Art in the Global Middle Ages (MSc)

at University of Edinburgh

Visual culture, throughout the medieval period, is addressed from a global viewpoint. The programme combines study of the arts and their audiences in Europe with those in non-Christian cultures (Islam and China ). The main focus is on issues stemming from consideration of cultural exchange and interaction between West and East. One example is the practice of exchanging gifts, its traditions, diplomatic significance and intellectual consequences. The programme will also consider issues concerning pilgrimage and conquest, and will address questions arising from study of the rise of global trade and travel. These embrace such topics as: material exchange (e.g. ivory, pigments and silks); pilgrimage; travel literature and its uses; artistic and technological exchange; and the taste of the exotic.