Medieval and early modern women were no stranger to positions of power, prestige, or authority: from philosophy, religion, and medical science to politics and civil life, examples of women who gained prominence in their respective field(s) pinpoint a significant counter-narrative to the male-centric outlook that was predominant for centuries. But how did these women achieve, maintain, and justify their positions within societies that, largely, still regarded them as subaltern to men?
Some thirty years ago, the philosophy group Diotima questioned the complicated genealogies of women’s political modalities, between power and authority (Oltre l’uguaglianza. Le radici femminili dell’autorità, 1995). While power (from Lat. potestas) implies a non-consensual dominion within unequal relationships, authority (from Lat. augēre) etymologically grows out of a shared relationship that does not suppress uneven differences. This panel welcomes submissions that interrogate genealogies of power and/or authority, in which late medieval and early modern women were able to excel and distinguish themselves, by delineating strategies—rhetorical or pragmatic—that were used to account for their exceptionality. From family ties and professional connections to ideal genealogies writ large, we welcome contributions that add new perspectives to the debate on the dialectic positioning of late medieval and early modern women in their societies.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
gender-biased tensions in political/professional/social spaces
construction of familial vs. authoritative genealogies
counter-narratives to canon formation
scientific and medical embodiments of power/ authority
literary and rhetorical strategies of power/authority
socio-economic power and/or authority
women mystics and authoritative spaces in religious life
Proposals should include a title (max. 15 words), paper abstract (max. 200 words), 1-2 page CV indicating PhD or other terminal degree completion date (past or expected). Please send proposals to Fabio Battista (University of Alabama, fbattista@ua.edu) and Matteo Pace (Connecticut College, mpace1@conncoll.edu) by July 31, 2023.