Register for a CSMC lecture series
Between Invisibility and Autonomy: Negotiating Gender Roles in Manuscript Cultures
Lecture Series (hybrid format)
Convenors: Prof Dr Eike Großmann and Dr Johanna Seibert
Women’s contributions to the production and use of written artefacts have been neglected or even made invisible in many manuscript cultures. Their agency being written out is only one of the numerous blind spots when pursuing a gender perspective in the study of manuscript cultures. The aim of this lecture series is to explore precisely these blind spots by raising questions which enable us to grasp the multiple roles women have played in manuscript cultures. At the centre of each lecture lies the question of how women contribute to the production, circulation, and dissemination of manuscripts, inscriptions, graffiti, and other written artefacts. Did they function as patrons or scribes? If they were allowed to write in the first place, what kind of artefacts were they expected to produce? In which ways did female production of written artefacts subvert the existing order and modes of gendered dominance? Or did their actions possibly contribute to supporting, stabilising, and perpetuating their own disadvantage? How was their exclusion then rationalised and explained in cases where they were denied active (and passive) participation in manuscript cultures?
It is through perspectives such as these that women’s roles in historic and contemporary manuscript cultures become visible. Exploring a range of examples — liturgic, devotional, biographic, among many others, from ancient Assyria and Egypt to medieval Japan and Central Europe and on to today’s Thailand and Northern Africa — the speakers shed light on new findings, give unique insights into their fields, and discuss methodological considerations.
All lectures will be held on Mondays, 6:15 pm — 8:00 pm CET, at Warburgstraße 26 (Pavilion) and online (ZOOM)
| Date | Lecturer | Title |
| 24 October 2022 |
Professor Dr Dr h.c. Cécile Michel Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Nanterre / Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Universität Hamburg |
Gender Studies and Manuscript Cultures: The Case of Assyriology |
|
1 November 2022 (Tuesday) |
Michael L. Norton, Associate Professor Emeritus James Madison University (Virginia, US) |
In Her Own Voice: Asserting Autonomy Through Liturgy at Klosterneuburg |
| 7 November 2022 |
Dr Silpsupa Jaengsawang Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Universität Hamburg |
Women in Thai-Lao Manuscript Cultures: Alternative Worship of Text(ile) in Compensation of Monkhood |
| 21 November 2022 |
Dr Melissa Moreton, Research Associate Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton |
Women as Scribes: Materials, Methods, and Motives in Medieval Italy and Beyond |
| 28 November 2022 |
Dr Patricia Stoop Institute for the Study of Literature in the Netherlands (ISLN) / Ruusbroecgenootschap, Universiteit Antwerpen |
Women and Their Multiple Roles in Manuscript Production in the Late Medieval and Early Modern Low Countries |
| 12 December 2022 |
Dr Michael Kohs Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Universität Hamburg |
Women as Scribes in Jewish Manuscript Cultures |
| 9 January 2023 | Dr Leah Mascia
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Universität Hamburg |
Nuns, Domestic Virgins, and Female Devotees in Late Antique Egypt: Evidence From Greek and Coptic Graffiti, Papyri, and Other Written Artefacts |
| 23 January 2023 |
Professor Dr Britta Frede Islamic Studies / Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence, Universität Bayreuth |
Female Contributions to Islamic Text Production and Circulation |
|
30 January 2023 (Online only; lecture starts at 6:00 pm) |
Dr Bryan Lowe, Assistant Professor Princeton University |
Patrons of Paper and Clay: Methods for Studying Women's Religiosity in Ancient Japan |