ABSTRACT
When th e essay s that for m th e cor e o f eac h o f the four section s tha t follo w were presented a t the annua l meeting o f the Grou p for Earl y Moder n Cultural Studies severa l years ago , they created a cohesive and tightly-focused group of explorations of early modern, largely European and Anglo-American women' s roles as site s an d 'sights ' o f culture. Wha t emerged durin g the presentatio n o f these studie s an d th e conversation s tha t ensue d amon g presenter s an d discussants wa s that the theme s of 'siting ' and 'sighting ' — particularl y from the specific , gendered viewpoin t we had chose n t o adop t — wen t broade r an d deeper than an y of us had envisione d in preparing fo r ou r panel. W e were all invigorated an d empowere d t o retur n t o ou r ow n wor k an d expan d ou r investigations o f these themes . I n addition , we wer e al l intrigued t o furthe r explore their ramifications on a broader geographica l an d chronologica l scale. This collectio n of eighteen essay s marks a milestone i n the progres s o f those further explorations .
