“East-West Crossings in the Premodern World” is a hybrid undertaking that combines a yearlong, 14-member study group with an open speaker series to be held at UVA in 2026-2027. This project reflects a new critical phase in the study of the global Middle Ages that is focused on moving beyond binaries and essentialist thinking when discussing the premodern world to embrace instead the syncretic and complex entanglements resulting from East-West encounters in the premodern world. Our use of the polysemous term “crossings” encapsulates this view and is intended to evoke the many routes cross-cultural encounters take, including actual intersections (whether fleeting or sustained), misconnections (as in missed opportunities for connection), and cross-wirings (as in misunderstandings).
“East-West Crossings” speaks directly to the interests of many affiliated members of the Medieval Studies Program (MSP) and the Premodern Cultures & Communities Program (PMCC). Combined, these programs include over 30 affiliated faculty members and over two dozen graduate students who collectively represent 11 departments in the College and the School of Architecture. In conceiving of this project, the co-PIs have been in sustained conversation with colleagues, and the above-mentioned axis have been selected in response to the ongoing research and teaching interests of the community. “East-West Crossings” sets out to bring these members into productive and sustained dialogue with an eye to advancing individual research, cultivating collaborative thinking, organizing future interdisciplinary partnerships, and establishing UVA as a premier site of new thinking about the global premodern world.
The East-West Crossings Working Group is pleased to present an East-West Crossings Symposium for the 2026-27 academic year. The Symposium will include numerous seminar meetings open to its members as well as lectures with special guests open to the public. An overview of the schedule is below and more complete details for the public lectures will be included on our Events page. For questions about the symposium or its events, please reach out to leaders Professor Deborah McGrady (dem8z@virginia.edu) or Professor Jessica Andruss (jha9s@virginia.edu).