Christianity, Art, and Materiality Syllabus

Images and things wage a peculiar double power in Christian history. On the one hand, Christians have used a variety of materials in their religious lives, from paintings to books, lithographs, photographs, roadside memorials, relics, t-shirts, and more. At the same time, particularly since the sixteenth-century Protestant reformations and the expansion of colonial empires, some Christians have worried about the propensity of objects to become “idols” and enthrall viewers into evil. This seminar explores the visual and material cultures of Christianity from its beginnings to the present, including forms of Christianity including Catholicism, Protestantism, Mormonism, and Orthodoxy, and in conversation with other religious traditions such as Africana religions, Islam, and Judaism. The focus will be on working toward a final project on an Image or Thing of your choosing. Along the way we will host several special guests.

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