Scent and Sense: Olfaction and Memory in Medieval Material Culture (sponsored by the International Center of Medieval Art)
Although we are used to thinking that the sense of sight reigned supreme in the Middle Ages, medieval scholars of all stripes were quite obsessively preoccupied with questions of olfaction. This session will explore the multivalent relationships between objects, smells, and memory, especially as they existed in the later Middle Ages.
Abstracts, one page in length, should be sent to Elina Gertsman (exg152@case.edu) by 10.15, 2020
Recently, The New Yorker published a highly problematic piece by Lawrence Wright, “How Pandemics Wreak Havoc and Open Minds.” Medievalists around the country responded to the article in a series of open letters. Click “Learn more” for one such open letter sent to the magazine by Prof. Elina Gertsman and her colleague at California State University, Prof. Asa Simon Mittman.
Congratulations to Reed, whose peer-reviewed article, “‘On Golden Tablets’: The Cleveland Museum of Art’s Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Manuscript as a Self-Referential Icon,” was just published in Religions, as part of the Special Issue Seeing and Reading: Art and Literature in Pre-Modern Indian Religions, guest-edited by Phyllis Granoff and Sonya Rhie Mace. Read it here: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/6/274/pdf
Throughout the history of art, wall painting has told stories, recorded myths and histories, and called groups to action. Read this post by Mackenzie Clark, who reflects on her participation in Painting on Walls, a collaborative art history and service learning course.