Fetal Subjects and Foundling Subjects in Early Modern Sicily

CREMS x CECS Seminar, followed by the CREMSMAS PARTY

In this paper, I investigate the practice of the post-mortem caesarean section in Sicily in the eighteenth century. I examine the theological and medical developments that led to the widespread practice of opening deceased pregnant women’s bodies in order to baptize fetuses. The same administrative body that oversaw this practice on Sicily also oversaw the care of abandoned infants. In this paper, I ask about the relationship between fetal subjects and foundling subjects in Bourbon Sicily, and what this might tell us about changing ideas about the boundaries of life and death at the end of early modernity.

Erin is an early modern historian at Durham. Her most recent book is Presence: A Hidden History of the Female Body, which came out earlier this year.

Book online attendance via Zoom

Please note seminars start 15 minutes after the advertised start time! 

This seminar is followed by the CREMSMAS Party! Prize for the best/ugliest Christmas jumper, bonus points if you can make it early modern. Drinks and dinner provided, and all are welcome, but it is essential that you please book in advance so we can make sure we have enough!