The workshop will focus on the translation of gender roles and the construction of transcultural gender concepts related to local concepts and practices, in the Christian missionary context in the early modern period. How did the missionaries translate the gender roles, for example the concept of femininity and masculinity, the conception of body, the sexual norms, purity and virginity? How did the missionaries translate the institution and the ritual of marriage in the missions? How did the missionary translate the figure of the Virgin Mary and her veneration?

By focusing on missionary translation, our workshop opens a new perspective on the creative encounter between missionaries and the religious other, including the vast majority of those who rejected conversion. We aim to bring together interdisciplinary perspectives from scholars whose research focuses on all four corners of the globe: Asia, the Americas and the Pacific, Africa, Persia, the Ottoman Empire and Europe.

Please find attached the programme for this workshop organised by Antje Flüchter (antje.fluechter@uni-bielefeld.de) and Giulia Nardini (giulia.nardini@uni-bielefeld.de).