Love, Sex, and Gender in the Middle Ages w/ Melanie Holcomb & Nancy Thebaut

About this episode

The episode explores love, sex, and gender in the Middle Ages with co-curators Melanie Holcomb and Nancy Thebaut.

You might not think about love, sex, and gender when you think about the Middle Ages, but you might be surprised! We are joined by the co-curators of the Spectrum of Desire exhibition at The Met Cloisters to talk about topics like queering the past, gender identity, and what art can tell us about those things during the Medieval period.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of sex, misogyny, genitalia, adultery, transphobia, and sexual assault.  Guests Melanie Holcomb and Nancy Thebaut are the co-curators of the Spectrum of Desire: Love, Sex, and Gender in the Middle Ages exhibition at The Met Cloisters.  Nancy Thebaut is Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Oxford & tutorial fellow at St Catherine’s College. Her research interests range widely, from Carolingian & Ottonian liturgical manuscripts to the study of gender & sexuality across media.  Melanie Holcomb is a curator in the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she has organized or co-organized numerous exhibitions including Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages (2009), Jerusalem…

People in this episode

Hosts: Julia Schifini, Amanda McLoughlin

Guests: Melanie Holcomb, Nancy Thebaut

Topics covered

• love
• sex
• gender
• Middle Ages
• queering the past
• gender identity
• art

Keywords

• Spectrum of Desire
• The Met Cloisters
• art history
• misogyny
• transphobia
• sexual assault

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Spirits, Spectrum of Desire exhibition

Books & works: Spectrum of Desire, the Spectrum of Desire: Love, Sex, and Gender in the Middle Ages, Pen and Parchment, Every People Under Heaven, Danger Storm

Places: Jerusalem, Minneapolis

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