Awards

• Winner of Best First Book of Feminist Scholarship on the Middle Ages 2020 (United States)

Overview

In Obscene Pedagogies, Carissa M. Harris investigates the relationship between obscenity, gender, and pedagogy in Middle English and Middle Scots literary texts from 1300 to 1580 to show how sexually explicit and defiantly vulgar speech taught readers and listeners about sexual behavior and consent. Through innovative close readings of literary texts including erotic lyrics, single-woman's songs, debate poems between men and women, Scottish insult poetry battles, and The Canterbury Tales, Harris demonstrates how through its transgressive charge and galvanizing shock value, obscenity taught audiences about gender, sex, pleasure, and power in ways both positive and harmful. Harris's own voice, proudly witty and sharply polemical, inspires the reader to address these medieval texts with an eye on contemporary issues of gender, violence, and misogyny.

Full Product Details

Author:   Carissa M. Harris
Publisher:   Cornell University Press
Imprint:   Cornell University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.70cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9781501730405

ISBN 10:   1501730401
Pages:   306
Publication Date:   15 December 2018
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

"Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction: The Pedagogy of Obscenity 1. ""Felawe Masculinity"": Teaching Rape Culture in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales 2. ""With a cunt"": Obscene Misogyny and Masculine Pedagogical Community inthe Middle Scots Flyting 3. Pastourelle Encounters: Rape, Consent, and Sexual Negotiation 4. Pedagogies of Pleasure: Peer Educationin Medieval Women's Songs 5. Songs of Wantonness: Voicing Desirein Two Lyric Anthologies Conclusion: ""Grab 'em by the pussy"": Obscene Pedagogies, Past and Present Appendix to Chapter 4: Songs of Lusty Maidens Appendix to Chapter 5: Songs of Wantonness Bibliography Index"

Reviews

Harris is especially powerful when she explores the differing ways in which men and women use obscenity: men create fellowship by demeaning women, both verbally and physically; women use obscene response to protect themselves from male assault. The book couldn't be more current, and I couldn't stop reading. -- David Raybin, Editor, <I>The Chaucer Review</I> Obscene Pedagogies is feminist scholarship at its best. Carissa Harris's deft delineation of misogynist lessons to the medieval reader is complemented by modern resonances in rugby culture, hip-hop, the harassment of women of color, and the chastity movement. The on-going objectification of women is emphasized by Harris's own chilling experiences, and epitomized by a pussy-grabbing president. -- Dyan Elliott, Northwestern University Obscene Pedagogies is an invigorating and dynamic study of how obscenity facilitates same-sex education in premodern English literatures. Harris intelligently details how these literatures are in dialogue with one another, attesting to a nuanced and complex conversation regarding sexual contact, erotic intersubjectivity, and the limits of desire. -- Holly Crocker, Professor of English Literature, University of South Carolina, and author of <I>Chaucer's Visions of Manhood</I>

Author Information

Carissa M. Harris is Associate Professor of English at Temple University.

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