Reflection

reFlectionS on the liFe oF a Scholar looking For the Woman’S part in renaiSSance englanD1
Carole Levin

I

have come to realize that biography is at the heart of much of the research and the teaching that I do. My own biography has been shaped by what I have chosen to study and no doubt my own values and interests have shaped the work that I do. Here I examine some differences between traditional biography and newer ways of investigating lives, particularly in early modern England. I also want to explore as well the differences in biographies of men and of women of this period. This essay began as part of a session organized by Marla Segol on theory and medieval feminist studies at the Medieval Congress held at Western Michigan University in May 006. I was delighted that Marla asked me to be part of the session as Marla has been part of my life both as a scholar and a teacher for many years. I first met Marla almost twenty years ago when she was an undergraduate at SUNY-New Paltz and I was teaching there. Marla was one of those students who make teaching a joy. Since receiving her BA at New Paltz, Marla has completed her PhD, taught for a number of years, and is now a professor at Skidmore in medieval religious studies particularly focusing on Judaism and conversion. We have been colleagues who have shared work with each other for a number of years. I mention this connection not only because of my great pride in Marla, but also because it is part of a shared biography and I want to discuss ideas about biographical work from a cultural feminist perspective, including my own work on Elizabeth I. I believe that we feminist scholars of the medieval and early modern periods have clear connections between our own biographies and what we produce as scholars. As Susan Wiseman puts it, “In trying to listen to the past we cannot help but hear ourselves.” I have been interested in Elizabeth I since I was about ten years old when I first read a “kid” biography at the... [continues]

Read full essay