Open Stacks 2026: Scholars’ Presentations
On May 27, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, the American Academy in Rome will showcase the work of its Rome Prize and Italian Fellows in the humanities with the third edition of Open Stacks: Scholars’ Presentations. The event will feature a series of concise public talks highlighting the research Fellows have undertaken during the year, offering insights into their evidence, research questions, methodologies, and evolving processes of inquiry.
This year’s program is organized around three themes that reflect the breadth and ambition of the current cohort’s research. “Race Across Time” moves between ancient Rome and the twentieth century, asking how race has been constructed, represented, and contested across vastly different historical moments. “Bodies and the Work They Do” considers the human body as a site of labor, healing, punishment, and belief, from Roman water infrastructure to the pastoral poetry of Vergil to the afterlife. “Knowledge Across Geographies” traces how ideas, languages, and cultural forms have traveled across the Mediterranean and beyond, from medieval translation movements to the early modern spice routes to the connections between Latin and Chinese classical traditions.
Together, the presentations invite audiences into the questions and methods shaping each Fellow’s work while emphasizing research as an ongoing and dynamic process.
The event will be held in English.
Ancient Studies
Cynthia Liu
Darcy Tuttle
Katherine Dennis
Paula Gaither
William Pedrick
East-West Intersection
Medieval Studies
John Mulhall
Nastasya Kosygina
Stefano Milonia
Modern Italian Studies
Renaissance & Early Modern Studies
Eva Del Soldato
Margo H. Weitzman
Full program here.
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
10:00 AM–12:45 PM
For access to the Academy, guests will be asked to show a valid photo ID. Backpacks and luggage with dimensions larger than 40 x 35 x 15 cm (16 x 14 x 6 in.) are not permitted on the property. There are no locker facilities available. You may not bring animals (with the exception of seeing-eye/guide dogs).
The Academy is accessible to wheelchair users and others who need to avoid stairs. Please email us at events@aarome.org if you or someone in your party uses a wheelchair or other mobility devices so that we can ensure the best possible visitor experience. If you are someone with a disability or medical condition that may require special accommodation, please also email us at events@aarome.org.