CHSS is a member of the Folger Institute, a Washington, D.C. center for advanced research in the early modern humanities at the Folger Shakespeare Library. The Folger brings together interdisciplinary communities of scholars, including advanced students, for collections-based research. The Folger also connects public and scholarly audiences through a series of programs, resources, and discussions. CHSS’s representative for the Folger is Dr. Jessica Otis from the Department of History and Art History. Reach out to Dr. Otis if you would like to be added to a Folger listserv to learn about upcoming programs, like the recently announced 2026 session below.
Whiteness as Property: Reflections and Retrospectives
Whiteness as Property: Reflections and Retrospectives is a hybrid (virtual and in-person) seminar and series of events hosted by the Race and Regency Lab in mid-October at Amherst College. The Harris Seminar and Dialogues are co-sponsored by Amherst College, The British Association for Romantic Studies, The National Humanities Center, the Folger Institute, and Boston University’s Department of American Studies.
The topic is the immensely influential Harvard Law Review essay from 1993, Cheryl I. Harris’s Whiteness as Property. The aim of this seminar is to reflect on and amplify the importance of Whiteness as Property as a foundational text for the study of pre-1900 transatlantic literatures and cultures, while also highlighting the intersections of Indigenous cultures and Critical Race Theory.
From Monday through Wednesday, October 19-21, 2026, Amherst College’s English Department will host a series of scholarly conversations centered on this landmark essay. Co-convened by Professors Kim F. Hall (Barnard College), Patricia Matthew (Montclair State University), and Amelia Worsley (Amherst College), the seminar brings together an international collective of community organizers, museum professionals, and scholars of pre-1900 cultural studies.
Folger Institute co-sponsorship opens this opportunity virtually to all Consortium-affiliated scholars, for which George Mason University is a member. A Zoom link will be forwarded in September with special instructions.