RAHS 4179 ART, RITUAL, AND CULTURE

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1 Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology Spring 2016 Frs. M. Morris, O.P., and A. Thompson, O.P. Tues. 12:40 3:30 p.m.;dspt 1 RAHS 4179 ART, RITUAL, AND CULTURE Fr. Morris Contacts: Office Hours: Tuesday: Mon , and by appointment Phone: or Mmorrisop@aol.com Fr. Thompson Contacts: Office Hours (DSPT 116 East): Mon./Thu. 11:00 12:00 Phone: (at home: ) COURSE DESCRIPTION This course examines the ways in which the use of art and ritual are formed by and inform and create culture, with a special emphasis on the religious aspects of all three. Each aspect of the relationship considered will focus on two test cases, one from the "deeper past" (ancient and medieval) presented by Fr. Thompson, the second more recent period (modern or contemporary). These presentation sessions will alternate with discussion sessions. There will be readings from written witnesses to the events considered and from modern scholarly interpretations of them. Students, in consultation with the suitable instruction, will write a paper or prepare a project on a topic in the relation of art, ritual, and culture for presentation to the seminar. Required Reading Packets of Readings will be provided by the instructors. Fr. Thompson s readings are attached to this syllabus for you to print. Fr. Morris s readings will be available at a local copy shop. Suggestions for Further Reading and Viewing A list of titles, mentioned in the syllabus as suggested, with ordering information is attached below. This will interest students working on particular topics might want to own copies. BUT remember: these are not required books. Other Requirements of Course 1. Quizzes on previous week s material in each discussion meeting (30% of grade) 2. A page research paper or project to be presented in class (70% of grade) 3. A Ticket to Ride (see below) for each discussion (missing tickets will lower final grade!) 4. Active participation in discussions (also has large effect on final grade).

2 Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology Spring 2016 Frs. M. Morris, O.P., and A. Thompson, O.P. Tues. 12:40 3:30 p.m.;dspt 1 SYLLABUS ART, RITUAL, AND CULTURE Note: In the assignments that the suggested further reading is the best place to start when you are looking for a paper or project topic and bibliography related to that material. The instructors will announce dates and times for viewings of the required videos, but students may view on their own if they wish. Feb. 2: Introduction and how to write a research paper (short session) 1) RELIGIOUS CULTURE CLASH Feb. 9: Faculty Presentations ENCOUNTERING THE GODS: Ancient Pagans and Christians Contest the Divine (Thompson) Read: Plato, The Timaeus; Cicero, Scipio's Dream (Packet) Suggestion for further reading: Robin Lane-Fox, Pagans and Christians EMPIRE: Imperialism and the Religious Hegemony of Spain (Morris) Read: Christopher Columbus, The Book of Prophecies (packet) John Pohl and Clare Lyons, The Aztec Pantheon and the Art of Empire (packet) View: Semana Santa in Seville (VHS, room 1) Suggestion for further reading: Hugh Thomas, Conquest; Eloise Keber (ed), Representing Aztec Ritual: Performance, Text, and Image in the Work of Sahagun Feb. 16: Discussion Session 2) ENVISIONING A PERFECT SOCIETIES Feb. 23: Faculty Presentations EARTHLY AND HEAVENLY JERUSALEM: The Community Imagined (Thompson) Read: Selections from the Bible: 1 Kings on Solomon s Temple; Ezekiel s Vision of the Third Temple; Revelation on the Heavenly Jerusalem. (packet) Suggestion for further reading: C. S. Lewis, The Discarded Image; Keith D. Lilley City and Cosmos: the Medieval World in Urban Form; Augustine Thompson, Cities of God. REVOLUTION! The Collapse of the Ancien Regime and the Foundations of Modern Myth (Morris) Read: Jean Starobinski, 1789: The Emblems of Reason (packet) Suggested Viewing: Marie Antoinette (MGM, 1938, with Norma Shearer, Tyrone Power, and John Barrymore) Mar. 1: Discussion Session

3 3) ROMANTICISMS RECONSIDERED Mar. 8: Faculty Presentations PAST INTO PRESENT: Carolingian Romanticism and Restoration (Thompson) Read: The Monk of St. Gall, Life of Charlemagne Suggestion for further reading: Geoffrey Koziol, Begging Pardon and Favor BACK TO THE FUTURE: Catholic Revivalism in the 19th Century (Morris) Read: Augustus Welby Pugin, Contrasts (packet) Michael Morris, A Painter s Magnificat (packet) Mar. 15: Discussion Sesssion Mar. 22: Spring Break, no class 4) THE RITUALS OF POWER April 29: Faculty Presentations ETERNAL VICTORY: Spectacle in the Late Roman Empire Read: Texts on the Emperor, he Hippodrome, and Imperial Court Ritual (packet) Suggested Reading:: Michael McCormick, Eternal Victory; Sabina G. MacCormack, Art and Ceremony in Late Antiquity. MYTH GONE BAD: State Religion and the Nazi Paradigm (Morris) Read: Albert Speer, Inside the Third Reich (packet) View: The Prologue to Leni Riefenstahl, Olympia (Film 1936) (VHS, Room 1) Suggested for further Reading: Sidney D. Kirkpatrick, Hitler s Holy Relics Suggested for further Viewing: the BBC, The Occult History of the Third Reich (4 part series, DVD) Apr. 5: Discussion Session 5) SEEKING TRANSCENDENCE Apr. 12: Faculty Presentations FEELING THE POWER: Medieval Relics and Saints Shrines (Thompson) Read: Life of Raymond Palmer of Piacenza Life of Umiliana de Cerchi. Miracles of San Giovanni Cacciaforte Civic Veneration of the Saints at Siena (Packet) Suggestion for further reading: Peter Brown, The Cult of the Saints; Diana Webb, Patrons and Defenders

