Key facts

Type	Weekly Classes
Location	Oxford
Address	Ewert House Ewert Place Summertown Oxford
Dates	Wed 16 Jan to Wed 27 Mar 2013 Day: Wednesday Time of meeting: 2.00-4.00pm Number of meetings: 10
Subject area(s)	History of Art
CATS points	10
Fees	From £165.00
Application status	Course ended
Course code	O12P622ARW
Course contact	If you have any questions about this course, please email ppweekly@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Overview

Taking a currently popular formula, this survey course introduces students to the Middle Ages through its visual culture by examining ten objects per week ranging from vast cathedrals to tiny jewels.

Description

Taking a currently popular formula, this survey course introduces students to the Middle Ages through its visual culture by examining ten objects per week ranging from vast cathedrals to tiny jewels. We will chronicle the millennium which was the Middle Ages and discover that, despite this generic description of the period, it was as complex and varied as the modern age which succeeded it. In the process we will be looking at the visual arts from the c4th to the late Middle Ages focusing mostly on Western Europe but taking into account the importance of the influences of the world beyond these borders, notably Byzantium and Islam. We will examine diverse pieces such as the so-called mausoleum of Galla Placidia at Ravenna, the Alfred Jewel, the sculpture of Rheims and the chapel painted by Giotto for his patron, Enrico Scrovegni, at Padua. We shall be asking ourselves what these objects tell us about the societies that produced them and how we can set about interpreting such material as documents of the past. Each week the group will prepare one of the objects we are going to discuss in the light of these questions. Whilst there will be no guarantee that any definitive answers will emerge, these explorations will bring us closer to an understanding of what is simultaneously remote and familiar about the Middle Ages.

Programme details

Week 1: Intro
Week 2: c4th-c6th
Week 3: c7th-c9th
Week 4: c10th-c11th
Week 5: c12th
Week 6: c12th-c13th
Week 7: c14th
Week 8: c14th-c15th
Week 9: c15th
Week 10: c15th-early c16th

Background Reading:
G. Holmes, The Oxford Illustrated History of the Middle Ages
R. Stalley, Early Medieval Architecture
L. Nees, Early Medieval Art
N. Coldstream, Medieval Architecture
V. Sekules, Medieval Art
L. Rodley, Byzantine Artand Architecture: an introduction
Oxford Art Online (electronic resource)

Staff

Course aims

Course Aim:
To introduce students to the visual culture of the Middle Ages, to demonstrate its variety; to examine the ways visual culture can be interpreted as historical documents of the time they represent

Course Objectives:
1. To give a chronological framework to the development of the visual arts in Western Europe from the c4th to the late Middle Ages
2. To demonstrate the links between artistic expression and the contexts within which it emerges
3. To find ways of assessing visual culture in this light and articulating the significance of artefacts as historical documents

Assessment methods

Students will choose a medieval artefact not included in the 'Hundred Objects' and analyse it in the ways which were employed during the course. The 1000 words will include a short ekphrasis of the piece presented in prose, poetry or some other verbal medium

Teaching methods

Students will prepare by analysing and reflecting upon a set object (an online image will be recommended)which will be discussed as an introduction to a study of 10 objects from the period covered during the particular class. These objects will be shown on a powerpoint presentation . The session will be a balance between lecture and discussion.

Teaching outcomes

By the end of the course students will be able to:
1. Analyse a visual object using the correct technical vocabulary as appropriate, and articulate the analysis in writing
2. Assess a visual artefact as a document of its time
3. Identify the major events, phases, and trends of the Middle Ages in chronological order and explain their significance

Fee options

Programme Fee

EU Fee: £165.00

Non-EU Fee: £165.00

Apply for this course