Colby Gordon, "Glorious Bodies: Trans Theology and Renaissance Literature" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

Colby Gordon, "Glorious Bodies: Trans Theology and Renaissance Literature" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

Author: New Books Network March 18, 2025 Duration: 54:07
Glorious Bodies: Trans Theology and Renaissance Literature (U Chicago Press, 2024) offers a prehistory of transness that recovers early modern theological resources for trans lifeworlds.  In this striking contribution to trans history, Colby Gordon challenges the prevailing assumption that trans life is a byproduct of recent medical innovation by locating a cultural imaginary of transition in the religious writing of the English Renaissance. Marking a major intervention in early modern gender studies, Glorious Bodies insists that transition happened, both socially and surgically, hundreds of years before the nineteenth-century advent of sexology.  Pairing literary texts by Shakespeare, Webster, Donne, and Milton with a broad range of primary sources, Gordon examines the religious tropes available to early modern subjects for imagining how gender could change. From George Herbert’s invaginated Jesus and Milton’s gestational Adam to the ungendered “glorious body” of the resurrection, early modern theology offers a rich conceptual reservoir of trans imagery. In uncovering early modern trans theology, Glorious Bodies mounts a critique of the broad consensus that secularism is a necessary precondition for trans life, while also combating contemporary transphobia and the right-wing Christian culture war seeking to criminalize transition. Developing a rehabilitative acco unt of theology’s value for positing trans lifeworlds, this book leverages premodern religion to imagine a postsecular transness in the present. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/lgbtq-studies

Dive into the vibrant and evolving world of queer scholarship with New Books in LGBTQ+ Studies. This podcast, part of the broader New Books Network, functions as a unique academic audio library, bringing rigorous yet accessible conversations directly to your ears. Each episode features an in-depth dialogue where authors discuss their latest publications with a knowledgeable host, unpacking the ideas, research, and personal journeys behind their work. You’ll encounter a rich spectrum of topics that span the categories of arts, culture, society, health, and sexuality, reflecting the interdisciplinary heart of LGBTQ+ studies. Rather than dry lectures, these are lively explorations that connect academic research to lived experience and contemporary issues. The format allows for nuanced discussion you simply can’t get from a book jacket or review, offering listeners a front-row seat to the cutting edge of queer thought. It’s an invitation to engage with the scholars who are shaping our understanding of identity, community, history, and politics. For anyone curious about the depth and breadth of queer scholarship-from seasoned academics to dedicated allies and lifelong learners-this channel provides a consistently enlightening resource. Tune in to hear the voices defining the field, one compelling book at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

New Books in LGBTQ+ Studies
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