Queer Creatures: The Intersection between Queerness and Early Modern Magic in the Works of Shakespeare and Beyond

酷儿生物：莎士比亚及其他作品中酷儿与早期现代魔法的交集

• 批准号: 2726605
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Birmingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2726605
• 关键词: Queer; Creatures; Intersection; between; Queerness

Magic references using 'ritual activities' to 'manipulate the natural world', while queerness is that deemed 'strange, odd, peculiar' (OED). Both are considered a departure from nature. Queer theory explores anti-normativity, and while it does encompass deviance from heteronormativity, it also encompasses '"otherness" beyond the gender divide' (Morland and Willox, 2005). Queerness 'can never define an identity; it can only ever disturb one' (Edelman, 2004). This 'systematic disturbing of the familiar' (Giffney and Hird, 2008) recalls the belief that magic unsettles the normative, posing a threat to the ordered world. Hence, both magic and queerness are known for transgressing into anti-normative territory.While a number of scholars have discussed intersections between gender and magic in the Renaissance, nothing has been written on intersections between queerness and magic. This is surprising, given that gender is an integral part of queer theory. In Ahmed's Magic and Gender in Early Modern England, for example, there is no mention of queerness or queer theory. When Ahmed writes that witches were perceived as 'not entirely human' and able to 'turn into an animal' (2014), her argument fits seamlessly into queer theory, which pushes 'the boundaries of the possible' (Giffney, 2009) and goes 'beyond the parameters of the human' (Shannon, 2011). Yet she neglects to connect witches' perceivedtransgressions to queerness.My project explores "queer creatures", arguing that those suspected of magic in the Renaissance were inherently queer, and through this, that magic itself is inherently queer. I am doing so by exploring how queerness and magic intersect in plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, as well as in Renaissance culture. Historically, scholars have omitted queerness from the Renaissance, arguably due to living in a queerphobic cultural climate. My research aims to fill in gaps and correct warped heteronormative narratives left by such scholars. I intend to create both a more inclusive space for LGBT+ individuals within early modern studies and to showcase how those accused of magic were discriminated against for their queerness. Thus far in my PhD I have been focusing on The Witch of Edmonton, looking at how Elizabeth Sawyer is accused of witchcraft because of her queerness. For my research I have been using the Shakespeare Institute library, the Birmingham Main Campus library and Early English Books Online.

魔法指的是使用“仪式活动”来“操纵自然世界”，而奇怪则被认为是“奇怪，古怪，奇特”（OED）。两者都被认为是对自然的背离。酷儿理论探讨了反规范性，虽然它确实包含了异规范性的偏离，但它也包含了“超越性别鸿沟的他者性”（Morland和Willox，2005）。酷儿“永远不能定义一个身份;它只能扰乱一个”（Edelman，2004）。这种“熟悉的系统性干扰”（Giffney和Hird，2008）让人想起了魔法扰乱规范，对有序世界构成威胁的信念。因此，魔法和酷儿都以违反规范而闻名。虽然文艺复兴时期有许多学者讨论过性别和魔法之间的交叉点，但没有人写过酷儿和魔法之间的交叉点。考虑到性别是酷儿理论的一个组成部分，这是令人惊讶的。例如，在艾哈迈德的《近代早期英格兰的魔法与性别》一书中，就没有提到酷儿或酷儿理论。当艾哈迈德写道，女巫被认为是“不完全人类”，能够“变成动物”（2014），她的论点无缝地符合酷儿理论，推动“可能的边界”（吉夫尼，2009），并“超越了人类的参数”（香农，2011）。我的项目探讨了“奇怪的生物”，认为那些在文艺复兴时期被怀疑有魔法的人本质上是奇怪的，通过这一点，魔法本身也是天生的奇怪。我这样做是通过探索奇怪和魔法如何在莎士比亚和他同时代的戏剧中相交，以及在文艺复兴时期的文化。从历史上看，学者们忽略了文艺复兴时期的酷儿，可以说是因为生活在一个恐酷儿的文化氛围中。我的研究旨在填补空白，纠正这些学者留下的扭曲的异规范叙述。我打算在早期现代研究中为LGBT+个人创造一个更具包容性的空间，并展示那些被指控为魔法的人是如何因为他们的酷儿而受到歧视的。到目前为止，在我的博士学位我一直专注于埃德蒙顿的女巫，看看伊丽莎白索耶是如何被指控巫术，因为她的同性恋。为了我的研究，我一直在使用莎士比亚学院图书馆，伯明翰主校区图书馆和早期英语书籍在线。