Ancient and Medieval Art

ARTH-A 101 with multiple options

This survey course will examine the history of the visual arts in the Western world from Ancient Egypt (ca. 3000 BC) to the end of the Gothic era in Europe (ca. 1400 AD). The course will focus primarily on developments in the major arts of architecture, sculpture and painting, although other media, such as ceramics, jewelry and small-scale metalwork, and textiles will also be addressed. In lecture and discussion sections, we will approach the individual works of art with two specific goals in mind: 1) to understand the works of art in terms of their formal structure, artistic innovations, and stylistic development, and 2) to situate the works into their specific historical and cultural contexts in order to better understand how different societies lived and perceived the world around them. (3 credits)

 

Introduction to Islamic Art and Visual Culture

ARTH-A 281 with Maria Domene-Danes

This course surveys Islamic art from the 7th century to modernity/contemporaneity. We will examine key themes such as the concept of Islam, the figure of the Prophet Muhammad, and the poetry of the Quran, and how these subjects intertwine with visual artistic manifestations defined as Islamic. We will explore the astonishing world of Islamic art through the discussion of emblematic early sites like the Kaba in Mecca and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The geographical spread of Islam over many centuries developed a new artistic vocabulary that, instead of homogenizing different territories, fused with pre-existing art traditions such as the Byzantine, Persian, North African, Southern Spanish, Anatolian, Central Asian, Mesopotamian, and Indian models. These fusions led to the formation of complex and hybrid works of art and architecture. Historical events and discourses such as the Medieval Crusades, Colonialism and Post-colonialism, and Orientalism will further complicate and enrich our discussions of what constitutes Islamic art. (3 credits)

 

Medieval Civilization

HIST-H 206 with Deborah Deliyannis

There was not one medieval civilization, but many medieval civilizations, distinct and constantly changing.  This class is an introduction to the history of the Middle Ages through its culture and ways of life.  We will look at cities and villages, castles and cathedrals and mosques, from 400-1500, considering what they looked like, who lived there, and what aspects of medieval life, politics, and culture they represented. 

 

Medieval Philosophy

PHIL-P 301/ MEST-M 390 with Rega Wood

Medieval Philosophy, focuses on philosophical ethics from the early Christian Roman Empire to the High Middle Ages. This period (350-1350) saw the development of theories of human will, as a locus of personal identity, freedom, and responsibility. We cover theories of human freedom and motivation and theories of ethics based on reason and agent intention. We begin with Saint Augustine and close with William Ockham who emphasized the intentions of the agent in assessing culpability. By contrast, St. Thomas Aquinas holds that conformity with right reason determines whether an act is praise- or blameworthy. All these philosophers (even Abelard and Ockham whose views were condemned) were committed Christians who must be understood in the context of Medieval Christianity and the cultural history of this millennium. So we must keep in mind that their assumptions and starting points are not our own, as we seek to understand their views and to critically evaluate their arguments. (3-4 credits)

 

Monks, Nuns, and Medieval Art

HON-H 235 with Diane Reilly

This course will explore the phenomenon of Christian monasticism from its earliest beginnings immediately after the death of Jesus through the modern era, concentrating especially on the pinnacle of the monasticism, the Middle Ages. We will read monastic rules in translation to understand the lifestyle of the monks and nuns, and examine their artworks, including manuscripts in the Lilly library and objects in the Indiana University Art Museum. We will also examine the phenomenon of modern monasticism and compare it to its medieval origins. (3 credits)

 

Performance Practices Before 1750

MUS-M 435 with Joanna Blendulf

Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque repertory studied in light of historical performance procedures, instruments, tuning, rhythm, notations, and other theoretical areas of importance for performance. Some consideration is given to the recreation of historical music employing modern instruments. (2 credits)

 

Readings in Medieval Latin

CLAS-L 409/ CLAS-L 532 with Bridget Balint

Survey of the secular and religious literature of the Middle Ages; discussion of the later development of the Latin language; selections from such authors as Gregory of Tours, Isidore of Seville, Paul the Deacon, Matthew Paris, and Bernard of Cluny. (3 credits)

 

Samurai: Culture and Violence in Premodern Japan

EALC-E 237 with Morten Oxenboell

During this course we will take a closer look at how violence shaped the culture of medieval Japan - and how culture shaped the use and perception of violence in society, politics, religion, and literature. We will discuss the cultural ramifications of violence and samurai identities with comparisons to other medieval and East Asian societies and to present day issues and debates. At the same time, the course is also an introduction to the rise of the warriors in Japanese history not only as a military and political force but also as carriers and developers of a refined cultural legacy. (3 credits)

 

The Gothic Cathedral

ARTH-A 224 with Diane Reilly

This course will survey the development of one of the most important cultural institutions of the Medieval era, the Gothic Cathedral. Starting in the Ile-de-France around 1140, the cathedral became the most important innovating force in Europe, leading the way in the development of architecture and the visual arts, as well as education and music. The centrality of the cathedral in the later medieval world reflects a fundamental change in the structure of medieval society, which changed from being primarily rural to urban in the course of only a century. A study of the Gothic cathedral therefore provides an ideal jumping off point to examine the most important trends of the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries. These include the use of complex stone vaulting and stained glass, the primacy of the university school and the acceptance of secular learning, and the conflict between ecclesiastical and secular authority in the newly empowered medieval city. (3 credits)

 

War and Violence in East Asia

EALC-E 111 with Morten Oxenboell

Violence is generally not tolerated in Buddhism, Shinto, Daoism, or Confucianism, yet East Asian history is full of violence, war, and destruction. How did people in premodern times make sense of, and often legitimize, violence when the dominant thought systems tended to condemn such acts? This course explores the history of physical violence in pre-modern China, Japan, and Korea, with a special emphasis on state-sanctioned and collective conflict. In East Asia as everywhere, violence ¿ or the threat thereof ¿ has determined the fates of nations, driven advancements in technology and administration, and spurred doctrinal developments in philosophy and religion. Drawing on sources ranging from ancient myths to medieval war tales, the course examines the particularities of that influence in East Asian history, exploring the forms that war and violence took in the lives and minds of the residents of East Asia before the 19th century. (3 credits)

 

Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages

HIST-B 351 with Deborah Deliyannis

After the "fall of the Roman Empire", western Europe and the Mediterranean experienced invasion, plague, religious conversion, and other upheavals that shaped entirely new political, social, and cultural systems.  In the year 500, new kingdoms and identities were still very closely associated with the Roman world that continued in the eastern Mediterranean, but by the year 1000, western Europe was divided into many different political units, with two dominant religions, Christianity and Islam, no longer unified with the eastern and southern Mediterranean areas.  Europe in 1000 contained many of the political, cultural, religious, ethnic, and linguistic boundaries that we know today, and thus the Early Middle Ages can be regarded as the period in which the foundations of modern European society were put into place.  We will be examining the different ways that Roman, Germanic, Christian, and Islamic traditions interacted to produce this new world. (3 credits)

 

Past Course Listings

Fall 2024

Spring 2024

Fall 2023

Spring 2023