Art and Religion

Teacher(s)

Dekoninck Ralph;

Language

French

Main themes

The course has the following objectives :
- Questioning the relationships between art and religion in the long history of Christianity. It mainly focuses on the moments of crisis (Byzantine image quarrel in the 8th century, war of religions in the 16th century, quarrel of sacred art in the 20th century) in order to show how this relationships have been incriminated or defended.
- starting from concrete examples, a reflection on the status, functions and uses of religious images and on the place of the arts (essentially painting and sculpture) within Christianity, with an opening towards other religions (especially Islam and Judaism).

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	undertake critical reflection into the aesthetic, theological and iconological issues at stake in the relationships between arts and religions.

Content

The course will examine the links between art and religion in the long history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It will focus on the various religious uses of art, but also on the more critical functions that art may have exercised with respect to the three great Abrahamic monotheistic traditions, as well as on the historical moments of crisis that led to the exclusion of images (iconophobia and iconoclasm).
Based on the analysis of images and the reading of theological texts, the course will question the status, functions and uses of religious images and the arts (essentially painting, sculpture, architecture and cinema) in Jewish, Christian and Muslim contexts over time.

Teaching methods

Various pedagogical approaches will be used. Theoretical lectures alternate with individual and group discussions. Part of the sessions will be devoted to the oral presentation of individual student works, which will then be discussed in groups. A tour to a museum (probably the Musée L) is planned to familirize the students with the materiality of the artefacts. 

Evaluation methods

The evaluation will be done in the form of an oral presentation during the course, and in the form of a written paper (course questionnaire). The final grade will therefore consist of two integrated parts. Successful completion of these two parts is essential to demonstrate the skills and knowledge defined in the learning outcomes of the course unit. The exam can only be passed if each part of the assessment is passed.

Other information

without object

Online resources

Moodle

Bibliography

Présentée et commentée lors du cours

Faculty or entity

TEBI