Thanks for your comment, I haven't seen the MEM video so I'll check it out! I think the answer to your question is complicated.
While I have never been formally educated in CRT or used it in my academic work, my perspectives on race and racism have undoubtedly been influenced by the expertise and work of CRT scholars.
I think CRT has a lot to offer in expanding our understandings of race, and I am trying to learn as much as I can about CRT perspectives (for example I currently convene a Race in the Middle Ages reading group at the university where I work, where we learn together using the work of race scholars). So my answer is both no and yes! But it really got me thinking so thank you!
To help me understand where you are coming from, can you say which CRT text or individual has most influenced you? Also I'm intrigued by your use of the phrase 'modern racist presumptions' and would like to know what you meant by it.
That's a really interesting question! It's only recently that I began to engage with scholarship on race, but it has been enlightening to realise how much of my thinking has been influenced by CRT without me realising - for example, Kimberlé Crenshaw's work on intersectionality (how identities intersect to create modes of discrimination and privilege). Having thought of myself as an 'intersectional feminist' for many years, I have been ignorant for not realising this was theorised by a critical race scholar. I'm sure I will continue to find areas where I've been influenced by CRT without knowing and be able to give those foundational scholars proper credit.
In terms of this newsletter, it doesn't have an /overt/ critical framing in CRT. For what I was influenced by in writing this particular article, you should check out the further reading list provided, especially the article by Paul Edward Montgomery Ramirez and the bibliography by Rambaran-Olm and Wade.
By 'modern racist presumptions' I simply mean that our conception of race in the modern period has been heavily influenced by the trans-Atlantic slave trade and specifically colonial conceptions of race. We should be careful to separate what we understand about race now from what we can assume about people in the early middle ages.
This is fascinating and it proves that England in the Middle Ages was multicultural. But it did get me thinking. Was there racism against Black people in England during this time?.
That is a really interesting question! I think it's very difficult to say what prejudice, if any, Black people would have experienced in this period, not least because of our lack of sources. Race/skin colour would certainly have been viewed differently at that time to how we see it now, and we should be careful about assuming their experiences from a modern perspective. I think if there is one thing to take from the burials of the North Elmham woman and the 'Black Viking' of York, it is that there is no evidence they were outcasts, or treated differently to others.
Yes there are a number of Saxon graves quite close to here, such as at Great Ryburgh, but v pleased to hear about the lady at North Elmham. The attitudes in that study published in 1980…amazing how much of our prejudices we reveal unintentionally!
I came across your well written article today whilst doing a search online for the Fairford burial.
I work at the museum that holds this skeleton. I in fact spent some time today with this skeletal material. I'm going to make an osteological assessment because the narrative for this individual is largely based on cranial metrics which you have mentioned, and a fuller picture may help us to build a better picture of her life.
I have seen signs of pathology already, some of which have the potential to effect skull metrics.
We know that isotope analysis suggested a high likelihood that she was born and raised locally and not migrated.
The museum itself has not developed any narrative about this individual. It's a privilege to work with the known ancient population of the Cotswolds, and all are treated with respect. This might be a person with African ancestry, cranial metrics may not match the racial analytical model, or effects of pathology may exclude the metrics from the analytical model.
So, care must be taken, and ultimately we will need aDNA analysis to have the best chance of knowing this person.
Email me at the museum if you'd like to know more. Perhaps you have osteoarch contacts that might like to help. Jamesharris@slm-ltd.co.uk
Cranial measurements are a very, very questionable basis for placing racial origin being based on EXTREMELY questionable 19th century racial 'science'. What we need is a DNA analysis. It is not impossible that an individual of sub-saharan ancestry ended up in Anglo-Saxon Britain, or several such people, nor need they have been slaves though African slavery was very much a thing in North Africa and the Middle East. But such people would have been very much the exception, not the rule. An Anglo-Saxon skeleton in a sub-saharan context, say Mali, would also require explaining and enslavement would be one possibility.
Thanks for your comment, I haven't seen the MEM video so I'll check it out! I think the answer to your question is complicated.
