Profs and Pints DC presents: “Martin Luther and Women,” a look at how the Protestant leader and the Reformation he unleashed altered gender roles, with Amy Leonard, associate professor of history at Georgetown University, scholar of women during the early modern period, and author of Nails in the Wall: Catholic Nuns in Reformation Germany.
The Protestant Reformer Martin Luther once wrote: “A woman is like a nail driven into the wall. The wife should stay home and look after affairs of the household. She does not go beyond her personal duties.” Based on such a belief, he sought to change many aspects of society that had a direct impact on women and gender, sometimes in ways that continue to be felt today.
Learn in depth about Luther's personal relationship with and views of women, as well as about the consequences of his reformation for women, gender, and sexuality, with Professor Amy Leonard, a favorite of Profs and Pints fans.
Dr. Leonard previously has given electrifying Profs and Pints talks on Mary, Queen of Scots, the wives of Henry VIII, women and sexuality in premodern Europe, and women and the French Revolution. Her discussion of Martin Luther promises to engage and fascinate her audience and leave it with a much more sophisticated understanding of how a religious movement can shape our lives.
She’ll discuss how Luther’s teachings were part of a theology of gender that transformed sexual categories and redefined cultural norms. He promoted marriage—attacking any type of sex or sexuality outside of it—and espoused the dictum “be fruitful and multiply.” He demanded that all brothels and convents be closed even while advocating the education of girls as well as boys.
We’ll learn how Luther purged the church of its saints including, most shockingly, the Virgin Mary. He personally helped "liberate" nuns from the convent, meeting his future wife, Katharina von Bora, at one.
You’ll emerge from the talk with a much better understanding of how Luther shaped our world. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: A diptych with portraits of Martin Luther and his wife Katharina von Bora painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1529.