HUM 560V Humanities Colloquium: Nuns as Patrons and Makers
This class examines the history of female monasticism through the art, music, literature, and material culture of their own making. After first studying the origins of Christian monasticism in late antique Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean, we will follow the migration of missionary monks and nuns to medieval Europe. Establishing self-sustaining communities with the power to mint coinage, administer farms, and even levy taxes, religious women often exercised a high degree of social influence, clashing and even collaborating with male secular and religious authorities. Within the cloister walls, these highly educated women used the arts as nourishment for their spiritual journey. Our own journey through the history of female monasticism will follow the music and medicinal recipes of the medieval polymath Hildegard of Bingen, the mystical writings of Teresa of Ávila, and the poetry of Juana Inés de la Cruz. In-class discussion will highlight the monasteries and churches in which these women lived, as well as anonymous devotional art made by or for nuns. Following the spread of Catholicism through colonial missions to the Americas and concluding with the optimistic yet problematic vision of social justice that emerged with Vatican II in the 1960's and 1970's, the second half of the semester continues scrutinizing primary sources while introducing counterpoints from popular culture.
Offered
As Needed