Agents of Faith: The Exhibition Experience
Faith is common to all human societies.
Examining votive objects—often created to fulfill a vow or as a pledge and
placed at a sacred space or site of communal memory—Agents of Faith: The
Exhibition Experience will look at the things humans choose to offer in their
votive transactions and will strive to uncover the most intimate moments in the
lives of humans, revealing how our dreams and hopes, as well as our fears and
anxieties, find form in votive offerings. The seminar is given in conjunction
with the exhibition Agents of Faith:
Votive Objects in Time and Place opening at the Bard Graduate Center
Gallery in September 2018. The seminar therefore will deal not only with the
study and research of votive offerings, their meaning and function, but will
also delve into issues which surrounded the planning and execution of the
exhibition. How do we curate and display objects that have religious or
sentimental value? How do we juxtapose objects from various cultures and what
is the danger in this practice? Questions of globalism, comparativism, and
transnationalism as avenues of research and curatorial practice will also find
their way into our seminar. 3 credits. Satisfies
the pre-1800 requirement.