This talk will summarize key findings and concepts from the book project "Black Knights: Arabic Epic and the Making of Medieval Race." From around the 12th century, popular epics studded with Black heroes and staged as glorious histories of the Muslims' triumphs circulated across regions and social classes in the Arabic-speaking world. This talk explores the significance of this body of lore for understanding the history of racialization.

Rachel Schine is an assistant professor of Arabic and History at the University of Maryland. She holds a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago, and was previously a Postdoctoral Associate and instructor of Arabic literature and culture at CU, Boulder and a Humanities Research Fellow at NYU Abu Dhabi. Her work focuses on pre-modern Muslim literatures and social history, with interests in popular cultural productions, race and racialization, kinship formations, and gender/sexuality from the 7th-15th century. Her first book, "Black Knights: Arabic Epic and the Making of Medieval Race," is now out with The University of Chicago Press as of November 2024. 

Sponsor: Department of Near Eastern Studies

Co-sponsors: Medieval Studies Program