Pregnancy and Childbirth in the Premodern World: European and Middle Eastern Cultures, from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance
SMC Affiliated Work
1
Status
Faculty
School
School of Liberal Arts
Department
Art and Art History
Document Type
Book
Publication Date
2019
Publication / Conference / Sponsorship
Brepols
Description/Abstract
This volume of contributions from international scholars offers a cross-cultural and multi-period analysis of pregnancy and childbirth traditions in Western and Middle Eastern cultures. The studies focus on the ideas, practices, and visual representations surrounding pregnancy and birth-giving from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance and offer the reader the possibility of observing the perception, representation, and theoretic paradigm of these events in a wide range of cultural contexts. The collection fits within multiple traditions of specialized scholarship, yet its scope suggests a geographically global approach and a new, multicultural methodology that encompasses a wide range of practices, historical periods, and topics. On one hand, it participates in the well-established medical, historical, and iconographic discourse on childbirth and family that has enticed much interest over the last two decades; on the other, its unique thematic structure includes cultures and periods previously ignored in similar collections of essays. The articles span from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and India, and connect the experience of childbirth to the exchanges of knowledge, religious beliefs, and social practices. With its variety of topics and specializations, the volume encourages a global comparative approach to the cultural narrative surrounding the activities and attitudes connected to conception and birth, paying particular attention to material culture, religion, history, and iconography, as well as to the exchange and dispersion of medical knowledge.
Scholarly
yes
DOI
10.1484/M.CURSOR-EB.5.115606
ISBN
978250358055-5
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities
Original Citation
Dopfel, Costanza G., et al., editors. Pregnancy and Childbirth in the Premodern World: European and Middle Eastern Cultures, from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance (Cursor Mundi Series), Brepols, 2019.
Repository Citation
Dopfel, Costanza Gislon; Foscati, Alessandra; and Burnett, Charles. Pregnancy and Childbirth in the Premodern World: European and Middle Eastern Cultures, from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance (2019). Brepols. 10.1484/M.CURSOR-EB.5.115606 [book]. https://digitalcommons.stmarys-ca.edu/school-liberal-arts-faculty-works/3134
