Introduction to Topics in History (292-0-20)

Topic

Thieves and Collectors: Medieval Objects in Modern

Instructors

Alexandra Montero Peters

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L05: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

How did objects a thousand years old make it into a museum display case, a private collection, or into the shadowy underworld of illegal markets? Who decides the value of an irreplaceable piece of history, and who decides who can own it, sell it, or gift it? This class examines case studies that follow the long lives of specific medieval manuscripts and objects from their original historical contexts to their unexpected journeys through world wars, black markets, and international court room battles. We will meet thieves, collectors, and conservators who fought for these precious objects, and we will similarly get to know the medieval intellectuals, patrons, and artisans who made these pieces and for what purposes. This class focuses primarily on rich primary sources to foreground each case study from locations as disparate as medieval Armenia, Germany, and the Jewish communities of Spain. Students will then read modern materials such as news articles, legal briefs, and works of fiction and nonfiction to follow the winding and often dramatic paths certain medieval objects took to survive against all odds to the present day. By excavating the rich medieval contexts of these objects, this seminar gives students the opportunity to not only learn about the diversity of cultures and peoples of the medieval millennium (500-1500 CE), but to also engage with the ongoing struggle to reckon with the ethics and quandaries of historical patrimony.

Learning Objectives

1) to guide students through interdisciplinary sources so that they can hone the skill of historical analysis; 2) to challenge how the biases of historiography have shaped modern perceptions of the Middle Ages; 3) to improve how students develop and defend their scholarly opinion both in writing and in discussion.

Class Notes

History Major Concentration(s): European
History Minor Concentration(s): Europe

Class Attributes

Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area