Christian Roots: Medieval and Renaissance Art & Science
Fall 2001 – Updated Syllabus
In this program we will explore Medieval and Renaissance (1100 to 1750) European culture through studies in art and science. We will examine trends that emerged in religion, medicine, and visual arts with interest in how these values have changed and/or remained the same through the centuries. In the fall, we will focus on the Middle Ages. In the winter, we will address the emerging Humanism that accompanies the Renaissance. The radical transformation of science and art from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance will be an important focus of this program. During the Middle Ages, Christian values and beliefs heavily influenced medicine and other emerging forms of science. Christian values also determined the look and function of art created during the Middle Ages. The church developed a code of representation that involved a complex iconography for Christian images; it also was the primary patron of artists until the High Renaissance.
Exploration and colonization of the "New World" resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of plants known, thus transforming taxonomy. Also new technology, such as the light microscope, allowed for a deeper understanding of the internal form and function of plants. During the Renaissance the Humanist obsession with science seeped into the arts as well. Science influences the visual arts in the form of study and portrayal of human anatomy; studies of nature through illustration; and the development of complex systems of optics and perspective. The sciences have a pervasive impact on what had been a strictly spiritual content in art. In the process, the roles of artists change from that of artisans to intellectuals. Science has its greatest impact on the way art is done -- in terms of perspective and observing nature and bodies, but it has less impact on content. Content moves in a variety of directions both humanistic (portraiture and historical paintings) and mythological. In the process art is liberated from strictly religious narratives because the field of science becomes more open.
This program investigates the following questions. How did Christianity shape the way medieval Europeans knew the world? How did the natural and supernatural world bear on the way they made sense of the world? What might we learn from medieval relations with nature that could bear on contemporary efforts to live more sustainably in the world? How did artists use imagery to give shape and meaning to the medieval world? What phenomena of the Middle Ages still appear in our contemporary culture? Does our understanding of the medieval person influence our life today? How does one research a period whose cultural products come from a specific set of beliefs, cultural customs, and practices, perhaps unknown to us? How does our understanding of the physical world influence our beliefs about our spiritual existence? How have these relationships changed from the Middle Ages, through the renaissance to the 21st century?
Faculty: Frederica Bowcutt, Lab II rm 3272, X 6744, bowcuttf@evergreen.edu Lisa Sweet, Sem rm 3168, phone X 6763, sweetl@evergreen.edu
Office hours for all faculty: Friday 9-10 am and by appt.
Book List:
Texts |
Seminar Books |
Stokstad, Medieval Art
|
Huizinga, The Autumn of the Middle Ages Arber, Herbals Collins, Medieval Herbals Flanagan, Hildegard of Bingen Weinsten & Bell, Saints & Society McLean, Medieval English Gardens Cohn, The Pursuit of the Millenium Kors & Peters, Witchcraft in Europe 400-1700 Cosman, Fabulous Feasts |
Weekly Schedule:
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Open Lab |
9 am- 1 pm Writing Workshops SEM 3151 (FB) & 3153 (LS) |
Workshops See syllabus |
9-10 am Faculty Office Hours |
12:30-2:30 pm - All Group Mtg Lecture Hall 4 |
|
Open Studio |
10 am-12 noon Seminar LabI 1051 (F) & 1059 (L) |
3-5 pm - Seminars LabIIrms 2207 (FB) & 2211 (LS) |
2-4 pm Herb Walks Meet @ Longhouse |
|
1-4 pm All Group Meeting – Lec Hall 2 |
Week 1 September 24-28
Seminar Readings: Huizinga, The Autumn of the Middle Ages
Lecture Readings: Stokstad, Medieval Art Chaps 1 and 2
Tues, Sept 25
12:30-2:30 pm Orientation
3-5 pm Seminar on Huizinga, The Autumn of the Middle Ages (Chaps 1-3)
Weds, Sept 26
9 am-4 pm Student Interviews (make an appt with your seminar leader)
Thurs, Sept 27
TBA Print Workshop
Fri, Sept 28
10 am-12 noon Seminar on Huizinga, The Autumn of the Middle Ages (Chaps 4-11)
1-4 pm Introductory Art History Lecture
Week 2 October 1-5
Seminar Readings: Arber, Herbals
Tues, Oct 2
12:30-2:30 pm Lecture on Herbals
3-5 pm Seminar on Huizinga, The Autumn of the Middle Ages (Chaps 12-14)
Weds, Oct 3
9 & 11 am Writing Workshops (Everyone attends/Group A papers)
2-4 pm Herb Walk – Meet in front of the Longhouse
Fri, Oct 5
10 am-12 noon Seminar on Arber, Herbals
1-4 pm Workshop with Herbalist Elise Krohn in Lab I rm 1047
BRING: an 8 oz jar, $2 for material costs, a tea mug, cookies or fruit to share, scissors or a knife and clean plant material of one of the following: nettles, red clover, sage (Salvia), oregano, bedstraw, or dandelion with root. Make sure you know the difference between dandelion and false dandelion.
