Medieval and Renaissance Studies
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Events
Upcoming Events:
Medieval and Renaissance Studies Annual Symposium
Monday, September 14
7:30 P.M.
Krannert Auditorium
“The Unbearable Jewishness of Being in Medieval Spain”
Presented by David Nirenberg, Deborah R. and Edward D. Jannotta Professor of Medieval History and Social Thought, University of Chicago
“Paradigms of Transition: Jews and the Discourse of Renewal in Anglo-Saxon England”
Presented by Andrew Scheil, Associate Professor of English, University of Minnesota
The IUPUI British and Irish Studies Group Presents:
“The Rules of Kissing in Shakespeare's England”
Tuesday, October 20
7:00 PM
IUPUI Lilly Auditorium
Presented by Dr. Helen Berry
HELEN BERRY is Reader in Early Modern History at Newcastle University, UK, and an Adjunct Associate Professor in British and Irish Studies at IUPUI.
What were the rules of kissing in Shakespeare's time? Did people kiss more freely as a form of greeting than we do today? What were the rules about kisses between lovers, family members, or between friends of the same or opposite sex? In an era of poor dental hygiene, were kisses ever considered sexy? Using a range of evidence from art history to eyewitness accounts, court records and literary texts, historian Helen Berry explores some of the pleasures and pitfalls of puckering up in Elizabethan England, and considers how the history of a gesture can open up new insights into the customs, and mentalities, of past generations.