Premodern Sexualities

Premodern Sexualities offers rigourous new approaches to current problems in the historiography of sexuality. From queer readings of early modern medical texts to transcribing and interrogating pre-modern documents of sexual transgression, the contributors bring together current theoretical discourses on sexuality while emphasizing problems in historicist interpretation of early textulaiztions of sexualtity. Premodern Sexualities clarifies the contributions literary studies can make - thorugh its emphasis on reading strategies - to the historiography of sexuality. Editors Louise Fradenburg and Carla Freccero construct a genealogy for the history of sexuality, sexual practices and sexual identities. By expanding the recent abundance of work in the history of sexuality, Fradenburh and Freccero call for a rethinking of the categories of history and sexuality in ways that mutually transform each other in the much- needed encounter between historicism and queer theory.