DESCRIPTION: This course offers seminarians the opportunity to be immersed in
the theological thought, devotional praxis, and spiritual imagination of the
late thirteenth- and fourteenth-century-Christian pilgrim as visually endorsed
in the Duomo of Orvieto. The course is composed with the intent of challenging
students to think historically and imaginatively--practicing in Coleridge's
words "a willing suspension of disbelief"--in order to enter into the rich
confluence of art and theology during the late-medieval flowering in Siena.
Both visual and literary arts will provide the texts for our study of
devotional praxis. An intense study of the fresco cycles and narrative
paintings within the cathedral opens portals for understanding the intended
liturgical function as well as the rhetorical intent of impressing belief in
the incarnation and in transubstantiation. Iconographical conventions will
provide critical skills for appreciating the religious art of selected
(primarily Sienese) artists--e.g., Giotto, Duccio, both Lorenzettis, and
Signorelli . Students will also read selected passages from writers who lived
and worked in close proximity to Orvieto, including stories from two
blockbuster medieval texts--the Golden Legend and Meditations on the
Life of Christ--offering today's viewers what those beholding the art at
the time of its creation knew by heart.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Through reading, lectures, and visits, students will (1)
garner a visual vocabulary and critical skills for reading Gothic style art;
(2) gain an understanding of the uses and functions of images for biblical
narrative and devotional praxis; (3) be exposed to and experience the prayers
and writings of those dedicated to "sanctifying time"; and (4) develop new
repertoire regarding "the senses of the soul" vis-à-vis visual and
material culture, a significant resource for inter-faith dialogue, for the
burgeoning field of "visual faith," as well as for use in ministry and the
practice of silent prayer.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: A renewed interest in historical worship and the
increasing desire for incorporating the arts in leading worship intensifies the
need for appreciating the western art's pre-Reformation liturgical heritage.
Course members will acquire tools for critical thinking about the
interdependence of image and text, and new resources for teaching and preaching
with beauty.
COURSE FORMAT: The course will meet daily with additional discussion and
lectures on site in churches and museums. Subsequently, the course will include
a five-week component through Moodle that will enable students to respond to
readings with threaded online discussion and written assignments.
REQUIRED READING: