilitate the trade in furs.

5: Project History, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Investigations at the long lost fort were begun in 1998 by WMU archaeologists.

4: Commercial Activities At Fort St. Joseph, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph was an important link in the chain of frontier outposts that marked the far reaches of New France and facilitated the fur trade between the French and Native Americans in the Western Great Lakes region.

3: Change And Continuity At Fort St. Joseph, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph was a multi-ethnic community.

2: Fort History, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

The French established Fort St. Joseph in the 1691 in present day Niles.

1: What Is Archaeology?, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 1, Archaeology is the study of past peoples through the items that they have left behind.