ART 311 - Medieval Art & Society

Unit(s): 4

Contemporary thinking about the art of the Middle Ages is often dominated by a long-standing prejudice and propensity to see it as somehow ‘backward,’ ‘simplistic,’ or lacking in intrinsic interest or value. However, a wealth of art historical scholarship over the past few decades has begun to recapture the ways a vast array of medieval art and architecture reflects the unique cultural and intellectual concerns, compelling religious, economic and political circumstances, and complex social challenges of a lengthy and fascinating stretch of European history. This seminar highlights significant ‘moments’ and monuments of the long Middle Ages, with an eye to underscoring some of the incredible richness and sophistication of medieval artistic production from the beginnings of Christian art through the late Gothic period.

College of Arts and Sciences