You are here

FAU Collections » FAU Research Repository » FAU Theses and Dissertations

Bodies from the Darkside: Paradoxes of Female Anatomy in the Rena issance

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
1999
Summary:
The body in anthropo logy represents more than a phys ical endpoint of human evolution. It is both the template for cultural imprint, and a symbol that communicates cultural information. ln the context of the Renaissance as an ethnographic e ntity, th e status of women is examined through two kinds of images: anatomic and fine art. Although the Renaissance is generally heralded as a boundary between medieval superstition and humanism, with its improvement in the quality of life, few scholars have examined if that change applied to women. Using Kelly-Gadol's thesis that women did not have a renaissance in the Renaissance, this thesis wiII show their restricted status through the lens of anthropology of the body. Witch persecutions, sumptuary laws and curious metal appurtenances to restrict the body support this view. Kuhn's paradigm theory and Turner's work on IIminality are relevant with regard to unequal male-female status. When normal science is presented with new information that is anomalous, a period of denial ensues. Thus, the domain of authority was challenged by observation and created conflict along with discovery. The most drastic of these raged between female sexuality versus reproduction.
Title: Bodies from the Darkside: Paradoxes of Female Anatomy in the Rena issance.
79 views
22 downloads
Name(s): Thompson, Lana.
Brown, Susan Love, Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 1999
Date Issued: 1999
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 161 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: The body in anthropo logy represents more than a phys ical endpoint of human evolution. It is both the template for cultural imprint, and a symbol that communicates cultural information. ln the context of the Renaissance as an ethnographic e ntity, th e status of women is examined through two kinds of images: anatomic and fine art. Although the Renaissance is generally heralded as a boundary between medieval superstition and humanism, with its improvement in the quality of life, few scholars have examined if that change applied to women. Using Kelly-Gadol's thesis that women did not have a renaissance in the Renaissance, this thesis wiII show their restricted status through the lens of anthropology of the body. Witch persecutions, sumptuary laws and curious metal appurtenances to restrict the body support this view. Kuhn's paradigm theory and Turner's work on IIminality are relevant with regard to unequal male-female status. When normal science is presented with new information that is anomalous, a period of denial ensues. Thus, the domain of authority was challenged by observation and created conflict along with discovery. The most drastic of these raged between female sexuality versus reproduction.
Identifier: FA00000970 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1999.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Subject(s): Physical anthropology
Women--History--Renaissance, 1450-1600
Body, Human--Social aspects
Anatomy, Artistic
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000970
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.