The Voices of Culture Lecture Series presents Asa Simon Mittman.

In medieval Europe, when cartography was more a religious practice than a scientific one, mapmakers filled their worlds with fabulous monsters and marvels to educate and entertain viewers – and they still amuse audiences today. Among the delightful dragons, manticores and unicorns, though, these mapmakers tucked in images of human monsters that were presented as accurate representations of real groups of people. In so doing, they were among the thinkers that created the underpinnings for the Enlightenment’s pseudo-science of race – and of its concomitant racism – that still haunt our modern world. This talk will explore the intersections between medieval maps, concepts of race and of the process of writing the histories of these subjects.

Schedule:
4:30 pm – Zoom portal opens
4:40 pm – Musical prelude
5:00 pm – Introductions
5:10 pm – Talk begins
5:45 pm – Q&A
6:00 pm – Closing music