2025 International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 8 - 10, 2025)

More than 25 years ago, Robert LA Clark and Claire Sponsler argued in "Queer Play: the Cultural Work of Crossdressing in Medieval Drama" that "transgender and transstatus representations cannot be reduced to one simple meaning but rather perform a variety of...cultural work." We seek contributions to explore, expand and complicate the idea of transgender identities, trans bodies, transgressive practices, or other kinds of transformations or translations in medieval drama and performance. In 2025, how do we understand the shapeshifting nature of "trans"? What are the emerging questions and where do they lead us?