Female Embodiment and the Ascetic Impulse: In Search of a Theology of the Female Body - Couverture souple

Staunton, Alyson

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1803748966 ISBN 13 : 9781803748962

Editeur : Peterlang, 2026

Synopsis

Across centuries, the female body has been shaped by theological and cultural narratives that cast it as both divine creation and site of moral and social anxiety. This book offers a critical re-reading of those traditions, arguing that an enduring ‘ascetic impulse’ has profoundly structured how female embodiment is understood and experienced―from the early Church to contemporary forms of self-discipline.

Drawing on sources from the patristic period to feminist and queer theologies, it traces a theological genealogy of the female body that challenges inherited binaries of purity and sexuality, agency and submission.

Bringing historical and theological texts into conversation with phenomenology and current debates on gender identity and medicalisation, the study reconsiders how the female body has been interpreted, disciplined, and sacralised within Christian thought―and what possibilities this opens for rethinking embodiment in contemporary ethical and cultural debates.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Alyson Staunton holds a PhD in Theology from Dublin City University and has taught at DCU, Trinity College Dublin, and Villanova University. Her research focuses on gender, embodiment, and asceticism.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Peterlang
• Date d'édition: 2026
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1803748966
• ISBN 13: 9781803748962
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 344
• Coordonnées du fabricant: GPSR Kontakt; r.boehm-korff@peterlang.com; ; Gontardstraße 11; Berlin; 10178; Allemagne