Week 3 October 8-12
Seminar Readings: Collins, Medieval Herbals (read all except skim chapter 2)
Lecture Readings: Stokstad, Medieval Art Chaps 5 and 8
Tues, Oct 9
12:30-2:30 pm Lecture on Romanesque and Monastic Architecture
3-5 pm Seminar on Collins, Medieval Herbals
Weds, Oct 10
9 & 11 am Writing Groups (Everyone attends/Group B papers)
2-4 pm Herb Walk – Meet in front of the Longhouse
Fri, Oct 12
10 am-12 noon Seminar on Collins, Medieval Herbals
1-4 pm Film: Sorceress (98 minutes + discussion with Caryn Cline)
Week 4 October 15-19
Seminar Readings: Flanagan, Hildegard of Bingen
Tues, Oct 16
12:30-2:30 pm Lecture on Images of Hildegard of Bingen’s Visions
3-5 pm Seminar on Flanagan, Hildegard of Bingen
Weds, Oct 17
9 & 11 am Writing Groups (Everyone attends/Group A papers)
2-4 pm Herb Walk – Meet in front of the Longhouse
Fri, Oct 19
10 am-12 noon Seminar on Flanagan, Hildegard of Bingen
1-4 pm Film: Anchoress (108 minutes + discussion)
Week 5 October 22-26
Seminar Readings: Weinsten & Bell, Saints & Society
Lecture Readings: Stokstad, Medieval Art Chap 4
Tues, Oct 23
12:30-2:30 pm Lecture on Woodcuts
3-5 pm Seminar on Weinsten & Bell, Saints & Society
Weds, Oct 24
9 & 11 am Writing Groups (Everyone attends/Group B papers)
2 –4 pm Herb Walk – Meet in front of the Longhouse
Fri, Oct 26
10 am-12 noon Seminar on Weinsten & Bell, Saints & Society
9 am-4 pm Mid-Quarter Check-In
Week 6 October 29-November 2
Seminar Readings: McLean, Medieval English Garden
Lecture Readings: Stokstad, Medieval Art Chaps 9 and 10
Tues, Oct 30
12:30-2:30 pm Lecture on Gothic Architecture
3-5 pm Seminar on McLean, Medieval English Garden
Weds, Oct 31
9 & 11 am Writing Groups (Everyone attends/Group A papers)
2-4 pm Herb Walk – Meet in front of the Longhouse
Thurs, Nov 1 All Saint’s Day
Faculty Retreat
Fri, Nov 2
Faculty Retreat
10 am-12 noon Seminar on McLean, Medieval English Garden
1-4 pm Guest Lecture: Rebecca Chamberlain on Illuminated Manuscripts
Week 7 November 5-9
Seminar Readings: Cohn, The Pursuit of the Millenium
Tues, Nov 6
12:30-2:30 pm Discussion of Student Work (Bring Minimum of 6 prints)
3-5 pm Seminar on Cohn, The Pursuit of the Millenium
Weds, Nov 7
9 & 11 am Writing Groups (Everyone attends/Group B papers)
2-4 pm Herb Walk – Meet in front of the Longhouse
Fri, Nov 9
10 am-12 noon Seminar on Cohn, The Pursuit of the Millenium
1-4 pm Lecture on Medieval Gardens
Sat, Nov 10
1-11pm Free Bach Festival @ Town Hall in Seattle (8th & Seneca)
Week 8 November 12-16
Seminar Readings: Kors & Peters, Witchcraft in Europe 400-1700 (Sections TBA)
Tues, Nov 13
12:30-2:30 pm Guest Lecture: Ann Storey – Images of Witches
3-5 pm Seminar on Kors & Peters, Witchcraft in Europe 400-1700
Weds, Nov 14
9 & 11 am Writing Groups (Everyone attends/Group A papers)
2-4 pm Herb Walk – Meet in front of the Longhouse
Fri, Nov 16
10 am-12 noon Seminar on Kors & Peters, Witchcraft in Europe 400-1700s
1-4 pm Film: The Devils (103 minutes + discussion)
THANKSGIVING BREAK: November 19-23
Seminar Readings: Cosman, Fabulous Feasts
Week 9 November 26-30
Seminar Readings: Cosman, Fabulous Feasts
Lecture Readings: Stokstad, Medieval Art Chap 12
Tues, Nov 27
12:30-2:30 pm Lecture on Painting before Giotto
3-5 pm Seminar on Cosman, Fabulous Feasts
Weds, Nov 28
9 & 11 am Writing Groups (Everyone attends/Group B papers)
2-4 pm Herb Walk – Meet in front of the Longhouse
Fri, Nov 30
10 am-12 noon Seminar on Cosman, Fabulous Feasts
1-2 Herbology and Plant Identification Exam
2:15-4 pm Lecture on Giotto and Saint Fra Angelico
Sun, Dec 2 Medieval Women’s Choir Concert, Seattle
Week 10 December 3-7 DUE: Portfolios due on Weds, Dec 5 @ 5 pm
Tues, Dec 4
12:30-2:30 pm Art History Final Exam
3-5 pm Wrap-up Seminar
Weds, Dec 5
9 & 11 am Writing Groups (bring 7 copies of self evaluation)
5 pm Portfolios Due (leave in your seminar leader’s mail box or at their door)
Fri, Dec 7
12:30-2:30 pm Medieval Feast (recipes to be passed out) – Longhouse Cedar Room
1-4 pm Wrap-up Longhouse Cedar Room
Required Papers and Portfolio Materials
EVALUATIONS WEEK: December 10-14 Individual Conferences with Faculty
Please bring your faculty and self evaluations to your evaluation meeting.
(Note: a self evaluation is a required document for credit in the program)
Your evaluation will be based on:
If you have done additional work, above what is required, this may also be discussed in your evaluation.
Expectations of Evergreen Graduates