“The Cultural Heritage of Medieval and Early Modern Art. Tasks, Challenges and Prospects“, International Spring School, Summer term 2025
Many medieval and early modern works of art and buildings have been preserved in Germany, Poland, Estonia, Finland and Sweden and belong to the canon of European art history. Impressive cathedrals, secular buildings, historic old towns as well as iconic works of art are world-famous.
There are countless examples located outside of prominent cultural centres and UNESCO World Heritage Sites, that are no less important and worthy of preservation. Today, this claim faces several challenges in a changing society. The interest in researching and preserving even lesser-known medieval art comes up against social, political, and financial interests. How can this cultural heritage be kept alive as a bridge between the past and the present for all people? What is the role of art history and the humanities in general?
During the Spring School these questions are to be discussed and further developed from a transdisciplinary perspective and with great expertise. To this end, the Spring School addresses students in various formats to further sharpen and concretise related topics as cultural continuity, historical understanding, aesthetic experience, artistic development and tourist and cultural attractions.
The exchange will therefore take place between the two units Empathy and search for new meanings in exhibiting Medieval and Early Modern artworks and Transformations of medieval objects.
The Empathy Unit’s aim is to reflect on the possible ways of curating (im)perfect objects and the interpretive potential of the artworks that can no longer be repaired or reconstructed. Objects from the past, often fragmented and broken, have been collected and displayed since humankind started to reflect upon its own history. Nevertheless, a tendency is still common in modern museum practices, where curators only employ severely damaged artworks as a visual device to throw viewers off balance and tell stories about natural disasters and wars. Consequently, these objects and their stories serve only as an illustration of a grand narrative. Moreover, following the ‘affective turn’ in museology and the strategies of ‘affective curatorship’ (as termed by Marzia Varutti), we will revolve around how these types of objects elicit empathy and emotional responses from curators and visitors alike. We will draw attention to selected contemporary curatorial strategies and museum practices that force us to look for meaning in broken, incomplete and not necessarily beautiful objects.
The Transformations Unit looks at and investigates the fates of medieval art in non-Catholic church spaces focusing on the current situation: Medieval art belonging to the Roman Catholic times is often on sight also in Protestant church spaces. This applies to many countries and regions around the Baltic Sea, which turned to Lutheranism in the beginning of the sixteenth century. During the following centuries the artworks were treated in numerous ways: whereas some were destroyed or tossed aside, some were reworked and modified to fit the new taste or ideals. Topics might include alterations of objects and their role in the (church) space, relocation of musealized medieval art to churches, the concept of repatriation, the role of the church for today’s societies and the original location for a Roman Catholic devotional object etc.
The discussion on tasks, challenges and perspectives will lead to cross-cutting subjects such as social and digital transformation, the decline in knowledge of one's own history and interest in culture, but also the importance of sustainable (digital?) education programs, marginalized target groups or regional cultural tourism.
After a selection of students from all participating universities, multilateral groups will be formed in January. You will get to know each other in a virtual welcome meeting on 31 January. The first virtual course session will then take place in March, where we will discuss the topics of the Spring School. Until the meeting in Greifswald, you will prepare the topics in your groups through self-study. The presentation of your results will take place during the on-site seminar phases and during the two excursions to Stralsund and Rostock.
Conditions
Students and doctoral candidates who wish to participate must meet the following requirements
- they have to study in a master’s programme or doctoral programme
- they need to write a letter of motivation why they would like to participate in the Spring School
- they will have to give a presentation in English and be able to follow the discussions in English
- if they are selected, they must commit to participate in the whole program
Please send your application including your CV and a short letter of motivation until 10 January 2025 to trinkert@hhu.de. You will be informed about the results in end of January 2024. The virtual Welcome meeting is on 31 January.
Costs
Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by an Erasmus agreement.
We will take a trip to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Stralsund and visit the churches, cloisters and old town. We will also travel to Rostock and visit the old town, churches and the Museum of Cultural History with its medieval and early modern collections. There will be a public lecture in the evening and two joint dinners.