IMC 2009: Sessions
Session 802: Shaping Reception of Medieval Sites: What Are We Doing?, II
Tuesday 14 July 2009, 16.30-18.00
| Sponsor: | International Center of Medieval Art |
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| Organiser: | Janet T. Marquardt, Department of Art, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston |
| Moderator/Chair: | Janet T. Marquardt, Department of Art, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston |
| Paper 802-a | The 'Other' Primitive: Revisiting Romanesque in the Age of Colonialism (Language: English) Index terms: Art History - General, Historiography - Medieval, Medievalism and Antiquarianism |
| Paper 802-b | Un Palais dans la Ville: Avignon, le Palais des Papes (Language: Français) Index terms: Architecture - Religious, Historiography - Medieval, Medievalism and Antiquarianism |
| Abstract | With the eleven-hundredth anniversary of the Abbey of Cluny's foundation in 910 approaching, it seems timely to evaluate our current understanding of medieval monuments as cultural patrimony. We have seen two centuries of rising awareness to the historical importance, cultural meaning, and tourism potential of medieval structures in Western Europe. They have changed from outdated and neglected ruins past fashionable appreciation to picturesque relics claiming large investments toward their restoration. Yet some countries have too many historical monuments to maintain and the oldest represent the largest resource drain. How relevant are medieval sites today and why should modern administrations continue to market them as 'authentic' representatives of culture? Who determines popular views of the past in our society and are they merely following formulae initiated in the nineteenth century? Why are we still commemorating anniversaries of medieval institutions long gone? |