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HA 394.101 Special Topics: Masterworks of
Visual Culture in the Middle Ages
This course examines visual narratives on a monumental scale, from the bronze doors of Hildesheim to the stained glass and stone sculpture of the great cathedrals of Chartres and Notre Dame in Paris. The course begins with a consideration of theories of narratology. What does it mean to tell a story without words? How do viewers participate with these narratives? To answer these questions, the course will make a number of intensive case studies. The specific social, political, and spiritual contexts of these works will be brought to bear upon analysis. Throughout, the distinct possibilities of media--including bronze, fresco, mosaic, and stone--as conveyers of meaning will be explored. The goal will be to gain a deeper understanding of the narrative strategies of medieval artists. (Cost: 1 WL: 2) (3 credits) (Ambrose, Kirk) |