CATHEDRALS, CALIPHS, AND COURTS: ART OF THE LATER MIDDLE AGES

Credit Hours: 3 · Undergraduate Lower-Level

This course will follow the development of art and architecture of Gothic Europe and the neighboring Byzantine and Islamic cultures from the twelfth century to the fourteenth. Although the focus of this class is later medieval art, we will often refer to earlier periods in order to analyze artistic change. We will investigate the media associated with European, Byzantine, and Islamic artistic production, such as architecture, sculpture, mosaics, painting, stained glass, and manuscript illumination. In addition to examining the visual elements of these different creations, we will also discuss their socio-political context. The chief purpose of this course is to help you develop a language with which to speak about and intelligently discuss late medieval art. To that end, each assignment, from the readings to the written assignments, is preparing you to write compellingly and accurately about not only medieval visual objects but also visual objects in general. Cross-list: MDEM 231 . Recommended Prerequisite(s): HART 101