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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Organized by the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” at the University of Münster, new lecture and reading series on aesthetic conceptions of the body from the Middle Ages to the present day – With readings from works by the imprisoned Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who gave the Droste reading at the Cluster of Excellence in 2024 – Starting with US art historian Taylor McCall on 6 May
The human body in art and literature is the subject of a new lecture and reading series organized by the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” at the University of Münster. Announcing the series in the Cluster of Excellence’s annual theme “Body and Religion”, art historian Eva Krems says: “We will examine in lectures, readings and discussions how writers and artists have conceived the body aesthetically in the religious, political and scientific context of their time”. Entitled “Aesthetic conceptions of the body between religion and politics”, the series will highlight artistic perspectives on the body from the Middle Ages to the early modern period and into the modern era. To begin the series on 6 May, US art historian Taylor McCall will talk about “Planetary bodies” in medieval anatomical depictions. On 27 May, a reading of works by the Algerian writer Boualem Sansal is planned, who has been imprisoned since November 2024 and who gave the Droste-Hülshoff reading at the Cluster of Excellence at the beginning of 2024.
As Romance scholar Karin Westerwelle explains, Sansal, winner of the German Book Trade’s Peace Prize, looks critically in his novels and essays at Islamism and totalitarian regimes. “In our evening event, actor Carsten Bender and students will read selected texts by Sansal that focus on the significance of the human body in the context of political and religious repression”. Eva Krems and Karin Westerwelle are organizing the lecture and reading series together with Romance scholar Pia Doering and art historian Jens Niebaum. The events on 6 May, 20 May and 27 May, as well as on 24 June and 8 July, begin at 6:15 pm in lecture theatre JO 1, Johannisstraße 4, 48143 Münster (to participate via Zoom, register at: veranstaltungenEXC@uni-muenster.de).
“Conceptions of the human body are not given by nature; rather, they are historical, social and cultural constructs”, explains Eva Krems. “Religious rituals and ideas, legal and political stipulations, medical rules, and hygienic practices – these shape the body through language, image and power”. In literature and the visual arts, the exposed body manifests the often conflict-ridden or violent interplay between individual and society, “be it in the form of martyred and sacralized bodies, be it in the form of bodies that are deformed or beautiful, flawless”.
“Nudity and clothing” in Montaigne
According to the researchers, artists and writers have always explored the relationship between body and spirit, focusing on how inner processes manifest themselves physically and can be depicted externally. “They analyze body images prevalent in society and question religious and political norms by exposing corporeality in linguistic and visual symbols”. In their lecture, Eva Krems and Jens Niebaum will talk about bodies in early modern art, which, unlike in the Middle Ages, do not appear stylized and symbolic, but are anatomically correct and have realistic proportions. Karin Westerwelle will talk about “Nudity and clothing” in the work of Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592), and Pia Doering about ironic representations of the body in pre-fascist Italy in the work of Italo Svevo (1861–1928). (vvm/fbu)
https://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/religion_und_politik/aktuelles/fl... Programme for the lecture- and reading series
Poster for the lecture and reading series “Aesthetic conceptions of the body between religion and po ...
Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics”
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Poster for the lecture and reading series “Aesthetic conceptions of the body between religion and po ...
Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics”
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