Dr. Ash Geissinger’s talk, “Ordering the Empire, Gendering Bodies: On Queer Rereadings of Hadiths” on October 25th!

Gender Performance in Islamicate Contexts Speakers Series

Ordering the Empire, Gendering Bodies: On Queer Rereadings of Hadiths
Talk by Dr. Ash Geissinger

This is the link for the Zoom Meeting Registration for Ordering the Empire, Gendering Bodies: On Queer Rereadings of Hadiths.

Adopting an ancient metaphor, a widely circulated hadith compares the community of Muslims to one body. Among the many fascinating yet under-researched aspects of classical hadith collections are the ways these construct an idealized social body as well as individual bodies of a wide assortment of believers. Some traditions portray moments of nonnormative gendered embodiment or behaviour, and a small number depict gender minorities—or have been thought by some to do so. The textual functions of several such hadiths will be examined, and their roles in constructions of gender categories, inter- and intracommunal boundaries, religious authority, as well as imperial, congregational and household order, as well as religious authority. A key issue which will be addressed is the discursive role of ambiguity in interpretive history of some such traditions.