CVAC Postgraduate / ECR Reading Group

The CVAC reading group this term will focus on gender as a socially constructed phenomenon, encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue about how physical bodies have been made to matter in a gender-powered manner. It takes The Bearded Lady of Peñaranda (1590) by Juan Sánchez Cotán and Magdalena Ventura with Her Husband and Son (1631) by Jusepe de Ribera as starting points. Bearded women constituted a site of voyeuristic spectacle and physiognomic interest in art and literature, predating 20^th-century gender discourse. The stigmatization of their ambiguously gendered appearances has been motivated by heteronormative and patriarchal sensitivities. Today, these images highlight the instability of a binary system and raise questions about contemporary trans identities.

Readings this week consider images of bearded women between the 16^th and 20^th centuries, to stimulate broader discussion about gender theory, the historicization of gender, and gender as a category of social analysis.

Please bring along any gender-ambiguous images relevant to your own work!

The reading group will take place at 5pm on Thursday 5^th May. There will be an opportunity to go to The Shakespeare for an informal gathering at 6:45pm!

Download the readings here: https://bit.ly/3vGoLaz (Durham University Users Only)

Please contact Irini Picolou: irini.picolou@durham.ac.uk if you would like to attend.