HISTART 255-001

The Visual Afterlife of Classical Mythology: Gods and Goddesses in Art

180 Tappan
TTh 11:30-1:00pm
3 Credit Lecture

Myths are a way of structuring and explaining the world, especially offering tales of origin or founding acts when the world is regarded as one in constant flux. Their narrative and cultural significance changes over time. This course explores the 'after life' of classical mythologies in both text and image by focusing on the Renaissance, that moment in European history when a 'classical revival' reshaped culture. Many of the cultural, political and moral values of classicism are thought to inform the Western world today, so there is great pertinence to studying the intersection of these traditions with contemporary representations also, chiefly in film.

Textbooks/Other Materials: All readings are free on CTools.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $0.

HISTART Categories for concentration distributions: D. Europe and the U.S., 3. Early Modern