Medieval Art History: Are We Post-Theoretical?
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Special Session
Organizer Name
Gerry Guest
Organizer Affiliation
John Carroll Univ.
Presider Name
Karen Eileen Overbey
Presider Affiliation
Tufts Univ.
Paper Title 1
Reconsidering "the Law of the Frame" and the Tympanum of Saint-Lazare of Autun
Presenter 1 Name
Momo Kanazawa
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Tokai Univ.
Paper Title 2
Other Spaces: Medieval Architectural History between Theory and Practice
Presenter 2 Name
Zachary Stewart
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Texas A&M Univ.
Paper Title 3
A Queerer Très Riches Heures
Presenter 3 Name
Gerry Guest
Start Date
9-5-2019 3:30 PM
Session Location
Schneider 1350
Description
The philosopher and blogger Levi Bryant has written that theory “is a sort of strange work that precedes anything true, allowing that which does not appear to appear. There is never a simple gaze or seeing, but rather there is always an apparatus that allows something to appear that would not otherwise appear. And there is no looking nor acting that doesn’t presuppose an apparatus of appearance.” If we follow this line of thought, then all medievalists are theorists. Yet, in the 21st century, historians of medieval art seem largely indifferent to the field of critical theory, which profoundly marked the study of the humanities in the 20th century. If a generation ago scholars were concerned with defining something called “the new art history,” where do we stand now? Are we now working in a post-theoretical age or can a renewed engagement with theoretical issues enliven the field? Gerry Guest
Medieval Art History: Are We Post-Theoretical?
Schneider 1350
The philosopher and blogger Levi Bryant has written that theory “is a sort of strange work that precedes anything true, allowing that which does not appear to appear. There is never a simple gaze or seeing, but rather there is always an apparatus that allows something to appear that would not otherwise appear. And there is no looking nor acting that doesn’t presuppose an apparatus of appearance.” If we follow this line of thought, then all medievalists are theorists. Yet, in the 21st century, historians of medieval art seem largely indifferent to the field of critical theory, which profoundly marked the study of the humanities in the 20th century. If a generation ago scholars were concerned with defining something called “the new art history,” where do we stand now? Are we now working in a post-theoretical age or can a renewed engagement with theoretical issues enliven the field? Gerry Guest