Bio-Lit: The Science of Renaissance Sex and Gender

What is a woman? What is a man? Did Renaissance minds consider other options? Could women be intellectuals? Were male bodies necessary for reproduction? What taboos about sex and power were almost too scandalous even for the elites? Much as it does today, talk of sex and gender sparked hot debate throughout Renaissance Europe. Between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, bodies were sites of fascination and dread. This course studies 'Bio-Lit' (literature about life and the body), drawing on examples of epic and lyric poetry, medical treatises, recipe books, experiment logs, cosmetic how-to guides, paintings, and early opera. Offered as part of the FOCUS program.