What is the future of the history and art of the distant past? For decades, art and architectural historians have discussed declining interest in the study of topics prior to the modern era and the growing emphasis among emerging scholars and in current undergraduate curricula on modern and contemporary art. This is especially important given the ways in which specific and often fringe narratives of the past are being leveraged in support of various political ideologies in the current historical moment.

The Department of the History of Art and Architecture will host a symposium to reflect on the state of the field in the study of pre-modern art and architectural history (before 1500) across all geographic regions. This day-long symposium features a lineup of distinguished scholars including: Zainab Bahrani (Columbia University), Claire Bosc-Tiessé (Clark Art Institute), John R. Clarke (University of Texas at Austin), Milette Gaifman (Yale University), and Mary Miller (Getty Research Institute).