Larisa (Orloff) Vilimonovic
University of Belgrade, History, Faculty Member
- Byzantine Literature, Rhetoric, Byzantine Studies, Feminist Literary Theory and Gender Studies, Women's Studies, Late Antiquity, and 8 moreClassical Reception Studies, Medieval Studies, Tang Dynasty, China studies, Silk Road Studies, Gender Studies, History of Sexuality, and Historical Anthropologyedit
By focusing on the anthropology of disease, the paper suggests some new research avenues within the field of gender in Byzantium. Gynaecological manuals from the second to seventh centuries A.D. serve as the basis for research in which... more
By focusing on the anthropology of disease, the paper suggests some new research avenues within the field of gender in Byzantium. Gynaecological manuals from the second to seventh centuries A.D. serve as the basis for research in which the author attempts to comprehend how philosophy and social mores affected the interpretation of the gendered body – both male and female. In addition, the cultural foundations of certain diseases and the social implications of what was defined as pathology and what as health are emphasized. Medicine was the only scientific discipline in antiquity and the Byzantine period that welcomed women, and as such, it offers a vast array of potential research avenues pertaining to the lived experiences, health, and sexuality of women.
Research Interests:
The paper examines the historical context of ethics of care in early Christian discourse. The historical context of the ethics of care enables us to comprehend the ways in which ethics of care was employed and disseminated as part of... more
The paper examines the historical context of ethics of care in early Christian discourse. The historical context of the ethics of care enables us to comprehend the ways in which ethics of care was employed and disseminated as part of political ideology and public discourse, significantly influencing the social relations of the rapidly changing Roman world between the fourth and seventh centuries. The Byzantine Empire is a prime example of a political entity in which philanthropy was the driving force behind imperial politics and social relations. Emperor Justinian's laws, which proclaimed social justice and protection for those in need, serve as a case study for an ethics of care. Also, the ethics of care is reconfigured within the context of Byzantine theology as a theology of care, in which the primary virtue of a true Christian is his fervent love for the community (agape). The ethics of care is then examined from the perspective of gender and the newly established cult of the Theotokos, which degendered the concept of maternal thinking and maternal care by making it a universal experience and the new moral code for all Christians.
Research Interests:
The paper investigates Ioannes Zonaras' Epitome Historiarum, a Byzantine XII century world chronicle for normative conceptions of gender in Byzantium. The article explores two gender-appropriate women's roles in Byzantine society. It... more
The paper investigates Ioannes Zonaras' Epitome Historiarum, a Byzantine XII century world chronicle for normative conceptions of gender in Byzantium. The article explores two gender-appropriate women's roles in Byzantine society. It focuses on the behaviors, activities, and attributes attached to and prescribed for the widows and mothers to reiterate the patriarchal social structures. Also, this research intends to uncover the interplay between text and language through crucial gender signifiers, which influenced the balance of social and political power in the Medieval Roman Empire.
Research Interests:
This paper aims to analyze the performative aspects of the cult of the Theotokos in the early Nemanjić state. Through an integrative analysis of newly built churches dedicated to Theotokos, with an emphasis on Studenica, ritual texts, and... more
This paper aims to analyze the performative aspects of the cult of the Theotokos in the early Nemanjić state. Through an integrative analysis of newly built churches dedicated to Theotokos, with an emphasis on Studenica, ritual texts, and liturgical typikon, I attempt to contextualize the political and ideological background of the newly formed spatial icons of the Theotokos, the reasons and intentions behind them, and function within the historical context surrounding the founding of the Nemanjić State.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This paper aims to analyze the performative aspects of the cult of the Theotokos in the early Nemanjić state. Through an integrative analysis of newly built churches dedicated to Theotokos, with an emphasis on Studenica, ritual texts, and... more
This paper aims to analyze the performative aspects of the cult of the Theotokos in the early Nemanjić state. Through an integrative analysis of newly built churches dedicated to Theotokos, with an emphasis on Studenica, ritual texts, and liturgical typikon, I attempt to contextualize the political and ideological background of the newly formed spatial icons of the Theotokos, the reasons and intentions behind them, and function within the historical context surrounding the founding of the Nemanjić State.
