Toward a Global Middle Ages: A Modern, Inclusive Process

30/12/2019 19 min
Toward a Global Middle Ages: A Modern, Inclusive Process

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Episode Synopsis

Building a diverse contributor pool requires intentionality and—as Bryan Keene of the J. Paul Getty Museum discovered—a number of different perspectives to point out limitations, blind spots, and oversights. In this episode, Keene explains how he ensured Toward a Global Middle Ages is as inclusive as possible. Peer reviewers played crucial roles in suggesting diverse scholars and works, as did Keene’s own colleagues at the Getty. Thanks to the combined effort of his team of designers, editors, and his rights coordinator, Keene compiled manuscripts from every corner of the world from a host of unique backgrounds. Keene describes the practicalities of organizing such an exhaustive book, such as formatting the impressively-long reference list, standardizing spellings of titles across languages, and choosing which dating conventions were most appropriate for a volume that looked beyond European time lines.

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