A 12th century mystic, abbess, theologian, composer, artist… Dr. Noam Yadin Evron uncovers the life and work of Hildegard of Bingen, asking what the 21st century makes of the most prolific woman of the Medieval era.
CLASS DESCRIPTION
Hildegard of Bingen was a 12th century mystic, abbess, theologian, composer, artist, and medical practitioner. She was a pioneer in many ways; she was granted papal permission to preach in public (something women were banned from doing), she was the first female composer whose name and biography we know, her image is the first self-portrait to exist from the Middle Ages, she was the writer of the first morality play, and she is considered by some to be the first German natural scientist. She was also one of only four female Doctors of the Catholic Church.
It is not surprising then, that recent feminist scholarship has developed a growing interest in her. Hailed sometimes as a proto feminist, or even a proto eco-feminist, Hildegard is considered by some as a shining example of feminine and feminist thought in the Medieval world. But looking at her art and words, she seems to resist these interpretations, at least partially. What do we make of Hildegard in the 21st century? In this lecture we will think about her images and words through her role as a prophetess: what did this direct communication with God allow her, and other women of the Medieval period? And what is the fine line that she is balancing?
Whether you love her, hate her, or are baffled by her, it is difficult to remain unmoved by Hildegard. Her idiosyncratic visions and language as well as her political skills, led her to become, despite societal and physical barriers, the most prolific woman of the Medieval era.
ABOUT OUR LECTURER
Noam Yadin Evron is an art historian with a PhD in Late Antique art. Her main areas of study are the formation of early Christian art, gender and sexuality in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and the role of art and material culture in the formation of collective and individual identities. She is a lecturer of art history and museum studies, as well as a writer, and is based out of London.
Instagram: @noam.yadinevron
Website: https://www.noamyadinevron.com/
UPCOMING SESSIONS WITH THE FEMINIST LECTURE PROGRAM
Monday 16th September
Kitty Underhill (she/her)
Where do Flaws Come From?: Bellies, Bodies and the Social Construction of Imperfection
Monday 23rd September
N.A. Kimber (she/her) and K.E. Donoghue-Stanford (she/her)
Death and the Maiden: Femininity in the Gothic
Monday 30th September
Carolina Hades (she/her)
Pole Dancing Against the Algorithm
Monday 7th October
Janine Francois (she/they)
Black {Gendered} Space Time: From the Heavens to Outer Space
Monday 14th October
Parumveer Walia (he/him)
Staged Bodies: Performativity in Feminist Photography
Monday 21st October
Isobel Atacus (she/they)
Eva Hesse: Imagining the Unruly
Monday 28th October
Gudrun Filipska (she/her)
Feminism and Zombie Culture
Monday 4th November
Anna Titov (she/her)
Cyborgs, Transcorporeality and Volatile Bodies: Ecofeminist Theories of Embodiment
Monday 11th November
Jennifer Higgie (she/her)
Stars in Their Eyes: 19th-Century Spiritualism and Female Proto-Surrealism
Monday 18th November
Melissa Baksh (she/her)
Whitewashed? Whiteness and Femininity in Art History
Monday 25th November
Dr. Noam Yadin Evron (she/her)
Hildegard of Bingen: Mystic, Artist, Composer, Pioneer
Monday 2nd December
COMING SOON
Monday 9th December
Baylee Woodley (they/them)
Medieval Femmes: Queer Femininities in Medieval England
Monday 16th December
Summer Lee (she/her)
The Incendiary History of Red Lingerie
RECORDING
A recording of the lecture will be sent out by The Feminist Lecture Program after the event finishes, within 2 hours of the end of the class. This email will also contain any resources/reading list the lecturer shares.
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