Getting Medieval: Sexualities and Communities, Pre- and Postmodern

by Carolyn Dinshaw

Book Overview

In Getting Medieval Carolyn Dinshaw examines communities--dissident and orthodox--in late-fourteenth and early-fifteenth-century England to create a new sense of queer history. Reaching beyond both medieval and queer studies, Dinshaw demonstrates in this challenging work how intellectual inquiry into pre-modern societies can contribute invaluably to current issues in cultural studies. In the process, she makes important connections between...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0822323656
• ISBN13: 9780822323655
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Duke University Press
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 2.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Interesting even for the non-Medievalist

Carolyn Dinshaw, a well known medieval scholar, carefully considers how the "queering" of history can create communities across time, and more particularly, what she terms, a "touching". She works with theorists Bhabba, Benedict Anderson, Barthes, and Foucalt, in their writings on history, nationalism, sexuality, and marginalized communities in her look at such disparate sources as Chaucer, a medieval court document, and the post-modern film classic, Pulp Fiction in order to untangle the multiplicity of history and sexuality. Her approachable writing voice and use of a variety of sources makes this accessible by those who may not even be as interested in all things medieval. I am not, but still found this book interesting, especially in the way it approaches how we look at history and literature. This book was recommended by a medieval literature teacher, so it is reputable, but does not deserve to be left only to medievalists.