I participated in the Renaissance Society of America Conference in Boston over the extended weekend.

I enjoyed participating in a panel on “Piracy and Privateering in the Early Modern Mediterranean.”

I gave a paper on Marseille as a base for maritime violence and slave-taking in a Michael Martoccio (University of Wisconsin at Madison) presented his latest research on maritime violence in Genoa and the ceremonial, logistical, and legal aspects of the organization of the port facilities there. Ali Atabey (University of Texas at San Antonio) discussed Ottoman enslaved persons and their experiences of ransoming and reintegration (or not!) into Ottoman society. The panel was absolutely fascinating!

I also chaired a session on “Gender, Households, and Homicide in Europe, 1450-1700.” Mireille Juliette Pardon presented on complicity in Flemish homicide cases from the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Sara Beam’s paper focused on judicial violence and prosecution of homicide in sixteenth-century Geneva. Amanda Grace Madden offered a paper on gender and violence in domestic spaces in early modern Venice. The session was well attended and had a robust discussion.

I attended numerous panels at the conference and heard presentations of the latest research on Renaissance studies. I learned about Renaissance art, architecture, ceremonies, literature, theater, Medici princely rule, Niccolò Machiavelli’s model for militias, Michel de Montaigne’s essay writing, the ducal armory in Venice, Mediterranean slavery, maritime commerce and the circulation of goods, anatomical theaters, history of science, sensory perceptions, gardens, print culture, and other topics.

In addition, I got to see lots of Renaissance studies friends and colleagues over coffee breaks, lunches, receptions, and dinners.

All in all, a great conference!