Women’s HerStory Month: Feminine Power and Medieval Models of Resistance

Visionary women supporting nonviolent ideals were known and celebrated throughout the Middle Ages. Often they stood up to male authorities using such strategies as divine mandate or rhetorical persuasion, serving as models of defiance and feminine power for centuries of devotees—even up to the present day. Our panel will provide a basic introduction to these figures and explore the ways that medieval visionary women resisted patriarchal power through their words and actions. We hope to show how it was possible for women in the Middle Ages—such as Margaret of Antioch, Margery Kempe, and other visionary saints and female thinkers—to push back against oppression and silencing through whatever means were available to them. The panel will be catered to a generalist audience and structured as an interactive discussion with media and primary texts as focal points, introducing these inspirational premodern women to attendees of all skill levels.

Presenters: William Arguelles, The Graduate Center, CUNY and Ellis Amity Light, Fordham University.

Sponsor: Boyda Johnstone, Assistant Professor, English

Women’s Herstory Month events

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