In the Gaze of Saints: A Journey through Medieval Greece
Throughout its thousand-year history, the Byzantine Empire managed to maintain a strong connection to the Greek classical past. Despite this link, however, scholars have been slow to recognize it, partly because of a persisting bias which sees all medieval periods as regressive and inherently inferior to their classical predecessors. Throughout the course, we will pay special attention to parallels and deviations between Byzantine culture and the ancient Greek past. Are there cases of continuity? If so, what form do they take, and how can we account for them? Conversely, which factors can be cited as cases of discontinuity or rupture? Finally, and more generally, how are the different historical periods related to one another? Is it even possible to speak of a continuous history of 'Greece'? Byzantium remains an image of exotic medievalism a chimerical dreamscape, remote in both time and space. We hope to make the Byzantine period both more real and more accessible. To do so, we will need to make both the familiar strange and the strange familiar. In the process of stripping away our preconceptions and prejudices, it is hoped that a newer, fresher and clearer impression of both the foreign and the familiar will emerge. Credits and Grades You will earn the following semester hours of credit: 3 per session Admission Requirements GPA Requirements: 2.8 on a 4.0 scale. You must be in good academic standing and not on disciplinary probation. You need to submit a complete application including a transcript, letter of recommendation, and an advisor's form before your application will be considered.