The USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute is a co-sponsor for the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens research conference "Making the Body in Renaissance Italy." Shannon McHugh, Assistant Director of Research at the Huntington Library, and Jessica Maratsos, Associate Professor of Italian in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies at the University of Cambridge, are the conveners of this conference.

What is a body? Which medical and cultural authorities set its boundaries? How has bodily autonomy evolved in history, alongside advances in science and conceptions of peoplehood? This conference explores these issues at the critical historical juncture of the Italian Renaissance, a moment that gave rise to a scientific revolution alongside a transformation in literary and artistic production. Embracing an interdisciplinary approach to the medical humanities, panels interrogate the supposedly objective autonomy of science by investigating myriad early modern conceptions of the human body. Presenters will share new research demonstrating how discourses around the body were shaped not only by medical treatment and dissection, but by portrayals in art and poetry.

Please visit the Huntington Library website for more information and to reserve tickets.