2017-18 Academic Catalog

This course examines the nature, theory, and functions of religious images in Byzantium and surrounding regions (Armenia, Coptic Egypt, Ethiopia, the Slavic world, and the Latin West) as well as the perspectives of those who criticized them. Special attention will be paid to debates over the nature of icon veneration within Byzantine society itself and across religious boundaries; the role of images in the cult of saints; and the role of icons in the formation of religious, social, and political identities. Projects in this class will support a special exhibition in Winter 2018. History 203 winter term 2018 will require History 202 Fall 2017.