The Renaissance Society of America is organizing an online graduate student workshop on Expanding the Renaissance. The workshop is being organized by the RSA Graduate Student Advisory Committee, which has issued a call for papers. The workshop will held virtually as a series of 5-minute “lightning talks.”

Graduate students in Renaissance studies and early modern history at Northern Illinois University are encouraged to submit a proposal to participate in this workshop.

Here is the full call for papers from the Renaissance Society of America:

The Renaissance Society of America’s Graduate Student Advisory Committee is pleased to launch the Online Graduate Student Lightning Talk Series with its inaugural session on “Expanding the Renaissance,” taking place 3 December 2020. Submissions are due 30 October 2020.

As scholars and students of Renaissance Studies, we recognize that we, as the RSA Statement in Support of Social Justice states, “have structured a Western European world view that has excluded or abused people of color.” In acknowledgement of this and other elements of exclusion in Renaissance Studies, the RSA Student Community seeks to expand our understanding of the Renaissance (1300–1700) by hosting lightning talks that address topics, sources, or methodologies that are commonly excluded or overlooked from mainstream narratives.

Lightning talks are concise oral presentations of five minutes, which may or may not include visual aids. Presentations could be based on:

The talks will be followed by a brief discussion and Q&A. Graduate students of all stages are invited to apply. Please submit your name, proposed title, and a short description (max. 150 words) via the RSA Online Graduate Student Lightning Talk Series Application Form by Friday, October 30. Students will be notified of accepted submissions on Friday, November 13. The first online lightning talks session will take place on Thursday, December 3 at 12:00 p.m. ET.

For more information, please contact the RSA Graduate Student Advisory Committee.

Organizers:

The RSA Graduate Student Advisory Committee

Celine Camps, Columbia University

Samantha Chang, University of Toronto

Barbara Dietlinger, University of Chicago

Thomas Franke, UC Santa Barbara