Dr. Wan-Chuan Kao, a medievalist focused on late Middle Ages literature, delves into the nuanced concept of premodern whiteness in their upcoming book. They explore how whiteness reflects fragility and precarity, challenging the notion that it solely pertains to skin tone. The conversation unpacks the socio-economic symbolism of pearls and their commentary on class distinctions, alongside a critical view of identity and mourning in medieval texts. Kao also examines how historical contexts shape modern perceptions of race and the significance of embodiment beyond mere humanity.
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insights INSIGHT
Race in the Middle Ages
Wan-Chuan Kao's book challenges the assumption that race is a modern invention.
It also pushes back against the idea that race is solely a biological or skin-based phenomenon.
insights INSIGHT
Whiteness as a Prefixual Space
Whiteness in the Middle Ages was not a fixed concept but rather a prefixual space onto which ideologies were attached.
Kao uses an asterisk to represent this fluidity and the operational differences in pre-modern whiteness.
insights INSIGHT
Medieval White Fragility
White fragility in the Middle Ages manifested as a reactionary self-defense mechanism.
It involved performances of grievance and mourning to portray whiteness as delicate and vulnerable.
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Dr. Wan-Chuan Kao's "White Before Whiteness in the Late Middle Ages" delves into the complexities of premodern whiteness, examining its manifestations through fragility, precarity, and racialicity. The book challenges the notion that race is solely a modern construct, exploring how whiteness operated in the late medieval period through various social, cultural, and artistic expressions. Kao analyzes literary works and material objects to reveal the multifaceted nature of premodern whiteness, highlighting its role in shaping identities and power dynamics. The study offers a nuanced understanding of how whiteness functioned in the past and its lasting impact on contemporary understandings of race and identity. It encourages a critical examination of the assumptions surrounding whiteness and its historical evolution.
Sir Thopas
Sir Thopas
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Geoffrey Chaucer
Sir Thopas is a burlesque tale within Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, notable for its satirical portrayal of medieval romance conventions. The poem features a ridiculously inept knight, Sir Thopas, whose adventures are recounted in a highly exaggerated and comical style. Chaucer's use of parody and his subversion of traditional heroic narratives make Sir Thopas a unique and entertaining piece of literature. The poem's humorous tone and its critique of literary conventions contribute to its enduring appeal. Its inclusion within the Canterbury Tales provides a contrast to the more serious and emotionally resonant tales told by other pilgrims.
The Book of the Duchess
The Book of the Duchess
Geoffrey Chaucer
The Invention of Race in the European Middle Ages
Geraldine Heng
Piers Plowman
William Langland
White Fragility
Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
Michael Eric Dyson
Robin DiAngelo
María Enguix Tercero
Pearl
Pearl
Unknown (possibly the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight)
Mandeville's Travels
Mandeville's Travels
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John Mandeville
“Mandeville’s Travels” is a popular medieval travelogue, traditionally attributed to John Mandeville, a 14th-century writer. The book recounts fantastical journeys to the East, describing exotic lands, creatures, and customs. While many of the accounts are fictional, the work reflects the European imagination of the East during the Middle Ages. The book's popularity led to numerous translations and adaptations, influencing European perceptions of geography and culture. The book's blend of fact and fiction, and its reflection of medieval worldview, make it a significant work of medieval literature. The book's fantastical elements and its reflection of medieval worldview continue to fascinate readers today.
The squire's tale
The squire's tale
Geoffrey Chaucer
“The Squire’s Tale” is one of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. It’s a romance featuring a young squire who tells a story of a magical horse and a beautiful Mongol princess. The tale is unfinished, leaving the narrative unresolved. The tale is known for its vivid descriptions, its use of romance conventions, and its portrayal of a fantastical world. The tale's unfinished nature and its blend of romance and fantasy make it a significant work in Middle English literature. The tale's fantastical elements and its portrayal of a foreign culture continue to fascinate readers today.
White before Whiteness in the Late Middle Ages (Manchester University Press, 2024) by Dr. Wan-Chuan Kao analyses premodern whiteness as operations of fragility, precarity and racialicity across bodily and nonsomatic figurations.
The book argues that while whiteness participates in the history of racialisation in the late medieval West, it does not denote skin tone alone. The 'before' of whiteness, presupposing essence and teleology, is less a retro-futuristic temporisation - one that simultaneously looks backward and faces forward - than a discursive figuration of how white becomes whiteness. Fragility delineates the limits of ruling ideologies in performances of mourning as self-defence against perceived threats to subjectivity and desire; precarity registers the ruptures within normative values by foregrounding the unmarked vulnerability of the body politic and the violence of cultural aestheticisation; and racialicity attends to the politics of recognition and the technologies of enfleshment at the systemic edge of life and nonlife.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars.
New Books in Critical Theory 
