The Newberry Library in Chicago is preparing to open a new exhibition on Seeing Race Before Race, curated by the Center for Renaissance Studies in collaboration with the researchers associated with the RaceB4Race network.

The Newberry Library website provides an overview of the exhibition:

“Race is a powerful and challenging concept. When, where, and why did conceptions of race come into being? How might learning about its history help us better understand the complex role that race plays in our lives today?  

“Centuries before the term race came into popular use, people around the world used distinctions like language, dress, class, geography, and religion—in addition to traits like skin color or facial features—to categorize each other. Seeing Race Before Race explores these early expressions of race in medieval and early modern Europe between 1100 and 1800.  

“Seeing Race Before Race is generously supported by the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, and Pam and Doug Walter. 

“You can purchase a copy of the exhibition catalog, Seeing Race Before Race: Visual Culture and the Racial Matrix in the Premodern World, from the Newberry Bookshop.”

The Seeing Race Before Race exhibition webpage is available at Newberry Library website.

The Center for Renaissance Studies has additional information on the history of pre-modern race and racism.

The RaceB4Race research network organizes conferences, workshops, seminars, and other events on pre-modern race and racism.