4 LOOKING FOR REEL RELIGION: A Search for the Sublime in Contemporary Art, Religion, and Culture (Morris) Read: Edmund Burke, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful (packet) NOTE PAPER DRAFTS ARE DUE IN CLASS TODAY! Apr. 19: Discussion Session (Paper drafts returned with comments by faculty) Apr. 29: No class: WORK ON YOUR PAPERS! 6) STUDENT PRESENTATIONS May 3, May 10 7) FINAL DRAFTS OF TERM PAPERS DUE May 17 (Tuesday of Exam Week) The Ticket to Ride At the beginning of each discussion session all students must present a three short reactions to the previous week s presentations and the assigned reading. These may take the form of comparisons, questions, observations, conclusions, etc. linking the presentations and readings. The reactions must deal with both presentations, but need not focus on all the readings. These are to be no more than a short paragraph each, and so no more than one double spaced page. This exercise will help you prepare you for the discussion and demonstrate that you have thought carefully about the significance and implications of the topic under study.

5 Purposes, Outcomes, and Grading Rubrics for this Course Course Goals This advanced lecture / discussion format course seeks to impart to advanced MA and PhD students: 1. A general context and method for comparing and analyzing the interplay of art, religion, and cuture in wildly diverse civilizations and epochs. This will allow students to achieve an intellectual integration of their artistic, historical, and theological knowledge. 2. The cultivation of academic humility based on the recognition the complexity of human experience and creativity and an awareness of the risks of replacing careful analysis with stereotypes and ideological (religious, political, or cultual) characterizations and stereotypes. 3. By the study and analysis of the subject matter of the material in discussion with other students and by writing a substantial research paper, the students should begin to develop the self-direction necessary for future research and teaching in Religion and the Arts. 4. As students will not only discussion the material presented, but also critique and offer suggestions on research paper draft presentations, the class seeks to foster a climate of collaboration and common ownership proper to research work and teaching. 5. By examining the artistic and religious culture of modern Western society, including those elements that problematic amd even oppressive, students will acquire new perspectives that will allow them to prophetically challenge the commonplaces and prejudices of modern culture. Course Outcomes 1. A broad knowledge of the a many possible ways the artistic, cultural, and religious aspects of society can interact and affect each other. 2. Beyond that broad matrix, an ability to produce more focused and critical written reflections on a research topic of their choice. 3. The ability to communicate the fruits of their study, in class discussions and critic of paper drafts. 4.The ability to bring to the fruits of their study of art and religion into dialogue with contemporary theological and ecclesiastical issues. 5. An deeper understanding of the interactions between Christian and non-christian religions (including Ancient and Pre-Columbian religions, as well as secular ideologies and social structures such as Nazism and mass entertainment). Grading Rubrics A signifies a comprehensive and accurate general understanding of the phenomena studied and an ability to do advanced research, potentially publishable, on this material. A- signifies a solid familiarity of the phenomena studied (but perhaps weaker in one or two of the segments) and an ability to do research on this material (but perhaps of not publishable quality).

6 B+ signifies a basic familiarity of the phenomena studied, but a lesser ability to integrate the diverse phenomena and, perhaps, a general sketchiness of mastery for a good part of it. The research paper probably shows defects in conception and execution. B signifies an even less secure comprehension of material covered and serious lacunae in the control of the topics presented. The paper presents serious problems in conception and execution, that might be remedied with much work. As such, although passing, it is probably not of sufficient quality for graduate credit. Below a B means that, for all intents and purposes, the performance is so poor that it sould not be used to fulfil requirements in a master s program. NOTE: If you need special arrangements to meet the course requirements for reasons of some documented disability, please see the instructor after the first meeting of the seminar.

HIS 101: HISTORY OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION TO 1648 Spring 2010 Section Monday & Wednesday, 1:25-2:40 p.m.; LA 225

HIS 101: HISTORY OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION TO 1648 Spring 2010 Section 85323 Monday & Wednesday, 1:25-2:40 p.m.; LA 225 Professor Linda Bregstein Scherr Office: LA 121 Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 9:30-10