This two-day workshop will look at 'tricky topics' in teaching and research - subjects that

students might find sensitive and researchers might be somewhat nervous about broaching,

but that at the same time are of great interest in today's universities and that can, perhaps,

helpfully be approached with a historical perspective. Two familiar areas of tension -

gender, and race and religion-will be addressed.

Attitudes to women in medieval and early modern texts can be alienating: female

characters often seem without agency, valued only for their looks; girls are married off

without reference to their own wishes; rape and gender-based violence abound. Martyrs all

suffer violence, of course, but the violence to which female martyrs are subjected often

focuses on their female bodies, and rape seems to bring with it a shame that we would now

cali victim-blaming. These attitudes may be mirrored in modern products of medievalism,

from Tolkien's almost woman-free Lord of the Rings to the semi-pornographic Game of

Thrones. How far do any of these works reflect the historical realities of women's lives?

When might literature shape, as well as reflect, history - and how dangerously? Historical

constructions of a religious 'other' have received considerable scholarly attention, but it

seems now more important than ever to interrogate texts that illuminate relations among

Jews, Muslims and Christians. This doctoral school will consider the Thousand and One

Nights as culturally important to all three traditions, and dramatisations of the story of

Esther, in the Jewish purimshpil and in a number of free-standing dramas in Christian Europe

that related the situation of the Jews to the contemporary situation of many European

Protestants or Catholics, and explored ideals of womanhood reflected in Esther and Vashti.

The larger themes will therefore be gender and religious-racial discrimination,

particularly islamophobia and antisemitism, and historical trauma: the doctoral school will

reflect on these themes today, and encourage participants to explore the challenges

presented by discussing such matters in the classroom, particularly in relation to cultural

appropriations. It will include a 'bring a text' session in which participants can discuss texts-

-medieval / early modern, or 'medievalist' —that they have found particularly problematic,

either to study or to teach; it will also include workshops on the use of drama in the

classroom, and on story-telling.

Dr Benedetta Viscidi (Uni Fribourg) will introduce the presentation of rape in French

romance texts. Dr Juliette Vuille will talk on domestic abuse in modern adaptations of the

Wife of Bath, and Dr Daisy Black (Uni Wolverhampton, UK) will give a brief talk on gender

and medievalism in board game culture: she will then lead a workshop in which conference

participants can try their hand at story-telling techniques useful in the university classroom.

Prof. Cora Dieti (Uni Giessen) will introduce some German female saints' plays, and will

participate in a 'Q and A' session, alongside Mr. Perry Mills (King Edward VI School, Director

of Edward's Boys) on staging plays as a pedagogical method, particularly as an approach to

discussing gender and race. Perry Mills will be accompanied by some of his boy actors and

conference participants will be given an opportunity to try their hand at directing them.

Prof. Daniel Boyarin (UC Berkeley) will give a presentation on gender and Judaism, and will

participate in a workshop with Prof. Ulrich Marzolph, an expert on Islam in medieval and

early modern texts. Doctoral students will be invited to present aspects of their research

which might touch on these topics, and will receive help and advice from these experts.

NB The doctoral school is scheduled to coincide with the International Medieval Theatre

Conference, to be held in Fribourg in July 2025: this will include a performance piece based

on the Nibelungenlied on 18th July, and performances of three plays about Esther-- one in

Serman, from Fribourg, that focuses on the question of marriage (18th July), one in English

(from the 16th century) and one in the tradition of the Jewish 'purim play', that will be

presented by all-boys company Edward's Boys (19th July). CUSO participants will be allowed

to attend these performances, which will occur after the CUSO workshop sessions, for free.