Post-modern sainthood : 'hearing the voice of the saint' and the uses of feminist hagiography

This paper suggests that sainthood in contemporary times is a contested site, which produces contradiction and friction, throwing into question traditional understandings of what it means to be a spiritual or holy person. While there are complex historical and social forces that account for such change, I will argue that the emergence of postmodernity as a mode of cultural analysis lifts the lid on the traditional avenues through which saints are made for public consumption, offering fresh readings of holy figures and heroic deeds. I will further argue that feminist accounts of subjectivity rewrite the possibilities of both holiness and authentic self knowing, radically releasing the saint from the confines of her traditional patriarchal place.