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Gender

Introduction

Gender is one of the most important variables involved in the construction of difference across cultures, second only to distinctions made on the basis of age. Relations between women and men, how the world is organized, kinship structures, economic systems, the division of labor, and linguistic characteristics are just some of the elements of human life affected by gender configurations. This topic is especially broad, and the papers can be drawn from any of a wide range of possible sources, including:

• Archaeological evidence for gender configurations in the Celtic world before the introduction of writing
• Classical Greek and Roman sources referring to Celtic gender configurations
• Insular written sources relating to gender, including epics, mythology and law texts
• Language as an expression of gender in the Celtic world
• Biographies
• Historical evidence for changing gender roles in the Celtic-speaking world
• Women as poets, dramatists, painters, musicians, artists of any type in the Celtic-speaking world
• Religion and gender relations in the Celtic world, past, present and future
• Public policy and gender