Crawford, Katherine 1966-

PERSONAL:

Born May 13, 1966, in Boston, MA. Education: Columbia University, A.B., 1988; University of Chicago, M.A., 1991, Ph.D., 1997.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Nashville, TN. Office—Vanderbilt University, 2201 West End Ave., Nashville, TN 37240. E-mail—katherine.b.crawford@vanderbilt.edu.

CAREER:

Academic. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, assistant professor, then associate professor, 1999—. Mellon dissertation writing fellow, 1996; University of Chicago Harper postdoctoral fellow, 1997-99; Western Society for French History Millstone fellow, 2002; Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities fellow, 2002-03, 2005-06; Folger Shakespeare Library short-term fellow, 2006-07.

MEMBER:

French History Studies, Sixteenth Century Studies, Western Society for French History, Northeast American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, American Historical Association, Renaissance Society of America, Group for Early Modern Cultural Studies.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Recipient of research grants.

WRITINGS:

Perilous Performances: Gender and Regency in Early Modern France, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 2004.

European Sexualities, 1400-1800, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, MA), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals and journals, including Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Journal of the History of Sexuality, French Historical Studies, Renaissance and Reformation, Sixteenth Century Journal, and Journal of Modern History.

SIDELIGHTS:

Katherine Crawford is an American academic. Crawford was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 13, 1966. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Columbia University in 1988. She then undertook graduate studies, being awarded a master of arts degree in 1991 and a Ph.D. in 1997, both from the University of Chicago. During her doctoral studies, Crawford was named a Mellon dissertation writing fellow. Upon completion of her dissertation, she served as a Harper postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago until 1999. At that point, she began working as an assistant professor at Nashville's Vanderbilt University, later becoming an associate professor. While at Vanderbilt University, Crawford additionally served as a Western Society for French History Millstone fellow in 2002, a Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities fellow from 2002 to 2003, and again from 2005 to 2006. She also was a Folger Shakespeare Library short-term fellow from 2006 to 2007.

Crawford, who has received a number of research grants for her work, is the member of a number of professional and scholarly organizations, including French History Studies, Sixteenth Century Studies, the Western Society for French History, Northeast American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, the American Historical Association, the Renaissance Society of America, and the Group for Early Modern Cultural Studies. Crawford also contributes to a number of scholarly journals and periodicals, including the Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Journal of the History of Sexuality, French Historical Studies, Renaissance and Reformation, Sixteenth Century Journal, and the Journal of Modern History.

Crawford published her first book, Perilous Performances: Gender and Regency in Early Modern France, in 2004 through Harvard University Press. The account looks at the function of queen mothers at times when their sons, who were already crowned king, were considered too young to govern. Crawford discusses a number of young monarchs and their mothers, including Catherine de Medicis, Marie de Medicis, and Anne d'Autriche. Crawford also analyzes the shift in gender policy when Philippe d'Orleans was named the regent for Louis XV.

Diane C. Margolf, writing in the Canadian Journal of History, noted that "Crawford's analysis is wide-ranging, ambitious, and compelling in many respects, though it also raises some questions." Margolf said that "the book's conclusion and final paradox—that the disappearance of regencies as ‘structural loci in which gender and power came together most obviously’ (p. 209) led to the dispersal of gender and power throughout the political system—may also seem to overestimate the importance of regency in a long, complex process. Nevertheless, Perilous Performances is an important and thought-provoking contribution to scholarship on politics, gender, and the history of early modern France." Keith Cameron, writing in the Historian, pointed out "one or two quibbles one could make—for example, there is no bibliography; the index does not cover the copious notes; more reference could have been made to contemporary literary representations/references to the regent—however, they do not detract from the overall value of this original and interesting monograph." Barbara Gaehtgens reviewing the book in the Renaissance Quarterly, remarked that "this is not the first study of regency, but it is perhaps the most ambitious. The author successfully reinvestigates all available sources and secondary literature, especially scholarly biographies, and through incorporating anthropological and sociological questions broadens and more precisely defines our knowledge about regency." Gaehtgens observed several occurrences, however, where Crawford did not clearly explain the contexts for jokes and pictures used as historical sources, leading her to conclude that Crawford's "interesting thesis, that the female practice of regency for the young king ultimately made the royal power replaceable and therefore led to the end of the Ancien Regime, may perhaps remain debatable."

Suzanne Desan, writing in the Journal of the History of Sexuality, found that "Crawford succeeds in rehabilitating the regency and demonstrating the centrality of gender performances for the French monarchy. Readers will find themselves happily surprised by certain twists and turns of her interpretation. Especially impressive is her ability to combine analysis of visual culture, gender theory, and political history." Desan noted, however, that "certain aspects of her interpretation are more compelling than others. It is most difficult to demonstrate the long-term impact of each regency on the adult reigns of kings." Desan also thought that "at times Crawford attributes too much self-consciousness and power to the ‘performances’ of her regents, who also fell prey to both contingent and structural forces that she does not fully examine or acknowledge. The book has an argument that feels teleological: whatever path each regent chose … ultimately, she always strengthened the monarchy." Desan concluded that "whatever the potential criticisms of the work, there is no question that Crawford has fulfilled her promise to tell an often told story from a fresh perspective. She has brilliantly tackled an important and understudied question about how the hereditary French monarchy survived the periods of royal minority, and she has provided a path-breaking model of integrating politics and gender analysis."

In 2007, Cambridge University Press published Crawford's second book, European Sexualities, 1400-1800.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Directory of American Scholars, 10th edition, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2002.

PERIODICALS

American Historical Review, December, 2005, Barbara Stephenson, review of Perilous Performances: Gender and Regency in Early Modern France, p. 1602.

Canadian Journal of History, autumn, 2006, Diane C. Margolf, review of Perilous Performances, p. 356.

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, September, 2005, J. Harrie, review of Perilous Performances, p. 178.

English Historical Review, February, 2006, David Parker, review of Perilous Performances, p. 300.

Historian, fall, 2006, Keith Cameron, review of Perilous Performances, p. 621.

Journal of Modern History, March, 2007, Cynthia M. Truant, review of Perilous Performances, p. 187.

Journal of the History of Sexuality, May, 2006, Suzanne Desan, review of Perilous Performances, p. 321.

Renaissance Quarterly, spring, 2006, Barbara Gaehtgens, review of Perilous Performances, p. 182.

Sixteenth Century Journal, summer, 2006, Jennifer Powell McNutt, review of Perilous Performances, p. 524.

ONLINE

Vanderbilt University Department of History Web site,http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ (March 25, 2008), author profile.