Class
Article
College
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department
History Department
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
This presentation, based on archival research conducted under the auspices of an URCO grant through the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, will analyze the ways in which aging may have contributed to the decline of a powerful aristocratic woman's social influence in early modern England. Using Lady Elizabeth Cooke Hoby Russell as a case study, this project questions how Elizabeth's family and marital status enabled her to overcome the limitations of her gender by giving her an unparalleled education and invaluable social connections. It explores her family connections in the context of Elizabethan government and the empowering status of widowhood with small children. Lady Elizabeth Cooke Hoby Russell was a well-known Protestant, social activist, and scholar in the late 16th century. Her father was Anthony Cooke, who was recognized in his own day and in ours as a pioneer of female education. The high education level of Elizabeth and her sisters made them attractive marriage partners for powerful men. Elizabeth was married and widowed twice, first to Thomas Hoby, and second to John Russell. Elizabeth is known for her extant translations of religious texts, her famous battle with Shakespeare over the location of the Globe theatre, and her influence on Lord Burghley and his son, Robert Although many events of Elizabeth's life have been well-studied, the last decade of her life has not. This investigation has important implications for the understanding of both the Early Modern era and our own, revealing the ways in which attitudes about age and gender intersected in the past and how modern attitudes have or have not changed. Although the focus of this research and poster presentation is historical, it depends upon the interdisciplinary study of aging and gender, and it will contribute to the growing trend of studying intersectionality in all three disciplines.
Location
Room 208
Start Date
4-10-2019 12:00 PM
End Date
4-10-2019 1:15 PM
Included in
The Dowager Countess as a Poor Old Awnte: Lady Elizabeth Russell in "Retirement"
Room 208
This presentation, based on archival research conducted under the auspices of an URCO grant through the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, will analyze the ways in which aging may have contributed to the decline of a powerful aristocratic woman's social influence in early modern England. Using Lady Elizabeth Cooke Hoby Russell as a case study, this project questions how Elizabeth's family and marital status enabled her to overcome the limitations of her gender by giving her an unparalleled education and invaluable social connections. It explores her family connections in the context of Elizabethan government and the empowering status of widowhood with small children. Lady Elizabeth Cooke Hoby Russell was a well-known Protestant, social activist, and scholar in the late 16th century. Her father was Anthony Cooke, who was recognized in his own day and in ours as a pioneer of female education. The high education level of Elizabeth and her sisters made them attractive marriage partners for powerful men. Elizabeth was married and widowed twice, first to Thomas Hoby, and second to John Russell. Elizabeth is known for her extant translations of religious texts, her famous battle with Shakespeare over the location of the Globe theatre, and her influence on Lord Burghley and his son, Robert Although many events of Elizabeth's life have been well-studied, the last decade of her life has not. This investigation has important implications for the understanding of both the Early Modern era and our own, revealing the ways in which attitudes about age and gender intersected in the past and how modern attitudes have or have not changed. Although the focus of this research and poster presentation is historical, it depends upon the interdisciplinary study of aging and gender, and it will contribute to the growing trend of studying intersectionality in all three disciplines.