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Daphne and her Sisters: framing gendered violence in Early Modern literature and art

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10 June 2026 - 11 June 2026

9:00AM - 5:00PM

Day 1: Waterside Building, Riverside Place, Durham, DH1 1SL. Day 2: LRC, St. Johns College, S. Bailey, Durham, DH1 3RJ.

  • Free

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This conference is funded by the British Academy Conferences programme, with generous support from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Wellcome.

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Picture by Ita Mac Carthy of Carlo Cignani 'Apollo and Daphne’ (c. 1680) at the Palazzo Ducale del Giardino, Parma.

 

About the conference

‘Daphne and her Sisters’ investigates how gendered violence is represented in 15th- and 16th-century European literature and art. While these works are often critiqued for privileging male voices and perpetuating a male gaze that objectifies women, early modern texts and images continue to captivate global libraries, galleries, and audiences, with scholarly and public debate enhancing their cultural significance.

This conference brings together scholars to explore how these works portray gendered violence, the purposes these portrayals served in their historical contexts, and the implications of studying them today. Speakers examine specific texts and artworks, reflecting on the insights they offer and the ethical considerations they raise, fostering critical discussion about the enduring power and complexity of early modern representations of gender.

 

Conference convenors

  • Ita Mac Carthy, Durham University

Speakers

  • Costanza Barchiesi, Chair
  • Péter Bokody, University of Plymouth
  • Monica Calabritto, Hunter College and CUNY
  • Anna Carocci,Chair
  • Virginia Cox, University of Cambridge
  • Alessio Decaria, Università di Genova
  • Luca Degl’Innocenti, Chair
  • Marco Dorigatti, University of Oxford
  • Dr Alessandro Giammei, Yale University
  • Jessica Goethals, University of Alabama
  • Tom Hamilton, Chair
  • Jennifer Ingleheart, Durham University
  • Stefano Jossa, Chair
  • Annalisa Perrotta, Università della Sapienza
  • Dr Federica Pich, Università di Trento
  • Silvia Raimondi, Loyola University Maryland
  • Eugenio Refini, New York University
  • Claudia Rossignoli, University of St Andrews
  • Corinne Saunders, Chair
  • Selene Scarsi, Kingston University London
  • Marc Schachter, Durham University
  • Elissa B. Weaver, University of Chicago

Pricing

Free