Parchments of Gender

Deciphering the Body in Antiquity

Maria Wyke editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:26th Nov '98

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Parchments of Gender cover

Parchments of Gender builds up an important source of inter-disciplinary information for the study of gender and the body in ancient history. The central and unifying theme is the body's relation to gender. With essays covering the ancient communities of Greece, Rome, and Judaea, the volume argues that the body is culturally constructed and not a sign of what is natural. Ancient bodies are "parchments of gender": textual skins on which gender is inscribed and on which can be traced other interconnecting matrices of knowledge and power that give these bodies their seemingly legible contours. The volume also demonstrates the central role of antiquity in the developing cultural formation of the gendered body as a concept, a practice and an experience in modern societies.

This collection offers some new and interesting insights as it challenges us to read or reread ancient bodies. * American Historial Review *
The quality of the essays is consistently high; the essays are meticulously researched and often provocative. The scope of the volume ought to attract readers from diverse disciplines. This collection makes a significant contribution to the growing body of scholarship on the body and gender in the Western tradition. * Religious Studies Review *
A rich and rewarding collection of articles on gender. There is plenty of theory for those who like their theory, but also plenty of interesting texts and images for those who like their facts... an interesting and useful collection. * The Classical Review *

ISBN: 9780198150800

Dimensions: 224mm x 143mm x 23mm

Weight: 545g

302 pages