Gender and Material Culture: The Archaeology of Religious Women

 Gender and Material Culture is the first complete study in the archaeology of gender, exploring the differences between the religious life of men and women. Gender in medieval monasticism influenced landscape contexts and strategies of economic management, the form and development of buildings and their symbolic and iconographic content. Women's religious experience was often poorly documented, but their archaeology indicates a shared tradition which was closely linked with, and valued by local communities. The distinctive patterns observed suggest that gender is essential to archaeological analysis.

Review: ..."Roberta Gilchrist has introduced a new dimension into this area of study, and ably demonstrated how an analysis of material culture can inform our knowledge of the gendered identities of both female and male religious....The strength of this work lies in both its interrogation of material evidence and its critical application of current theoretical perspectives in the archaeology of gender. Unlike many recent writings on gender, it does not merely focus on the female experience, but addresses the differences, and similarities, in the construction of the experience of both female and male religious....in her imaginative use and analysis of archaeological evidence Gilchrist has made a major contribution to both monastic studies and the archaeology of gender...there is a discourse between theory and practice."

-"Gender and History Journal

"This book is a well-structured inquiry into medieval women's monasticism with an emphasis on the relationship between gender and space...this is an intriguing and truly interesting book...fills a gap in medieval archaeology."

-"Antiquity

"An impressive synthesis of evidence and interpretation, and convincingly conveys Gilchrist's view that 'medieval female religious experience was "different from that of men, not less successful'."

-"Times Higher Education Supplement

"Gilchrist demonstrates convincingly that gender analysis of material culture can offer a very stimulating and illuminating interpretation of the past... Her multidisciplinary approach and clear theoretical background inspire new paths for research and interpretations of both old and new archaeological and historical data."

-"Archaeology Ireland

"She[Gilchrist] has used a balanced approach to gender studies, neither overemphasizing nor neglecting archaeological evidence... For people interested in works with a feminist agenda, this book is excellent. Throughout the book, the author seeks alternatives to standard male oriented interpretations of evidence."

-"Biblical Archaeologist