- Department: History of Art
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: I
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
- See module specification for other years: 2023-24
This module uses maps as paradigmatic examples to investigate medieval concepts of time and space, practices of contemplation and knowledge compilation, and ideas of territory and power.
Occurrence | Teaching period |
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A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
Globalisation goes hand in hand with experiences of spatial and temporal simultaneities and disjunctures. These have been met within arts and humanities research by an increasing focus on concepts of space and time, and an interrogation of the role of media technologies in their construction. Maps are a particularly rich area for such investigations. This module will focus on maps produced in medieval Europe, ranging from maps of cities, regions and continents to seascapes and unknown parts of the earth. Through the analysis of key examples we will explore the ways in which knowledge about the world was generated. We will critically examine the relationship between centre and periphery, marginalisation and othering; the role of physical and virtual travel; and how textual and visual features work together as distinct and conjoined modes of expression. We will explore what roles maps had in medieval practices of devotion, education, and politics, and ask what place research on such objects has today within the growing field of the Global Middle Ages. The module will enable students to develop the skills to work independently with complex primary sources, and to engage in topical debates in arts and humanities research.
By the end of the module, students should have acquired:
a good knowledge of key examples of medieval maps
acquaintance with their intellectual and cultural contexts
an understanding of the debates about and approaches to the subject
Task | % of module mark |
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Essay/coursework | 100 |
None
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
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