“Trans Studies as Book Historical Method”
JD Sargan
December 5, 2025, 12pm-1pm (EDT)
Archival collections are political spaces: the decisions that govern whose histories are preserved, when, and by whom are not neutral. They reflect the communities that make them. For most of western history queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people were excluded from such communities. As a result, the experiences of premodern gender-divergent people went largely unreported and reconstructing such histories relies on the piecing together of ephemeral glimpses. Tackling these limitations requires generative modes of reading through the archive to seek out trans lives beyond the trace. Literary scholars have developed tactics and tools to read through such traces, but how do we move beyond the limits of the trace to uncover a more expansive history of premodern gender non-conformity?
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How to Talk to Your Dean
Moderated by CARA Board Member Christina Christoforatou
Thursday, 1/15, 6pm EST, on Zoom
So many of us who are working to advocate for Medieval Studies in universities today are trying to better understand our academic administrators. How can we advocate for our programs in an age that seems to increasingly devalue the humanities and premodern studies?
Join us for this special CARA zoom session when we will get the inside scoop thanks to this panel of medievalist-deans: Jeffrey Jerome Cohen (Dean of the Humanities, Arizona State University), Craig Nakashian (Dean of the Honors College, Texas A&M University), and Lawrence Poos (Former Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, Catholic University of America).
If you want to know how to pitch your medieval curriculum, or advocate for a Medieval Studies program faculty line, or write a conference funding application, join us on Thursday, January 15th at 6pm EST. Moderated by CARA board member Christina Christoforatou Konstantinis (Baruch College, CUNY). To better streamline our conversation, please send any questions you might have for our panel of deans by Wednesday, 1/7/26 (email them to laurenmancia@brooklyn.cuny.edu).
