Celebrating Belle da Costa Greene: An Examination of Medievalists of Color
3672 West Pine Mall, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
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The contemporary state of Medieval Studies is at a crossroads. Will the field remain an open, safe, and inclusive environment--reflective of its always, already integrated history--or will the present atmosphere of isolated thinking, white supremacy, and delimited academic freedom continue to reign? In accordance with those who seek the light, this conference will celebrate the life and accomplishments of Belle da Costa Greene and will contribute to the developing field of scholarship centered on the meaning of the “medieval” and “Middle Ages” as relates increasingly interdisciplinary and cross-regional conceptions of the premodern world. More specifically, the conference represents an opportunity to focus on those aspects of the “medieval” and “Middle Ages” specifically of interest to Medievalists of Color and in alignment with the life of Greene.
Greene was a prominent art historian and the first manuscript librarian of the Pierpont Morgan Collection. She was also the first person of color and the second woman to be elected a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America in 1939. A conference will be held at SLU to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Belle da Costa Greene and contribute to the developing field of scholarship centered on the meaning of the "medieval" and "Middle Ages" as they relate to the increasingly and cross-regional conceptions of the premodern world. The conference will take place November 30 to December 2 at the Center for Global Citizenship.
Featured speakers at the conference will include Dorothy Kim of Brandeis University, Seeta Chaganti of the University of California, Davis, Monica Green of Arizona State University, and Heidi Ardizzone of Saint Louis University. The artist Chane "Big Piph" Morrow will also debut an original performance based on the themes of the conference.
