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: Paperback / softback
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 plays, festivals, and other forms of live performance were used to reinforce and challenge racial hierarchies, as well as how they contributed to the development of new racial identities and the reimagining of existing ones.

The volume also explores the impact of colonialism and globalization on the deployment of racial thinking and racial formations. Contributors examine how European powers exploited and colonized Indigenous peoples, and how visual media were used to justify and perpetuate these practices. They also consider how globalization has facilitated the spread of racialized ideas and the emergence of new forms of racial inequality.

In conclusion, this volume offers a groundbreaking exploration of the deployment of racial thinking and racial formations in the pre-modern world. It provides a rich and nuanced understanding of the ways in which visual culture shaped and was shaped by racial ideas and formations, and it offers valuable insights into the ongoing struggle for racial justice and equality in the contemporary world.

Dimension: 12 x 9 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780866988421