Early Christian Dress

Gender, Virtue, and Authority

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Church, Church History, Christian Life
Cover of the book Early Christian Dress by Kristi Upson-Saia, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kristi Upson-Saia ISBN: 9781136655401
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: February 16, 2012
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Kristi Upson-Saia
ISBN: 9781136655401
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: February 16, 2012
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Early Christian Dress is the first full-length monograph on the subject of dress in early Christianity. It pays attention to the ways in which dress expressed and shaped Christian identity, the role dress played in Christians’ rivalries with pagan neighbours, and especially to the ways in which notions of gender were culled and revised in the process. Although many scholars have argued that gender in late antiquity was a performed and embodied category, few have paid attention to the ways in which dress and physical appearances were implicated in the understanding of femininity and masculinity. This study addresses that gap, revealing the amount of sartorial work necessary to secure stable gender categories in the worlds of early Imperial pagans and late ancient Christians.

This study analyzes several vigorous discussions and debates that arose over Christian women’s dress. It examines how Christians interpreted their dress—especially the dress of female ascetics—as evidence of Christianity’s advanced morality and piety, a morality and piety that was coded "masculine." Yet even Christian leaders who championed ascetic women’s ability to achieve a degree of virility in terms of their virtue and spiritual status were troubled when ascetics’ dress threatened to materially dissolve gender categories, difference, and hierarchies. In the end, the study enables us to gain a broader view of how gender was constructed, perceived, and contested in early Christianity.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Early Christian Dress is the first full-length monograph on the subject of dress in early Christianity. It pays attention to the ways in which dress expressed and shaped Christian identity, the role dress played in Christians’ rivalries with pagan neighbours, and especially to the ways in which notions of gender were culled and revised in the process. Although many scholars have argued that gender in late antiquity was a performed and embodied category, few have paid attention to the ways in which dress and physical appearances were implicated in the understanding of femininity and masculinity. This study addresses that gap, revealing the amount of sartorial work necessary to secure stable gender categories in the worlds of early Imperial pagans and late ancient Christians.

This study analyzes several vigorous discussions and debates that arose over Christian women’s dress. It examines how Christians interpreted their dress—especially the dress of female ascetics—as evidence of Christianity’s advanced morality and piety, a morality and piety that was coded "masculine." Yet even Christian leaders who championed ascetic women’s ability to achieve a degree of virility in terms of their virtue and spiritual status were troubled when ascetics’ dress threatened to materially dissolve gender categories, difference, and hierarchies. In the end, the study enables us to gain a broader view of how gender was constructed, perceived, and contested in early Christianity.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book The Business of Farm Animal Welfare by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book Russian Political War by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book Ethnicity and Education in England and Europe by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book Foresight for Dynamic Organisations in Unstable Environments by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book Talent Management in the Developing World by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book Adolescent Psychiatry, V. 22 by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book Dangerous Neighborhood by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book Foresight in Action by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book Re-Thinking the Political Economy of Punishment by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book The New Narcissus in the Age of Reality Television by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book Transformational Leadership and Not for Profits and Social Enterprises by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book Fifty Contemporary Choreographers by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book International Organisations and the Politics of Migration by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book The Oil Economy of Kuwait by Kristi Upson-Saia
Cover of the book Adaptations by Kristi Upson-Saia
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy