Annotated bibliography(15%)
Annotated Bibliography of items concerned with your paper topic: 5 articles. To be posed on the Message Board and turned in in hard copy to AJVS

Due Date: May 13

Samples:

1. "The Patriarchal Stamp of Scripture: The Implications of Structuralist Analyses for Feminist Hermeneutics" Pamela J. Milne Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion Vol. 5, No. 1 (1989) pp. 17-34
Milne speaks about three ways in which female exegetes liberate themselves from patriarchal biased scripture. First is to emphasize the positive texts about women, second is to look at the bible as a critique of oppression, including patriarchy, and third is to look at the text and learn about the lives of women as they live within a patriarchal society. Some believe that it is possible to stay within the biblical tradition and reinterpret masculine glosses whereas others believe the bible cannot be remade into a "spiritual source for women" (18). Milne focuses her analysis on Genesis 2-3, looking at the viability of reformist feminist arguments on the bible. She explains the structuralist perspective taken on Genesis and the binaries which result in the exclusion of female as neither an animal or human but a separate undefined category. However, binary oppositions are a fabrication of the perceiver and in that way are not a given but imposed upon a text by both a reader and writer. Milne ultimately argues that the bible cannot be reread as feminist because at its structure, it is supported by a patriarchal mindset. Milne concludes, "If we want an authoritative sacred scripture that does not make it possible to believe that women are secondary and inferior humans, it appears that we need to make new wine to fill our new wineskins" (38).

2. Baudot, Laura. "What Not to Avoid in Swift's 'The Lady's Dressing Room'". SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 49.3 (Summer 2009): 637-666. Print.
Laura Baudot argues that the absence of the woman in "The Lady's Dressing Room" creates a void, referring to Celia's absence in the poem, which allows for an analysis based on philosophical materialism and aesthetic "enthusiasm" instead of satire. Baudot suggests that the poem exposes "Swift's self-reflexive inquiry into the nature of poetic creation," the classical muse (638). The void allows for the scene in the dressing room to occur and for the unveiling of the chamber pot, which supports idea that everything is composed of either matter or void. Baudot claims Swift uses the idea matter and void "to reveal the true mortality of the seeming goddess," humbling women and resituating them in their humanity to dethrone them from their position as the divine muse (641). For Swift, the poetic muse is inconsequential and nonexistent; she is "purely a material phenomenon… [and] a mental and optical illusion" (655-656) because she is invoked by desperate poets in search of inspiration.
The contradiction between philosophical material and aesthetic enthusiasm that Baudot proposes to warrant an interpretation of Swift beyond his satirical elements is not adequately explained. Baudot attempts to use the contradiction to extend her argument to other aspects, such as religion, science, and the muse, results in a deviation from her strongest assertion, which is the importance and function of void in the poem.

3. Carolyn Osiek, R.S.C.J., "The Ministry and Ordination of Women
According to the Early Church Fathers," Women and Priesthood: Future Directions, pp. 59-68. Web. 29 April 2012. <http://www.womenpriests.org/classic/osiek2.asp>

Carolyn Osiek suggests in "The Ministry and Ordination of Women According to the Early Church Fathers" that women were ordained in some times and places and that this ordination was respected within the limits of its function in each particular community. A church observing the statutes of the Apostolic Constitutions may have had women serving as deaconesses, while down the street in the same city the local Marcionite church may have had women composing half its assembly of presbyters. Any ordination to the ministry is ordination to a specific role of service that varies according to time and place. It was no different with the ministry of women.
What was—hopefully—different then than now is the attitude of men toward women in the Christian community. Tertullian could call women "the devil's gateway";(31) Origen could declare shameful whatever a woman said in the assembly, "even if it be marvelous and holy, it still comes from the mouth of a woman;"(32) Epiphanius could say that "the female sex is easily mistaken, fallible, and poor in intelligence."(33) Much of the pastoral practice of the early Church incorporated and reflected similar views.
It has often been pointed out that the blatantly misogynist statements of the Church Fathers are sometimes balanced by other more appreciative reflections about women.(34) Be that as it may, belief in the natural inferiority of women was an assumption that went largely unquestioned in antiquity and lies behind most of the repressive restrictions against women in early Christianity. The Vatican Declaration's assertion that "the undeniable influence of prejudices unfavorable to women" found in the writings of the Church Fathers "had hardly any influence on their pastoral activity, and still less on their spiritual direction" (35) is at best naive.
It is, however, useless to blame past generations for what to us appears as short-sightedness because it was based on limited awareness. We can only blame ourselves and our own generation if we do not change and act on our own expanded awareness just as faithfully as past generations did on theirs.
Future directions for women in ministry cannot be founded solely on past practice for several reasons: the evidence is too disparate, the social role of women in general was entirely different then than it is now, and most importantly, because Tradition cannot be interpreted in this manner. To understand Tradition as that which dictates limits for present and future Christian life is to make of it our plaything and our instrument to try to control the Spirit. Rather, Tradition is that solid base upon which the living experience of Christians builds.(36) The way in which Tradition becomes normative and yet develops and unfolds new ways of understanding is precisely what is at issue in this book, and is expanded in other chapters.(37)
Believers of every age are called upon to adapt fundamental Christian insights to their own new situations. This is what the apostolic generation, as well as every generation since then, has had to do. Christian history and tradition can show how those before us have dealt with diversity and change by creating and adapting structure and practices according to the circumstances in which they found themselves while yet remaining loyal to the faith given them in Jesus Christ. We are not observers of that history. We are part of it.

4. Clark, Elizabeth A. "Dissuading from Marriage: JEROME AND THE ASCETICIZATION OF SATIRE". Satiric Advice on Women and Marriage: From Plautus to Chaucer. Ed. Warren S. Smith. US: The University of Michigan Press, 2005. 154-181. Print.
Elizabeth A. Clark argues that Jerome borrows from earlier writers of satires as a way to reinforce his own purposes of dissuading woman from marriage. Jerome is undoubtedly linked to the Latin tradition of satire but also draws from Romans. He attacks his predecessors by insulting their literary skills; he adopts their ideas but criticizes their styles. Clark feels that he skillfully uses others' material for his own purposes, "recast[ing] earlier Christian writing to raise the stakes for ascetic renunciation" (159). Unlike his predecessors, Jerome targets women—not men—and attempts to dissuade them from marriage. Jerome does not attack marriage itself but stresses on the failings of marriage to discourage women. For Jerome, marriage is not the same as virginity and that a woman should strive for virginity over marriage because it is the true expression of asceticism—he takes on an extreme view towards Christianity by placing great emphasis on virginity.
Jerome makes much use of Tertullian's arguments but develops them further for his own ascetic purposes. "[N]ow, it is not 'monogamy' that is encouraged but lifelong sexual abstinence" (168). Both Tertullian and Jerome draw upon Saint Paul but Jerome pushes the context of Paul further in a "rigorously ascetic…direction" (168). Jerome's extreme interpretations, such as a complete denial of sexual intercourse, lead to a more negative view on marriage. He takes on all works and is sure to highlight any and all "ascetic resonances" in order to support his own view on marriage (171).
Clark introduces her argument as a reading of Jerome as a misogamist but fails to properly illustrate this. Instead, her piece is most useful in terms of reading Jerome in context to other writers of misogamist satire, especially Tertullian.

5. "Contested Authority: Jerome and the Wife of Bath on 1 Timothy 2" Theresa Tinkle The Chaucer Review, Vol. (44), No. 3 (2010), pp 268-293. Penn State University Press.
Tinkle argues that Jerome in Against Jovinian and Chaucer in the Wife of Bath's Prologue both comment on their own cultures' versions of the struggle of an "unruly woman". "Their respective acts of reception reveal the shifting imperatives of medieval exegesis, and the continuing adaptation of Scripture to new cultural contexts." Jerome in his interpretation of the bible is simply looking to justify asceticism, using scripture to fit his narrow social agenda. He contradicts himself in his ascetic fervor and has no sense of moderation in his argument when it comes to sexual impulses. The Wife of Bath on the other hand comes from a time in history of unresolved controversy of laity and women in conjunction with scripture. "Chaucer puts a lay woman in the discursive place of the Church Father, privileging "carnal" hermeneutics and elaborating a gendered scriptural argument." While the Wife of Bath accepts Jerome's argument from Against Jovinian, she differs in her interpretation of 1 Timothy 2. While Jerome focuses on the interpretation of the word chastity, the Wife of Bath focuses on the skepticism of a masculine text, bringing in doubt and imitation of the masculine exegetes with her words. Tinkle argues that Chaucer "desanctifies" the arguments of the Church Fathers by exposing their masculine self-interest in using the scripture as a weapon against women and wives.

6. Hansen, Elaine Tuttle. "The Wife of Bath and the Mark of Adam." Women's Studies 15.4 (1988): 399-416. Rpt. in Poetry Criticism. Vol. 58. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Web. 15 May 2012. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE %7CH1420059248&v=2.1&u=ucirvine&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w>

Hansen begins her article by expressing the Wife of Bath as a "figure to be reckoned with by anyone interested in the history, both factual and literary, of women" and that while not an early piece of antifeminist literature, it provides a look at the voices of fourteenth century women (Hansen). She then remarks that the Wife of Bath was a woman born in a time where women were not allowed to voice crude or dissenting opinions, therefore making the Wife's Prologue seem impossible to be true. While she is triumphant in her public disapproval of men, it is noted that the true author of this tale is a man, Chaucer. Even this tirade against men is in the control of a man.

In Part II of the article Hansen notes the Wife of Bath as "a feminine monstrosity who is the product of the patriarchal authority she ineffectively and only superficially rebels against" (Hansen). Chaucer has willingly written against men and against authority, choosing to stand with his character and use her voice as a mouthpiece for feminism. The Wife of Bath's real tool is her way with words, her ability to manipulate language and rhetoric, which is Chaucer's way of giving her validity. Female silence is not adhered to in this Tale, yet Hansen cannot ignore that this poem is written by and written about men (Hansen).

7. "What the Man of Law Can't Say: The Buried Legal Argument of the Wife of Bath's 'Prologue' " Susanne Sara Thomas The Chaucer Review Vol. 31, No. 3 (1997) pp. 256-271
Thomas argues that the Wife of Bath's argument is closer to a legal argument than that of a preacher at the pulpit; she is not delivering a sermon but a mock legal case. The Wife of Bath according to Thomas is the most rhetorical of all the storytellers thus distancing herself from a philosophical argument. Thomas makes the point that in being rhetorical, the Wife of Bath takes on what Plato would categorize a "morally indifferent" argument which is purely self-interested, interested not in truth but in power. So too the rhetorical argument is associated with oral tradition as are lawyers as opposed to written tradition. The Wife of Bath too combines the scripture with the "custom of marriage" or her own personal experience to make her points. Thomas ultimately claims that the Wife of Bath exposes the rhetorical techniques of law men with her one sided, manipulative arguments she uses against scripture and against her own husbands. Thomas suggests her burning of Jankyn's book is representative of the weakened authority of documents in the fourteenth century. "The document is not the actual agreement, and can only be offered in court as evidence of an agreement. Once n the courtroom, as we see in the Wife of Bath's performance, rhetoric seizes a manipulative power over the documentary evidence." The Wife of Bath in her arguments ultimately reinforces rule by law which is a written or oral negotiation as opposed to oath and sovereignty.

8. Young, Allison J. "In Likeness And Unity: Debunking The Creation Order Fallacy." Priscilla Papers (2009): 12-15. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 May 2012.
In this very interesting article called "In Likeness and Unity: Debunking the Creation Order Fallacy," the author Allison Young discusses the topic of "order of creation" in the book of Genesis in the Bible; the idea that Adam was created before Eve because of hierarchical reasons, giving males authority over females, and that he must have had a special reason for being created first, a purpose that Eve did not share. She first examines the creation story from two different perspectives: from the egalitarian view that argues Eve and Adam were created in equality, and from the hierarchical view that argues Adam has authority over Eve. Then, she argues that Genesis 1 actually gives no timeframe for the creation of Adam and Eve, claiming that "Both were created equal in value in the image of God, and both were given the same task of caring for the earth…Genesis 1 gives no indication that man and woman were created any different, other than one being 'male' and the other 'female'" and points out that "In Genesis 1, man and woman are created at the same time, and no temporal ordering appears" (12). Then she goes on to examine the second creation story in Genesis 2, where God makes woman out of man's rib, an evidence of "the order of creation." But instead of looking at this from the hierarchical perspective, Young argues that God created Eve because she was necessary, and because it wasn't good that Adam was alone. She also supports her argument by arguing that creating another from one's flesh is giving them unity, not hierarchy. This article in which Alison Young defends gender equality in the creation story of Genesis is helpful in looking at the creation story from different perspectives, even if they are opposed from each other.

9. Laennec, Christine M. "Unladylike Polemics: Christine De Pizan's Strategies of Attack and Defense." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, 12.1 (1993): 47-59. JSTOR. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/463756>.
In this article, Laennec examines the reasons why Christine de Pizan argued with the misogynist powers that be, and how she combatted their criticisms. One of her main tactics is "[claiming] to be an innocent bystander caught up in the fray" (47). What she really does is use this tactic to set up a system through with she asserts her authority by highlighting the oppressive nature of the men that criticize her. Laennec also argues that this tactic is not unique to Pizan's writing's, and that several medieval women writers used similar means to establish their authority.
Laennec examines the City of Ladies to show how Christine strategizes and defends herself and other women writers. She portrays women as weak and defenseless to assert womens' "right to be defended" as well as to highlight "their inherent goodness" (49). This connects to several other works that she has written, which shows that there is an overall strategy to Christine de Pizan's works.

10. Grundy, Isobel. ""Trash, Trumpery, and Idle Time": Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Fiction." Eighteenth
Century Fiction 5.4 (1993): 1-16. Web. 16 May 2012.
<http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/ecf/vol5/iss4/2/>.
Isobel Grundy argues in her article about Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's fiction that there are no gender issues in her letters and other forms of writings because she takes on both perspectives. Because of her "rich diversity" in all forms and in her actual life, Lady Mary has the ability to tell stories from both a male and female perspective (1). Grundy is quoted saying, "…But her work- poems, letters, essays, plays, stories- shimmers with the play of a critical mind: social critique, gender critique, political and medical and literary critique" even without the form of novella writing that some of her other eighteenth century writing counterparts have mastered besides.
Isobel Grundy applauds Lady Mary for challenging her own gender ideology with her "highly individualistic, idiosyncratic mind" (2). While Grundy mainly talks of Lady Mary's young novel achievements that represent love from the eyes of both genders, he also talks about how Mary doesn't think total gender equality is possible since her leading lady and leading man deal with love in very different ways: the lady is refined, the gentlemen a scoundrel. The only thing that is equal between the two is that "both these works foreground the pursuit of power, to which they subordinate the pursuit of love" (6).
"These choices reflect a double Lady Mary: scholarly and escapist, perhaps masculine and feminine. It was the escapist, the feminine, which baffled lady Walpole, Hervey, and the overwhelming concensus of recorded commen on early novels" when Grundy talks of Lady Mary's critiques on other literature (7).