Research Interests:
This paper deals with the ideas of queer experiences in the Early Christian movement, seen through early Christian epistemologies of gender and patristic thought focused on sex differences. The lives and passions of transgender nuns are... more
This paper deals with the ideas of queer experiences in the Early Christian movement, seen through early Christian epistemologies of gender and patristic thought focused on sex differences. The lives and passions of transgender nuns are used in discussing various aspects of gender fluidity in early Christianity. Theoretically, the paper rests on the idea of the performativity of gender, that is, on the ways gender was constructed and how body modifications enabled renegotiation of gender categories. It also focuses on the social context of queer experiences in the late antique period with regard to Roman social norms.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In the present article I offer a narratological approach to Byzantine historiography and an aim to elucidate the key elements of narrative theory that would be useful for investigating medieval Byzantine histories and their complex... more
In the present article I offer a narratological approach to Byzantine historiography and an aim to elucidate the key elements of narrative theory that would be useful for investigating medieval Byzantine histories and their complex narrative structures. The focus is put on the key narratological aspects – genre, author, text and the audience – as those elements represent the core of literary criticism and contemporary studies of Byzantine literature. Through useful examples from the Alexiad, I intend to show how this theoretical vehicle functions and I hope to open a new field of scholarly communication on the matter of approach towards Byzantine historiography.
Research Interests:
Тежиште истраживања рада представља култ Богородице у средњовековној српској књижевности, са посебним акцентом на мариолошку догматику која је развијана у Византији у периоду од 5. до 8. века. Разумевање култа Богородице у Византији... more
Тежиште истраживања рада представља култ Богородице у средњовековној српској књижевности, са посебним акцентом на мариолошку догматику која је развијана у Византији у периоду од 5. до 8. века. Разумевање култа Богородице у Византији представља кључни сегмент анализе која упућује заправо на оскудност оригиналних књижевних састава српске средњовековне књижевности посвећене Богородици. У том смислу, поред владарских повеља, као текстуалног сведочанства владарске побожности, пажња је усмерена на Молитве Богородици два писца позног средњег века, монаха Јефрема из 14. века и Димитрија Кантакузина из 15. века.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
By focusing on the anthropology of disease, the paper suggests some new research avenues within the field of gender in Byzantium. Gynaecological manuals from the second to seventh centuries A.D. serve as the basis for research in which... more
By focusing on the anthropology of disease, the paper suggests some new research avenues within the field of gender in Byzantium. Gynaecological manuals from the second to seventh centuries A.D. serve as the basis for research in which the author attempts to comprehend how philosophy and social mores affected the interpretation of the gendered body-both male and female. In addition, the cultural foundations of certain diseases and the social implications of what was defined as pathology and what as health are emphasized. Medicine was the only scientific discipline in antiquity and the Byzantine period that welcomed women, and as such, it offers a vast array of potential research avenues pertaining to the lived experiences, health, and sexuality of women.
Research Interests:
In the present article I offer a narratological approach to Byzantine historiography and an aim to elucidate the key elements of narrative theory that would be useful for investigating medieval Byzantine histories and their complex... more
In the present article I offer a narratological approach to Byzantine historiography and an aim to elucidate the key elements of narrative theory that would be useful for investigating medieval Byzantine histories and their complex narrative structures. The focus is put on the key narratological aspects - genre, author, text and the audience - as those elements represent the core of literary criticism and contemporary studies of Byzantine literature. Through useful examples from the Alexiad, I intend to show how this theoretical vehicle functions and I hope to open a new field of scholarly communication on the matter of approach towards Byzantine historiography.
