Holly A. Crocker![]() Professorin für Anglistik an der Universität South Carolina Aufenthalt am Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften: Mai–Dezember 2011Forschungsthema am Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften: »The Reformation of Feminine Virtue from Chaucer to Shakespeare«Projektbeschreibung: My current book project, The Reformation of Feminine Virtue from Chaucer to Shakespeare, answers a central question: what did it mean for a woman to be called »virtuous« in premodern England? By examining works by authors including Chaucer, Fletcher, Henryson, Lodge, Lydgate, Shakespeare, and Spenser, I consider the challenge literary representations pose to the prescriptive femininities promoted by conduct manuals between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Women might have been told to be chaste, silent, and obedient, but literary heroines of the same period were strong, vivacious, and autonomous. The central difference, I suggest, emerges from contrary ideas concerning virtue’s relation to habit: the ethical habitus of conduct books involves repetition and mimesis, while that of literary plots requires intelligence and independence. By resisting virtue’s normative reduction, poets not only produce more lively characters, but also imagine worlds where women might fully inhabit ethical excellence. (Holly A. Crocker) Während ihres Aufenthaltes am Kolleg arbeitet Holly Crocker mit Susanne Scholz (Professorin für englische Literatur und Kultur an der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt/ Main) und Andreas Kraß (Professor für ältere deutsche Literatur) zusammen.Wissenschaftliches Profil von Holly A. CrockerForschungsschwerpunkte: Mittelalterliche Literatur und Literatur der frühen Neuzeit, Gender Studies, ÄsthetikVeröffentlichungen (Auswahl):
Mitgliedschaften:Modern Language Association (Chaucer Division Executive Committee, 2010–2015), New Chaucer Society (Program Committee, 2010–2012), Shakespeare Association of America, Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship, Early English Text SocietyFellowship:Fulbright Senior Fellowship an der Goethe-Universität, Mai‒Dezember 2011 |