Newberry Library Explores the Roots of Race from the Middle Ages to 1800

Race is a strong and difficult idea. When, the place, and why did conceptions of race come into being? How may studying about its historical past assist us higher perceive the advanced position that race performs in our lives at present?

Centuries earlier than the time period race got here into standard use, individuals all over the world used distinctions like language, gown, class, geography, and faith — along with traits like pores and skin shade or facial options — to categorize one another. Seeing Race Before Race explores these early expressions of race in medieval and early fashionable Europe between 1100 and 1800.

On view on the Newberry Library in Chicago by means of December 30, Seeing Race Earlier than Race is generously supported by the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Basis, the Samuel H. Kress Basis, and Pam and Doug Walter.

You should buy a duplicate of the exhibition catalog, Seeing Race Before Race: Visual Culture and the Racial Matrix in the Premodern World, from the Newberry Bookshop.

To study extra, go to newberry.org.

Concerning the Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is an unbiased analysis library positioned in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood that has been free and open to all since 1887. The Newberry fosters a deeper understanding of our world by inspiring analysis and studying within the humanities and inspiring conversations about concepts that matter to numerous audiences. Our mission is rooted in a rising and accessible assortment of uncommon and historic supplies that spans greater than six centuries of human expertise.