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Before, Amid, and Artificial: Transhistories of the Visual | 2

March 4-6, 2027 | Elon University

Call for Papers

In 2015, Art History @ Elon hosted “Between, Among, and Across: Transhistories of the Visual” (BAA) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the art history program. BAA 2015 celebrated how art history has expanded the Eurocentric and Enlightenment-based model on which the discipline was founded. In 2027, we will mark the 20th anniversary of the art history major with “Before, Amid, and the Artificial: Transhistories of the Visual | 2” (BAA2).

In 2027, we will continue to challenge linear chronologies and too-narrowly defined geographic approaches to writing and teaching the histories of visual objects. We will reject tokenistic “global” encounters instead challenging cis- and heteronormative biases and embracing critical reevaluations of the colonial, racist legacies of our intellectual and cultural institutions. This work is important and ongoing.

This moment, however, is not like before.

Amid local, national, and global crises, academic institutions are adopting artificial intelligence over intellectual inquiry for the sake of efficiency. Can art history help us understand and reject the artificial in favor of the human/e? Can art history center practice, praxis, and pathos over product, productivity, and apathy?

BAA2 | Before, Amid, and Artificial: Transhistories of the Visual 2 seeks proposals that challenge what it means to make meaning. As always, we welcome proposals that are transhistorical, transchronological, or transnational, and we anticipate presentations that address these concerns creatively, rigorously, contingently, and/or in a questioning frame of mind. Please submit an abstract of up to 500 words and your CV using this form by September 15, 2026.

*If you have questions (or any problems accessing the form), please reach out to Professor of Art History Evan Gatti (egatti@elon.edu).

Click here to see a draft version of the BAA2 Symposium Schedule.