Nora Peterson, associate professor of French in and chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, will give the talk "#MeToo in the Renaissance" on November 9 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Union Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public and will be livestreamed via Zoom. Register at go.unl.edu/casinqnov.
Her talk, the third in the CAS Inquire series "Pain and Pleasure," will connect the roots of the #MeToo movement to French Renaissance images and texts.
Many of the narratives surrounding sexual assault, including victim-blaming, erasing the victim's voice, and the reinforcement of the "heroic" rape narrative, have been present in Western cultural histories for centuries. And yet, as the examples in this presentation will show, 21st-century readers can also gain hope from what it means to read stories of assault from the Renaissance.
Peterson is also part of the medieval and renaissance studies and women's and gender studies programs in the College of Arts and Sciences. She previously received a Distinguished Teacher award from the University Honors program and a Distinguished Teaching award from the college.
