RLMgB608 Visuality and religion

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Aleš Chalupa, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. PhDr. Luboš Bělka, CSc. (lecturer)
PhDr. Dalibor Papoušek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Jana Valtrová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
PhDr. Iva Doležalová (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Aleš Chalupa, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Kristýna Čižmářová
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each odd Thursday 18:00–19:40 G25, except Mon 18. 11. to Sun 24. 11.
Prerequisites (in Czech)
TYP_STUDIA ( MND )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 3/30, only registered: 1/30, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 6 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course explores the role of images and visual representations in various religious traditions. It shows how religious symbols express some of the religious ideas or elements contained in the theological concepts of a given religious tradition or, conversely, how theological concepts are canonized through an initially more experimental and theologically fluid visuality. The course also analyzes the historical and cultural contexts of religious iconography and visuality, as well as the challenges and controversies that can arise from different interpretations of the visual representations used. Theoretically and methodologically, the course draws on a variety of approaches from comparative religion, historical anthropology, semiotics, and art history. The aim of the course is to provide students with a critical understanding of the diversity of religious iconography and visuality, and to encourage their own creative and reflective engagement with the religious-scientific interpretation of different iconographic motifs.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
  • Identify and describe the possible functions of visual symbols and iconographic motifs in various religious traditions;
  • Analyze and interpret the meaning of religious images and visual representations in their historical and social context;
  • Critically evaluate various aesthetic, cultural, economic and political aspects of religious images and iconographic motifs.
    • Syllabus
    • Introduction to visuality in religions
    • Bhavacakra in I-T-R (image-text-ritual) perspective I
    • Bhavacakra in the I-T-R (image-text-ritual) perspective II
    • Tauroctony in perspective I-T-R (image-text-ritual) I
    • Tauroctony in perspective I-T-R (image-text-ritual) II
    • Jokhang in Lhasa and its reconstruction after the Cultural Revolution in China I
    • Jokhang in Lhasa and its reconstruction after the Cultural Revolution in China II
    • Periodic restoration of the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan I
    • Periodic restoration of the Templo Mayor in the Tenochtitlan II
    • Visual representations of the crucifixion of Jesus in early Christianity I
    • Visual representation of the crucifixion of Jesus in early Christianity II
    • The sign of the cross in transcultural communication (the "Nestorian" cross and the swastika) I
    • The sign of the cross in transcultural communication (the "Nestorian" cross and the swastika) II
    Literature
    • David Morgan, The Sacred Gaze: Religious Visual Culture in Theory and Practice, Berkeley: University of California Press 2002.
    • S. Brent Plate (ed.), Religion, Art, and Visual Culture: A Cross Cultural Reader, New York: Palgrave MacMillan 2002.
    • N. Mirzoeff, An Introduction to Visual Culture, London – New York: Routledge 1991.
    • J. C. Cooper, An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols, London: Thames and Hundson 1978.
    • John Harvey, „Visual Culture“, in: Michael Stausberg – Steven Engler (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion, London – New York: Routledge 2011, 502-522.
    Teaching methods
    Teaching takes the form of seminars. For each class, a set of visual representations on a given topic will be assigned in advance, together with three academic texts that discuss these visual representations, present their possible interpretations or open up some of the important theoretical and methodological questions.
    Assessment methods
    Within each thematic block, the student will make a presentation in which he/she will present a specific visual material related to a problem that is the subject of the chosen academic text (60%; each of the three presentations will be scored on a scale of 0-20 points; to obtain the required score, at least 36 out of 60 points must be obtained in this category). Activity in seminars in which students do not give a presentation will also be assessed with bonus points on a scale of 0-3. For the colloquium, the student prepares a presentation on a visual/iconographic motif of his/her choice, in which he/she uses this new material to discuss one of the theoretical or methodological problems discussed during the seminars (40%; the presentation will be scored on a scale of 0-40 points; at least 24 out of 40 possible points are required in this category to reach the required score threshold).
    Language of instruction
    Czech
    Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
    The course is taught once in two years.
    Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujících.
    • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
    • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2024/RLMgB608