“Tits Out”

photo courtesy of @syracuseu Instagram

We get a lot of emails. That is an unavoidable truth. We keep our eyes peeled for the most important things — Covid-19 test results, classes being canceled (which is a crushed hope), the inevitable spam asking us to buy $400 dollars worth of iTunes gift cards for a professor “off-campus.”

But then, there it was, peeking out from the schedule of events hosted by the Humanities departments: Dr. Sheila Barker presenting “Women & the Nude in Renaissance Art, 1500-1650” on April 9. Feminism, titties, and the intricacies of Renaissance art -- what could be more fun on a Friday night? Just like every Zoom meeting, our Jerk writer turned off her camera, cozied up in a big fluffy robe and sweatpants, holding a box of Oreos in one hand and a dog in the other.

Dr. Barker’s fascinating lecture opened with the sordid past of Diego Velázquez’s “The Toilet of Venus,” which was attacked with a cleaver by a suffragette protesting against the arrest of another feminist. The painting set the stage for Barker’s presentation of the female nude and its complex legacy of societal anxiety. An item as seemingly simple as a painting really represents a perfect storm of cultural baggage — from religious ideas of woman as the source of all lust (which, you know, is offensive, but accurate) to the depiction of the female form as the pinnacle of artistic technique.

From there, I became even more engrossed by her lecture, discovering that it was an excellent way to enjoy a Friday night while still doing something kind of studious.

But wait -- before you break into hives at the thought of studying, take a look at some of the other options being offered!

Wednesday, April 14 at 5:15 p.m., Dr. Hil Malatino will be presenting an exploration of care and exclusion in the medical community for trans people in “Trans Care.”

Thursday, April 15 at 6:30 p.m., Steffani Jemison and Alexis Page will be discussing art-making in “My Body Is Opaque: Performing Black Vernacular Genealogies.”

Friday, April 16 at 4 p.m., Sally Cornelison will span the Italian Renaissance and explore the depths of women’s involvement as patrons in “A&S Alumni Academy — Picturing the Italian Renaissance: Woman Artists, Images, and Patrons.”

All of these options are presented by SU, and more information (including registration) can be found online through the calendar of events. There are dozens more of these seminars, and frankly, they all sound pretty cool (especially with a box of Oreos). 

I’m not saying scrolling on an endless loop through TikTok isn’t therapeutic, but for the day when you want something a bit more engaging (or you need to do some research for a class!), lectures truly are the “tits.” You never know what you’ll stumble onto and enjoy.