Document Type
Syllabus
Publication Date
Fall 9-1-2024
Course Description
Monsters! Magic! Witches! Miracles! The medieval world is full of things that make us wonder. This seminar will explore the meanings these marvels had for the people who believed in them, feared them, and told stories about them—but also the meanings they have for us today. Through close reading of source texts, careful study of artworks, and vigorous class discussion, we will work to understand how individuals like Hildegard of Bingen, objects like the miraculous Mandylion, and social movements like the 15th-century witchcraft persecutions challenge our most fundamental categories of identity, community, and reality. As an art history class, students will specifically consider how visual culture both constructs and upsets these categories. Along the way, students will hone their composition and revision skills through a variety of writing exercises, including analyses of primary sources, critical engagements with scholarly articles, formal analyses of works of art, and elementary research papers.
Recommended Citation
Dechant, Lyle, "ARTH 197HA FYS: Medieval Marvels Dechant Fall 2024" (2024). All Course Syllabi. 903, Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/records_syllabi/903
Student Outcomes
The goals of this seminar are to develop visual and cultural literacy by focusing on several different strands of medieval art, literature, and society pertaining to the concept of the “marvelous.” By the end of the semester, you will be able to; analyze the formal elements of artworks and objects, research and articulate the social and historical contexts in which artworks are situated, synthesize and communicate ideas about artworks using the vocabulary of art history, thoughtfully engage with scholarly texts and methods.