Research Interests:
The Alexiad, written in the twelfth century by a Byzantine princess, Anna Komnene, tells the story of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of her father, offering accounts of its political and military history, including its involvement... more
The Alexiad, written in the twelfth century by a Byzantine princess, Anna Komnene, tells the story of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of her father, offering accounts of its political and military history, including its involvement with the First Crusade. Structure and Features of Anna Komnene’s Alexiad: Emergence of a Personal History introduces new methods of research for studying the Alexiad, aiming primarily at analysing Anna Komnene’s literary expression. The book’s approach focuses mainly on the author, the subject, the structure and the inner stylistic features, as well as the genre itself. The result is a substantially new outlook on the main Byzantine historiographical work of the twelfth century.
Research Interests:
Th is paper deals with Anna Komnene’s ways of conveying important political messages in the Alexiad through observation of the narrative structure and arrangement of the text in some episodes. It off ers another way of reading the... more
Th is paper deals with Anna Komnene’s ways of conveying important political messages in the Alexiad through observation of the narrative structure and arrangement of the text in some episodes. It off ers another way of reading the Alexiad, which could improve our understanding of this crucial historical source of the Byzantine 12th century. With potential new ways of literary and historical analysis of the Alexiad and necessary contextualisation of Anna’s narrative and metanarrative, the signifi cant work of the Komnenian princess emerges as a complex mixture of genres. Anna’s use of epideictic rhetoric presents a starting point for understanding her work. Th rough the analysis of the three important episodes in the Alexiad, we intend to show various forms of Anna’s literary expression which enable us to reveal the hidden meaning of the text, and its historical, and more importantly, its ideological context.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This paper deals with the ideas of queer experiences in the Early Christian movement, seen through early Christian epistemologies of gender and patristic thought focused on sex differences. The lives and passions of transgender nuns are... more
This paper deals with the ideas of queer experiences in the Early Christian movement, seen through early Christian epistemologies of gender and patristic thought focused on sex differences. The lives and passions of transgender nuns are used in discussing various aspects of gender fluidity in early Christianity. Theoretically, the paper rests on the idea of the performativity of gender, that is, on the ways gender was constructed and how body modifications enabled renegotiation of gender categories. It also focuses on the social context of queer experiences in the late antique period with regard to Roman social norms.
Research Interests: Sociology, Gender Studies, Gender History, History of Christianity, Queer Theory, and 12 moreEarly Christianity, Performativity, Byzantine Studies, Late Antiquity, Orthodox Christianity, Women and Gender Studies, Patristics and Late Antiquity, Queer, History of Gender, Passions, Eastern Orthodox Theology, and Antique
The paper investigates Ioannes Zonaras? Epitome Historiarum, a Byzantine XII century world chronicle for normative conceptions of gender in Byzantium. The article explores two gender-appropriate women?s roles in Byzantine society. It... more
The paper investigates Ioannes Zonaras? Epitome Historiarum, a Byzantine XII century world chronicle for normative conceptions of gender in Byzantium. The article explores two gender-appropriate women?s roles in Byzantine society. It focuses on the behaviors, activities, and attributes attached to and prescribed for the widows and mothers to reiterate the patriarchal social structures. Also, this research intends to uncover the interplay between text and language through crucial gender signifiers, which influenced the balance of social and political power in the Medieval Roman Empire.
Research Interests:
The paper examines the historical context of ethics of care in early Christian discourse. The historical context of the ethics of care enables us to comprehend the ways in which ethics of care was employed and disseminated as part of... more
The paper examines the historical context of ethics of care in early Christian discourse. The historical context of the ethics of care enables us to comprehend the ways in which ethics of care was employed and disseminated as part of political ideology and public discourse, significantly influencing the social relations of the rapidly changing Roman world between the fourth and seventh centuries. The Byzantine Empire is a prime example of a political entity in which philanthropy was the driving force behind imperial politics and social relations. Emperor Justinian?s laws, which proclaimed social justice and protection for those in need, serve as a case study for an ethics of care. Also, the ethics of care is reconfigured within the context of Byzantine theology as a theology of care, in which the primary virtue of a true Christian is his fervent love for the community (agape). The ethics of care is then examined from the perspective of gender and the newly established cult of the Th...