Course Description
Presents art and architecture in the eleventh and twelfth centuries not as contradiction between Romanesque and Gothic but as pertaining to a same milieu. Study of medieval art in a broad context, for example, in light of the important cultural and intellectual exchanges in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be expected to produce an extensive
research paper on specific works or issues related to the field
and the methodologies appropriate to the topic under
consideration in the course. This paper will be a detailed,
in-depth consideration of the student's chosen theme requiring
not only a demonstration of advanced research skills (including
the ability to read and use material presented in foreign
languages), but also an articulation of the student's ability to
understand and manipulate the critical apparatus of art history
in connection with Romanesque Art.
Athena Title
ART&ARCH 11/12TH C
Prerequisite
Two ARHI 3000-level courses and permission of major
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course aims at teaching students to observe and analyze artistic production without falling into simplified categorizations. It offers a framework to discuss non-trivial connections between visual materials, and to extend this discussion to an understanding of deeper social and cultural aspects of art and architecture in the Middle Ages. By presenting a complex, though more realistic, image of medieval art, this course prepares students to think beyond simple categories and presumptions when approaching any cultural or intellectual context. Students are expected to write a 15-20 page research paper with a developed bibliography on a selected topic, and have to pass two tests on the materials and topics discussed in class.
Topical Outline
1. The Tradition of Western Medieval Art 2. Failures and Problems of Traditional Approaches: Some Case Studies 3. Thinking out of the Box: New Approaches and Possibilities 4. Western and Mediterranean Art before the Eleventh Century: The Legacy of Antiquity 5. Art and Regional Identity in the First Half of the Eleventh Century 6. Mediterranean Art and Architecture of the Fatimid in Egypt and Umayyad in the Iberian Peninsula 7. Pilgrimages and Crusades: Import and Export of Art and Architecture 8. The Great Architectural Achievements of the Eleventh and Early-Twelfth Centuries 9. The Minor Arts of the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries: Differences and Similarities 10. Western Architecture in the Twelfth Century: Change and Innovation 11. The Future of Medieval Art and Architectural History
Syllabus