Splitting Hairs: The Creation and Dissolution of Boundaries in Thirteenth-Century French Literature

The dissertation "Splitting Hairs: The Creation and Dissolution of Boundaries in Thirteenth-Century French Literature" examined how medieval authors used hair to blur the boundaries between humans and animals, thereby exploring themes of self-definition, religious practices, social identity, and gender roles. By analyzing a range of thirteenth-century texts, the study argued that hair, due to its social significance, was used to encode bestial traits onto humans, challenging notions of identity and societal norms. The work highlighted how these literary manipulations reflected broader socio-cultural questions and demonstrated that seemingly frivolous medieval texts engaged deeply with the religious, political, and social discourses of the time.