Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee

Statement in response to the earthquake in Syria and Türkiye

BSANA wishes to convey its deepest concern and sadness at the humanitarian tragedy and loss of life following the earthquake in Syria and Türkiye this week. We wish to extend support for our members and colleagues affected by loss. Interested persons who wish to aid in humanitarian relief may consider donating to an initiative such as the UN Refugee Network, which works with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

February 10, 2023

Statement on antisemitism and hate speech

BSANA strongly condemns statements of antisemitism and hate speech. We further disavow any unhistorical claims regarding the Holocaust and of genocide. We are aware of how damaging and painful such rhetoric is, both to our members and to our discipline.

Statement on the Past and Present of Ukraine and its Cultural Heritage – from the International Center of Medieval Art and the Byzantine Studies Association of North America

As scholarly organizations devoted to the study and preservation of the cultural heritage of the Middle Ages, the International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) and the Byzantine Studies Association of North America (BSANA) deplore the Russian attacks on Ukraine and the continuing threat to human life, artistic treasures, and cultural heritage. We object strongly to the statements of the President of the Russian Federation, V. V. Putin, published in his July 2021 essay entitled “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians.” While the title ostensibly conveys fraternity, the real aim of Putin’s essay was to delegitimize Ukraine as a country. This has been part of Russia’s ongoing attempts to falsify Ukrainian history and reclaim its sites and monuments. Putin has made a tendentious case that Moscow is the legitimate heir to the medieval polity of Kyivan Rus’, “continuing the tradition of ancient Russian statehood,” whereas the Ukrainian nation is the product of various “distorting” influences emerging from the West. Putin’s speech of February 21, 2022 further declared that Ukraine had no legitimacy as a nation-state, and laid claim to its cultural heritage as “an inalienable part of our [the Russian Federation’s] own history, culture and spiritual space.” While the history of Ukraine is integral to Russia’s territorial, spiritual, and ideological identity, Ukraine’s identity is not reducible to being a precursor to Russia. Ukraine’s unique history, art, and culture should be acknowledged, respected, and protected in these troubling times.

All too often, our own fields have been complicit in failing to examine inherited narratives that subsume the Ukrainian people, their history, and monuments under the rubric of “Russia,” thus helping to facilitate the historical distortions made more explicitly by President Putin. While acknowledging the irreducible complexity of the intertwined histories of Russia and Ukraine, we also recognize the right of Ukraine to the cultural patrimony of its own territory. The monuments of Kyivan Rus’ in Kyiv, Chernihiv, and elsewhere, are treasures of the Eastern Christian tradition and of the world’s cultural heritage. They are rightly safeguarded and administered by the legitimately elected government of Ukraine and by its cultural ministries and private institutions. Moreover, as historians, we underscore the very diversity of the region that Putin’s essay belittled. Like most medieval locales, Ukraine was home to peoples of different ethnic groups and religious faiths. Jewish, Islamic, and Armenian communities, among others, were integral to cultural life in the area in the Middle Ages, and their art and architecture endures within Ukraine’s borders. We also affirm the continued diversity of its modern nation-state, as well as the LBGTQIA+ communities in the country, who face great dangers under the Russian invasion. We stand with our colleagues whose nuanced work on Ukraine’s history poses the greatest challenges to Putin’s monolithic and mythical view of history.

We earnestly call for the withdrawal of Russian forces from the territory of Ukraine, for the protection of all people in the region, and for the restitution of cultural patrimony to its legitimate custodians.

The Executive Committee, Board of Directors, Associates, and Advocacy Committee of the International Center of Medieval Art
The Governing Board of the Byzantine Studies Association of North America

March 1, 2022

statement on the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The BSANA strongly condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The distinct cultural and historical heritage of Ukraine has long been of extreme importance within Byzantine Studies. We deplore the human cost of such aggression and pledge to work tirelessly to promote tolerance, dialogue, and inclusivity. We stand in strong support of our colleagues and members who have been affected by these events.

March 1, 2022

Statement on Racism toward AAPI

Since the beginning of the pandemic our country has witnessed an increase in violence, harassment, and hate targeting persons of Asian descent. The fatal shootings in Atlanta on March 16 were the latest in a series of violent attacks. These murders are also part of a longer history in the United States of discriminating against and stereotyping Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities. The Byzantine Studies Association of North America categorically condemns acts of violence, hatred, and racism, and we stand in full support of our AAPI members, colleagues, and students who may face increased fear or anxiety because of such actions.

March 22, 2021

Statement on Black Lives Matter

The officers and board members of the Byzantine Studies Association of North America affirm that Black Lives Matter. We mourn the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and other victims of racism and white supremacy. We stand in solidarity with activists who are protesting police violence and systemic racism. We lament that our own field of study has been deployed to justify false narratives of white supremacy and western civilization. We believe that silence is complicity, that words without action are hollow, and we commit to battle against racism and white supremacy in our scholarship, teaching, and public engagement. We implore our members, colleagues, and partners to do the same.

June 7, 2020

Byzantinists of Color Fund

In an effort to combat systemic forms of racism and exclusion in our discipline, we establish the Byzantinists of Color Fund. The initial seed of $7,000 has more than doubled by member donations.

The fund will support travel, lodging, registration, and daily expenses at the BSC for people of color, with priority to graduate students, contingent faculty, and early-career / pre-tenure scholars, beginning in Cleveland 2021. Graduate student stipends will continue to be awarded as before.

Donate to the Byzantinists of Color Fund.

Diversity & Inclusion Committee

Roland Betancourt, University of California, Irvine
Fotini Kondyli, University of Virginia
Christina Christoforatou, Baruch College, CUNY
Alice Lynn McMichael, Michigan State University
Ruma N. Salhi, Northern Virginia Community College
Colin Whiting, Dumbarton Oaks
Felege-Selam Yirga, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

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