Studies in Art History

MARCO DI BRANCO

In consistency with the educational purposes of the whole teaching course, aim of the teaching unit is to give students a basic knowledge and comprehension skills in the field of key aspects the Byzantine civilization and literature, with the help of coherent textbooks. Moreover, it will make the student able to apply the acquired knowledge in an expert and reflective way, making autonomous judgments, communicating ideas, problems and reflections in a clear and correct way, and developing the knowledge required to go further in the studies.

At the end of the course, students will have acquired a critical understanding of Byzantine history and civilisation, with particular attention to the political, religious, cultural, and artistic developments that shaped the Byzantine Empire. They will be able to analyse and contextualise the principal historical and literary sources, use the appropriate disciplinary terminology, and understand Byzantium's role in the relations between East and West and in the development of medieval civilisation. Students will also develop the ability to formulate independent critical judgments and to discuss the major issues of the discipline in an informed and analytical manner.

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The course provides an introduction to Byzantine civilization, considered in its historical, political, religious, cultural, and artistic dimensions. The Byzantine Empire will be examined both as the continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire and as an original historical formation, capable of developing its own models of government, culture, spirituality, and representation of power.

After an introduction to the main issues concerning the definition of “Byzantium” and the periodization of Byzantine history, the course will examine the transformation of the late Roman world, the Christianization of the Empire, the role of Constantinople, and the construction of Byzantine political and religious identity. The main phases of Byzantine history will be discussed, from the age of Justinian to the Iconoclastic crisis, from the Macedonian revival to the Komnenian period, and from the Fourth Crusade to the Palaiologan restoration and the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Special attention will be devoted to imperial institutions, the relationship between political power and religious authority, urban and rural society, administration, the army, diplomacy, and relations with neighbouring peoples and cultures: the Islamic world, the Slavs, the Latins, Armenians, Georgians, and the Balkan world. The course will also examine Byzantine culture in its main forms of expression: historiography, hagiography, theology, literature, law, art, architecture, and manuscript production.

Through the analysis of written and material sources, the course aims to provide students with the tools needed to understand the role of Byzantium in the history of the medieval Mediterranean and in the transmission of the Roman, Greek, and Christian heritage. Its purpose is to move beyond the image of Byzantium as a marginal or static reality, and to show instead the complexity of a civilization that played a crucial role between Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Near East.

The course consists of lectures complemented by the analysis and discussion of historical sources in translation (Latin, Arabic, and, where appropriate, Greek), the critical reading of the assigned bibliography, and the examination of selected case studies. Particular attention will be devoted to comparing different historiographical traditions and to recent developments in the field.

Attendance is strongly recommended, as the course includes the critical reading and discussion ofGreek, Latin and Arabic primary sources, together with an analysis of recent scholarship.

Assessment is based on an oral examination. The examination is designed to evaluate students' knowledge of the course contents, their ability to place historical events, religious phenomena, and texts within their broader historical and cultural contexts, their appropriate use of disciplinary terminology, and their capacity to develop critical arguments based on the primary sources and scholarly literature discussed during the course. The assessment also takes into account clarity of presentation, the ability to establish connections between different topics, and the student's level of analytical independence.

What were the main characteristics of the Byzantine Empire, and in what ways did it preserve the legacy of the Roman Empire?
What role did Constantinople play in the political, religious, and economic history of the medieval Mediterranean?
How did Christianity shape Byzantine institutions and culture?
What were the major religious controversies of the Byzantine period (Arianism, Monophysitism, and Iconoclasm)?
What were the relations between the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world?
What was the significance of the Great Schism of 1054?
What were the consequences of the Fourth Crusade for Byzantium?
Which factors led to the fall of Constantinople in 1453?

• Unit 1 – Introduction and methodological issues, weeks 1–2Presentation of the course; sources and research tools; principal historiographical questions.Unit 2 – First thematic section, weeks 3–5Analysis of the sources and discussion of the relevant bibliography.Unit 3 – Second thematic section, weeks 6–9Reading and commentary of selected texts.Unit 4 – Further topics and conclusions, weeks 10–12Seminar discussion, final synthesis, and preparation for the examination.