Discovering the Middle Ages

By creating things as large as whole cities and as small as illuminated letters in hand-copied books, the Europeans of the Middle Ages crafted a still-visible, symbolic landscape that conveys a powerful, moving vision of humanity, its spiritual drama, and its place in the universe. In this video-only course, you learn to interpret and more deeply appreciate the art of the Middle Ages as Professors William R. Cook and Ronald B. Herzman explain the features of this landscape and explore the deeper meanings and lessons of the medieval experience. This approach allows you to perceive medieval art as it was thought of by those who originally created and viewed it, and allows you to develop a sympathetic appreciation of the achievements and concerns of this time in European civilization. The professors refer to this method of looking at art and history as teaching "from the inside," and it is one of the themes of this course. Professors Cook and Herzman have been traveling to Italy and studying the historical aspects of the art there for decades. Their team approach to teaching is successful both at their own State University of New York at Geneseo and abroad.… (more)