Cullman Center Institute for Teachers: Using Art to Study History: Medieval Europe with Sara Lipton

Event Details

Using Art to Study History: Medieval Europe with Sara Lipton

History is typically studied through texts, yet for much of human history the majority of people could not read or write. Recognizing this effective illiteracy, and spurred by the “image explosion” brought on by technological change in the 20th-21st centuries, historians have begun to turn to visual images and material objects to learn about the past. In this seminar we will explore one of the most image-oriented of all historical periods – medieval Europe – through the lens of its artworks. We’ll look at a range of medieval images and objects, and will discuss how to extract historical insights from them. The goals are to introduce global history and social studies teachers to new historical methods, and help them incorporate images and new technologies into their teaching.

Sara Lipton teaches medieval history at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. She is the author of Images of Intolerance: The Representation of Jews and Judaism in the Bible Moralisée, which was awarded the John Nicholas Brown Prize by the Medieval Academy of America. She worked on her most recent book, Dark Mirror: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Jewish Iconography, when she was a 2010-2011 Cullman Center fellow.

The deadline to apply to this seminar has passed. 

  • Audience: Adults