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Greetings, and permit me to introduce myself to the list. The subject line refers to the way in which I heard of this list, and that issue of such prolific discussion here: the queer medieval conference in New York, 1998. I am on the conference committee for the project, and was among the people who constructed that memo. I wonder about the choice of words like "queer" in work on same-sex desire. In the American academy, it seems not to raise much fuss, at least not in most places. I would say that the item posted on the lists was surely in "theory-speak" for some -- especially those of you not in literary studies. Phrases like "resisting heteronormativity" beg for jokes to be made at their expense, if for no other reason than the awkwardness of the language. Still, I feel that the endeavor is a worthwhile academic project, and indeed an interesting one. But I do wonder about the transatlantic connection. For an essay of mine being published in England through English editors, it was suggested that the use of the term "queer" was not the done thing. I would enjoy hearing from others on terminology in this context. The person who posted the announcement clued me in on the dispute, and, given my own work I was most interested in subscribing. I'm writing a PhD dissertation in the English Department at New York University on 19th century English "readings" of medieval religion and spirituality -- particularly monasticism -- in the context of gender and (particularly homo-)sexuality. My interests include mysticism, feminist theology, and gay-lesbian theology. I'm also noticed a difference by discipline, not only in scholars' works, but also at conferences such as Kalamazoo, where one is very conscious of being amongst scholars of religion versus, say, literature in dealing with devotional works, for example. I wonder if it might not be solely a "queer" problem, as the discourse has developed on this list, but also one of boundaries based on fields and their approaches, as well as English vs. American usages of terms like "queer." Regards, and I look forward to listening in on and partaking of the interesting discussions here. Frederick Roden Department of English New York University [log in to unmask] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%