Sex, Gender, and the Body in Renaissance France

The Renaissance (14-16th c.) was a period of intense exploration: outwards, with the "discovery" and conquest of "new" continents and people; back in time, with the unearthing of Classical texts from antiquity; and inwards, with the first human dissections and the rise of gynecology. From all these experiences emerged multiple models and definitions of gender, conflicting norms of sexualities, and shifting accounts of sexual difference. Bodies became objects of constant scrutiny, speculation, and representation.Scientists, philosophers, writers, theologians, explorers discussed and documented hermaphrodites and animal-human hybrids, trans-gendering, vagrant uterus, male and female cosmic attributes, sexual drives, while poets dabbled in proto-pornography and subverted gender roles.We will look at scientific, literary, and artistic documents from 16th century France to investigate how gender, sex, race, and sexuality intersected in the age of the anatomical gaze.Readings from medical treatises, philosophy, novels (Rabelais), poetry (Scève, Ronsard, Labé), essays (Montaigne), and emblem literature. Taught in French.