While I have never been formally educated in CRT or used it in my academic work, my perspectives on race and racism have undoubtedly been influenced by the expertise and work of CRT scholars.
I think CRT has a lot to offer in expanding our understandings of race, and I am trying to learn as much as I can about CRT perspectives (for example I currently convene a Race in the Middle Ages reading group at the university where I work, where we learn together using the work of race scholars). So my answer is both no and yes! But it really got me thinking so thank you!
To help me understand where you are coming from, can you say which CRT text or individual has most influenced you? Also I'm intrigued by your use of the phrase 'modern racist presumptions' and would like to know what you meant by it.
That's a really interesting question! It's only recently that I began to engage with scholarship on race, but it has been enlightening to realise how much of my thinking has been influenced by CRT without me realising - for example, Kimberlé Crenshaw's work on intersectionality (how identities intersect to create modes of discrimination and privilege). Having thought of myself as an 'intersectional feminist' for many years, I have been ignorant for not realising this was theorised by a critical race scholar. I'm sure I will continue to find areas where I've been influenced by CRT without knowing and be able to give those foundational scholars proper credit.
In terms of this newsletter, it doesn't have an /overt/ critical framing in CRT. For what I was influenced by in writing this particular article, you should check out the further reading list provided, especially the article by Paul Edward Montgomery Ramirez and the bibliography by Rambaran-Olm and Wade.
By 'modern racist presumptions' I simply mean that our conception of race in the modern period has been heavily influenced by the trans-Atlantic slave trade and specifically colonial conceptions of race. We should be careful to separate what we understand about race now from what we can assume about people in the early middle ages.
I hope all this helps clear up what I meant!
This is fascinating and it proves that England in the Middle Ages was multicultural. But it did get me thinking. Was there racism against Black people in England during this time?.
That is a really interesting question! I think it's very difficult to say what prejudice, if any, Black people would have experienced in this period, not least because of our lack of sources. Race/skin colour would certainly have been viewed differently at that time to how we see it now, and we should be careful about assuming their experiences from a modern perspective. I think if there is one thing to take from the burials of the North Elmham woman and the 'Black Viking' of York, it is that there is no evidence they were outcasts, or treated differently to others.
Yes there are a number of Saxon graves quite close to here, such as at Great Ryburgh, but v pleased to hear about the lady at North Elmham. The attitudes in that study published in 1980…amazing how much of our prejudices we reveal unintentionally!
How interesting! I live a few miles from North Elmham and knew nothing about this woman. Thank you
Thanks for your comment! It's great to reach people with a local connection!
Hello Florence
I came across your well written article today whilst doing a search online for the Fairford burial.
I work at the museum that holds this skeleton. I in fact spent some time today with this skeletal material. I'm going to make an osteological assessment because the narrative for this individual is largely based on cranial metrics which you have mentioned, and a fuller picture may help us to build a better picture of her life.
I have seen signs of pathology already, some of which have the potential to effect skull metrics.
We know that isotope analysis suggested a high likelihood that she was born and raised locally and not migrated.
The museum itself has not developed any narrative about this individual. It's a privilege to work with the known ancient population of the Cotswolds, and all are treated with respect. This might be a person with African ancestry, cranial metrics may not match the racial analytical model, or effects of pathology may exclude the metrics from the analytical model.
So, care must be taken, and ultimately we will need aDNA analysis to have the best chance of knowing this person.
Email me at the museum if you'd like to know more. Perhaps you have osteoarch contacts that might like to help. Jamesharris@slm-ltd.co.uk
Cranial measurements are a very, very questionable basis for placing racial origin being based on EXTREMELY questionable 19th century racial 'science'. What we need is a DNA analysis. It is not impossible that an individual of sub-saharan ancestry ended up in Anglo-Saxon Britain, or several such people, nor need they have been slaves though African slavery was very much a thing in North Africa and the Middle East. But such people would have been very much the exception, not the rule. An Anglo-Saxon skeleton in a sub-saharan context, say Mali, would also require explaining and enslavement would be one possibility.