How were medicine and race-making related in early modernity? How did medical expertise, medical practice, and medical encounters reify and/or disrupt thinking about human difference in the period? Did the identification (or disavowal) of medical expertise itself constitute a form of racial thinking?

In this informal workshop, we will turn to early modern travel accounts as a site for exploring these questions. Over the course of the session, we will discuss a range of pre-circulated source materials from narratives by European travellers, traders, and medical practitioners. We warmly welcome participants with a range of disciplinary expertise to join the conversation!

The workshop will take place in person at King’s College London, S8.08, Strand Campus. Refreshments will be provided, and the session will be followed by a lunch for participants (details TBC).

To sign up, or to ask any questions, please contact eli.cumings@kcl.ac.uk.

Title image: Illustration from 1602 edition of Pieter de Marees, Beschryvinghe ende historische verhael, vant gout koninckrijck van Gunea, p.32.