Seeing Race Before Race - Visual Culture and the Racial Matrix in the Premodern World

This volume explores the deployment of racial thinking and racial formations in the visual culture of the pre-modern world, using materials from the Fall 2023 exhibition "Seeing Race Before Race" as a starting point for a theoretical conversation between premodern race studies, art history, performance studies, book history, and critical race theory.

Format: Hardback
Length: 300 pages
Publication date: 15 September 2023
Publisher: Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies,US

This comprehensive visual archive encompasses a vast array of materials, including annotated or illuminated manuscripts, Renaissance costume books, travel books, maps and cartographic volumes created by Europeans and Indigenous peoples, mass-printed pamphlets, jewelry, decorative arts, religious iconography, paintings from various regions, ceremonial objects, festival books, and play texts designed for live performances. Contributors examine the pervasive deployment of what coeditor Noémie Ndiaye refers to as the "racial matrix" and its interconnected paradigms across the medieval and early modern chronological divide, as well as across vast transnational and multilingual geographies. This volume serves as a catalyst for an ambitious theoretical exchange between premodern race studies, art history, performance studies, book history, and critical race theory, drawing inspiration from the Fall 2023 exhibition "Seeing Race Before Race," a collaborative venture between RaceB4Race and the Newberry Library.

The visual culture of the pre-modern world is a rich tapestry of racial thinking and formations, woven through a wide range of materials and artifacts. This volume, a comprehensive exploration of the deployment of racial thinking and racial formations in the pre-modern world, delves into the vast visual archive that includes a treasure trove of materials such as annotated or illuminated manuscripts, Renaissance costume books, travel books, maps and cartographic volumes produced by Europeans as well as Indigenous peoples, mass-printed pamphlets, jewelry, decorative arts, religious iconography, paintings from around the world, ceremonial objects, festival books, and play texts intended for live performance.

Contributors to this volume examine the deployment of the racial matrix and its interconnected paradigms across the medieval and early modern chronological divide, as well as across vast transnational and multilingual geographies. They explore how racial thinking and racial formations were shaped by historical, cultural, and social factors, and how they were expressed and reproduced in visual media. The volume also considers the ways in which visual culture contributed to the construction and perpetuation of racial hierarchies, as well as the potential for resistance and transformation within these frameworks.

One of the key themes of the volume is the intersection of race and religion. Contributors explore how religious beliefs and practices shaped racial formations and how visual media were used to convey and interpret religious messages. They also consider how religious differences and tensions contributed to the development of racialized identities and the formation of racialized communities.

Another theme of the volume is the role of performance in the construction and dissemination of racial ideas. Contributors examine how performance, including theater, dance, and music, was used to convey and interpret racial identities and how it contributed to the formation of racialized communities. They also consider how performance was used to challenge and subvert racial hierarchies and how it was shaped by cultural and social norms.

The volume also explores the relationship between visual culture and power. Contributors examine how visual media were used to reinforce and perpetuate political and social hierarchies, as well as how they were used to challenge and subvert these hierarchies. They also consider how visual culture was shaped by the power dynamics of colonialism and how it contributed to the formation of racialized identities and communities.

In conclusion, this volume provides a rich and nuanced exploration of the deployment of racial thinking and racial formations in the pre-modern world. It offers a valuable contribution to the field of premodern race studies, art history, performance studies, book history, and critical race theory. By drawing on a wide range of materials and artifacts, the volume demonstrates the complexity and diversity of racial experiences and the ways in which they were expressed and reproduced in visual media.

Dimension: 12 x 9 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780866988414