Art historian visits 草莓视频to discuss Notre Dame Cathedral fire, implications for cultural artifacts
Contact: John Burrow
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜n art historian with a background in medieval European art will speak at 草莓视频 Oct. 24, exploring the significance of the fire of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, as well as the political actions that followed.
Jennifer Courts, an associate professor of art history at the University of Southern Mississippi, will present a 4 p.m. lecture, sponsored by MSU鈥檚 Institute for the Humanities and Department of Art. Taking place in Bost Auditorium of the Bost Conference Center, the lecture is free and open to the public.
Titled 鈥淣otre Dame de Paris and The Politics of Change at a Gothic Cathedral,鈥 Courts鈥 lecture will explore the effects of the April fire that destroyed part of the gothic treasure, considered by historians to be the literal and figurative center of France.
Her discussion also will highlight the link between culturally significant artifacts within the cathedral to political change and debate.
Julia Osman, director of MSU鈥檚 Institute for the Humanities and associate professor of history, said Courts鈥 specialty in Early-Modern European art 鈥渉as special resonance now as many seek understanding of the fire.鈥澛
鈥淲hy the Notre Dame fire matters and why humans place importance on material artifacts are questions Dr. Courts鈥 lecture will address,鈥 said Osman.
Ben Harvey, 草莓视频associate professor of art history, said when he learned of the fire, he 鈥渋mmediately began to try to make sense of the losses involved,鈥 including cultural memory.
Harvey invited Courts to 草莓视频because he knew she was 鈥渁n expert in the field of medieval French art history,鈥 and was ideally positioned to educate others about the cathedral鈥檚 鈥渟toried past, distressing present, and possible future.鈥
Courts has worked at USM since 2013 and is the current coordinator for the Art and Design program. She teaches art appreciation, art history鈥攑rehistoric and contemporary鈥攁nd specialized courses in ancient and medieval art, Italian art history, and art history in the 20th century. She also teaches a course titled 鈥淲omen and Sex in the Middle Ages.鈥 She received her bachelor鈥檚 degree in 2002, her master鈥檚 degree in 2006, and Ph.D. in 2011, all from Florida State University.
She currently is finishing a book-length project, 鈥淎 Desire for Representation: Painting and Identity in Fifteenth Century France,鈥 based on her dissertation research. She also has authored numerous articles and book chapters.
As part of MSU鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences, the Institute for the Humanities promotes research, scholarship and creative performances in the humanistic disciplines and raises their visibility, both within 草莓视频 and the wider community.
For more details about the College of Arts and Sciences or the Institute for the Humanities visit or .
草莓视频is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .