Women and Leadership in Fifteenth-Century English Prose Romance
Dr Jan Shaw (Senior Lecturer in Middle English Literature, University of Sydney, Australia), hosted by Professor Helen Fulton (Chair in Medieval Literature, University of Bristol, UK)
Online
University of Bristol Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Visiting Professor (BBMDVP) Showcase
This event is part of the University of Bristol's inaugural Festival of International Research and Partnerships, during which we are showcasing some of our previous visitors in the BBMDVP Showcase. There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end and to find out more about the scheme. All are welcome to join.
Women and Leadership in Fifteenth-Century English Prose Romance
11 May, 9.30 am (UK BST)
This project explores the representation of women and leadership in four fifteenth-century English prose romances. It examines how these texts construct gendered identity and how these identities play out differently as leadership narratives. It seeks to open up questions about how medieval people imagined women functioning as effective leaders. Reading these female leaders of romance alongside contemporary leadership theory suggests that the strategies women employed then in an environment hostile to their leadership are similar to the strategies women use today. This project also, therefore, seeks to contribute to the understanding of the contemporary problem of the marked absence of women in leadership positions in our own society.