Awards

• Winner of Winner of the Jerome E. Singerman Prize, granted by the Medieval Academy of America 2023 (United States)

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Reviews

Attending to the full premodern meaning of virtue as well as to recent feminist philosophy, Holly A. Crocker offers an essential new account of ethical life legible in English texts written during the period of transition from late medieval to early modern. The Matter of Virtue is a timely intervention in the history of literary reading that helps us rethink the gendered ecologies of ethics and virtue. -Patricia Clare Ingham, University of Indiana, Bloomington Producing compelling readings of canonical texts and contextualizing the texts among a wealth of theological writings, conduct books, and household management manuals, The Matter of Virtue substantially contributes to feminist scholarship on gender prescriptions, marital relations, and female agency in medieval and early modern literature. Holly A. Crocker convincingly argues that traditional feminine traits such as obedience and endurance should not be diminished or dismissed as passivity but should be regarded as active performances of an embodied ethics of vulnerability. -Mario DiGangi, Lehman College and CUNY Graduate Center

Producing compelling readings of canonical texts and contextualizing the texts among a wealth of theological writings, conduct books, and household management manuals, The Matter of Virtue substantially contributes to feminist scholarship on gender prescriptions, marital relations, and female agency in medieval and early modern literature. Holly A. Crocker convincingly argues that traditional feminine traits such as obedience and endurance should not be diminished or dismissed as passivity but should be regarded as active performances of an embodied ethics of vulnerability. -Mario DiGangi, Lehman College and CUNY Graduate Center The Matter of Virtue is timely and instructive. It is erudite and yet also accessible, suitable for a wide range of readers and interests. It is deeply versed in the history of philosophy and a vast network of critical conversations within medieval and early modern studies, and it treats the scholarly work of others with enormous respect and generosity. Its central theses are bold and thought-provoking. -The Medieval Review Attending to the full premodern meaning of virtue as well as to recent feminist philosophy, Holly A. Crocker offers an essential new account of ethical life legible in English texts written during the period of transition from late medieval to early modern. The Matter of Virtue is a timely intervention in the history of literary reading that helps us rethink the gendered ecologies of ethics and virtue. -Patricia Clare Ingham, University of Indiana, Bloomington

Producing compelling readings of canonical texts and contextualizing the texts among a wealth of theological writings, conduct books, and household management manuals, The Matter of Virtue substantially contributes to feminist scholarship on gender prescriptions, marital relations, and female agency in medieval and early modern literature. Holly A. Crocker convincingly argues that traditional feminine traits such as obedience and endurance should not be diminished or dismissed as passivity but should be regarded as active performances of an embodied ethics of vulnerability. -Mario DiGangi, Lehman College and CUNY Graduate Center Attending to the full premodern meaning of virtue as well as to recent feminist philosophy, Holly A. Crocker offers an essential new account of ethical life legible in English texts written during the period of transition from late medieval to early modern. The Matter of Virtue is a timely intervention in the history of literary reading that helps us rethink the gendered ecologies of ethics and virtue. -Patricia Clare Ingham, University of Indiana, Bloomington

Author Information

Holly A. Crocker is Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of South Carolina and author of Chaucer's Visions of Manhood.

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