THE MERRY WIDOW: RETHINKING WIDOWHOOD IN HISTORY, CULTURE AND SOCIETY
=20
Papers and full sessions for a strand on medieval widowhood are =
currently
being sought for a conference hosted by the Centre for Research into =
Gender
in Culture and Society (GENCAS) at the University of Wales, Swansea =
July
7th-9th, 2007.

Keynote Speakers:=20
Veena Talwar Oldenburg, Professor of History, Baruch College, CUNY
Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly, Professor of German Literature, Exeter College,
Oxford
Dr Anneke Mulder-Bakker, Fellow in Medieval History, University of =
Leiden,
Netherlands
Susie Boyt, Novelist

The figure of the widow has long been a cultural stereotype overlooked =
in
many feminist investigations into the roles allocated to women within
society. There are many published studies of mothers, daughters, wives =
and
sisters, but the ambivalent figure of the widow has never received =
sustained
attention. This conference aims to address this oversight, instating =
the
widow as potential site of female empowerment, as well as examining the =
ways
in which traditional discourse has denied her a specific identity =
outside
the role of memorializing her dead husband. We wish to replace such =
cultural
clich=E9s with a multi-faceted approach to the figure of the widow and =
the
multiple and often contradictory meanings ascribed to her.

The conference seeks to investigate the position of the widow in =
culture
across a range of periods and disciplines. Papers are sought =
particularly
from the areas of literature, history, cultural studies, sociology,
politics, art history, law, medicine, psychology, film and media =
studies,
economics and modern and medieval languages.

Aspects of widowhood that papers at this conference might address =
include:

* The black widow
* The merry widow
* The maternal widow
* The 'power' widow
* The Welsh widow
* Widows' weeds
* The war widow
* The media widow
* Widows' rights
* The young widow
* The domestic(ated) widow
* The mourning widow
* Widowhood and sexuality
* Widowhood and religion
* Widowhood and trauma
* The widow as writer
* The widow and propaganda
* The widow and reproductive technologies
* The widower

Abstracts of up to 500 words for individual papers or full sessions =
should
be sent to:
Dr Sarah Gamble or Dr Liz Herbert McAvoy at widowhood_at_swansea.ac.uk
<mailto:widowhood_at_swansea.ac.uk> by December 31st 2006.=20

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Received on Sat Jul 01 2006 - 07:12:06 EDT