Thursday, October 10
Asa Mittman, “Are the Monstrous Races ‘Races’? Representing Difference in Medieval Art”
Yeager Recital Hall, 6 p.m.
The so-called “Monstrous Races” have been a popular feature of literature and art since the Ancient Greek period, when Herodotus included descriptions of cyclopes, dog-headed cynocephalae and werewolves in his influential Histories. Are they races? What could this term mean for medieval audiences, and how does its use influence modern perceptions of these beings? This talk examines images of and text about the “monstrous races” – as well as current critical race theory.