Inventions and Interpretations of Landscapes in the Middle Ages

This course examines the multiplicity of the Middle Ages. The landscapes we will explore include imaginary deserts, mental pilgrimages, rabbit warrens, enclosed gardens, and tombs for the living with examples in the Iberian peninsula, Jerusalem, northern Africa, the Alps, Scandinavia, and beyond. The period covered will extend just beyond the Middle Ages to include examples in the Americas and the commodification and dissemination of its landscape across the globe. These broad examples will engage deeply with different forms of evidence to examine how we recreate meaning in the past and to question how we know what we know.