Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Explore the Gothic Imagination at International Studies Colloquium
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The subject of the 2007 International Studies Colloquium will allow Liberal Arts faculty to express aspects of the “The Gothic Imagination” through a variety of disciplines, including art, psychology, history, literature, original art work, and poetry. The colloquium will be held all day Friday, October 5, in Carter Hall in the University Center. The term “Gothic” was first used during the Classical architecture revival of the Renaissance to unfavorably describe an architectural style most prevalent in the cathedrals of 12th Century France. Dr. Susanna Hoeness-Krupsaw, associate professor of English, said the best explanation she has found for the association of Gothic with the dark and macabre is related to the perception among Renaissance-era scholars that only the Classical period was beautiful, and anything from the Middle Ages was grotesque. Gothic art and literature enjoyed a revival in the 18th century and the survived into the 21st, through the Romantic and Victorian eras, Southern Gothic literature, and the Goth subculture that arose in the 1980s. Topics include Dr. Daniel Scavone’s “Atlantis: Gothic and Platonic,” Dr. Tamara Hunt’s “Political Dreamscapes and Nightmares: Variations on Fuseli’s ‘The Nightmare,’” and Dr. Leslie Roberts’ “The Golem and the Dybbuk: Jewish Spirits and Demons.” Click here for the complete schedule. Pat Aakhus, director of International Studies, said the colloquium “aims to make the invisible world visible. It delights in the natural world as irrepressible, irrational, diverse and fantastic, with an ironic sense of its dark side.” Refreshments will be served at noon. Students, faculty, staff, and the public are encouraged to attend. This year’s colloquium also includes a guest lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 4, in Carter Hall. Dr. Roger Wieck, curator of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York, will discuss “The Sacred Bleeding Host of Dijon.” Wieck has held curatorial positions at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and Harvard’s Houghton Library. In his book of illuminated manuscripts, Painted Prayers: The Book of Hours in Medieval and Renaissance Art, he writes: “The Bleeding Host of Dijon was a true late medieval wonder. According to legend, this Communion wafer was desecrated by a Jew and miraculously began to bleed.” (According to Miri Rubin, author of Gentile Tales: The Narrative Assault on Late Medieval Jews, many Jews were accused of “abusing Christ by desecrating the Eucharist” during the Middle Ages, resulting in anti-Semitic violence in many areas of Europe.) Wieck also is the author of The Hours of Henry VIII: A Renaissance Masterpiece by Jean Poyet, Time Sanctified: The Book of Hours in Medieval Art and Life, and many other books and articles on medieval manuscripts. Underwriting for the lecture is provided by John Lawrence ’73, an international expert on ancient manuscripts. The colloquium is supported by grants from the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, the College of Liberal Arts, and the USI Society for Arts and Humanities. For more information, contact Pat Aakhus at paakhus@usi.edu or go to the 2007 International Studies Colloquium Web site. Wendy Knipe Bredhold USI News and Information Services wkbredhold@usi.edu 812/461-5259 |
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