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2020 Conference: Masculinities in the Premodern World

Continuities, Change, and Contradictions

12-14 November 2020

The past twenty-five years have witnessed a bourgeoning of studies on sexuality and gender in the pre-modern world. In particular, men and masculinities have received considerable attention. Building on the theoretical perspectives provided by feminism, Foucault, and cultural studies, the study of men and masculinities is increasingly theoretically inflected and sophisticated. Studies have encompassed questions pertaining to men of various social statuses, secular and ecclesiastical, as portrayed in historical, literary, philosophical, theological, and art historical sources among others.

The conference, sponsored by the Toronto Renaissance and Reformation Colloquium (TRRC), seeks to locate the study of premodern men and masculinities in its current richness and complexity.