ARTH 215
Envisioning the Sacred: Representation and Religion in Christian and Muslim Cultures Fall 2024
Division I W Writing Skills
Cross-listed ASIA 212 / REL 211

How did medieval Christians and pre-modern Muslims imagine the sacred and how did they give what they imagined pictorial form? How were these pictures used, both in public and in private life, and why? How did the art of these unique religious traditions forge connections between the visible and invisible worlds? Paying particular attention to the function and experience of works of art within Christian and Islamic cultures, this seminar examines the evolution of devotional visual expression, while also exploring the problems sacred images generated in these distinct yet often overlapping traditions. Through readings and class discussion, the course will investigate, among other topics: the varied attitudes toward the representability of God in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity; the impact of earlier image traditions on the religious art of medieval Christians and pre-modern Muslims; the cult of the devotional image, concerns over idolatry, and the destruction of images; ideas about spiritual versus physical vision and their influence on the making and viewing of pictures; the relationship of sacred images to relics and to various aspects of organized ritual; and the possible roles played by pictures of the sacred in silencing or giving voice to dissent.