| CODE | BST5500 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Research Seminars in Baroque Studies | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | History of Architecture | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Together with BST5019, this study unit entitled ‘Seminars in Baroque Studies’ (5 ECTS) aims at providing the necessary supportive preparation for the compilation of BST5555 entitled ‘Dissertation’ which is the hinge of this programme of study. It also aims at providing the necessary training to enable the students, on completion of the course entitled MA in Baroque Studies (by research), to competently engage in public speaking, critical thinking and informed debate, as well as to acquire the necessary communication skills about aspects of the Baroque Age. Having identified the subject that he/she then will be investigating on applying for this course, the student will be asked, as would be required by the course regulations, to select the mandatory tow (2) seminar themes that would be considered necessary to successfully complete his/her dissertations (see attachment 2 for seminar themes). Having selected the two (2) seminar themes from the list of seven (7) offered, and obtained the approval of the Board of Studies of the course as specified in Section B3 of the Stage 2 Proposal Form, the student will then be required to attend the two seminars of the Seminar corresponding to the selected themes, according to the time-table of the course, which as is normal practices, will be published on commencement of the programme. The structure of the seminar envisaged in this study unit will be based on two (2) sessions, one concerning the first approved theme and the other concerning the second approved theme. The first session on the first theme will be of one week duration, providing a learning period of 63 hours of which 18 hours would be based on direct contact spread over five (5) working days. The second session on the second theme will also be of one week duration, involving a teaching period of 63 hours of which 18 hours would be based on direct contact also spread over five (5) working days. The two (2) sessions of the BST5500 entitled ‘Seminars in Baroque Studies’ will collectively therefore involve a learning period of 126 hours of which 36 hours will be devoted to direct contact with the seminar coordinator (whose role would be to introduce, specify the main points of exploration and guide the process of that particular session) and with the specified local academic staff members who, in conjunction with the possible involvement of foreign academics, will continue to enrich the ensuing debates which will be focused on the highlighted topics which have been identified in the attached ‘seminar themes’. At the end of the semester each student will be asked to submit a research paper of 4000 words on each of the two seminar themes chosen and present its contest in a viva-voce test designed to assess its contents and the communication skills that would have been acquired by the student. The following is an overall description of the study unit to be read in conjunction with the attached specific description of each of the (7) themes offered: The accumulation of evidence furnished by the various eyewitnesses and recent studies suggest that there were a set of unwritten priorities which would have conditioned the minds of Europeans in the Baroque age. The religious concerns that were associated with the Tridentine renewal of the Catholic church (considered necessary by many in view of Luther’s revolt and the irreverent spending and dissolute lives of the Borgias and their successors in the first half of the sixteenth century) and its sequel (as manifest in the unprecedented splendour and elaborate ceremonies in Catholic Church rituals and the emphasis on the acquisition of eternal bliss in heaven or eternal damnation in fires of hell) would have constituted the first of these conditioning priorities. Being an age of intrinsically complicated political manoeuvres and violent behaviour patterns, the Baroque mind also prioritized the need of living not only in the grace of God, but also securely in towns which were well equipped with inner and outer fortifications, with firearms and ammunition, and with supportive urban armatures. Well organized standing armies and formal instruction in military matters would have also been on the mind of rulers, who would have been determined to cling to what they believed were God-given Absolute rights over their subjects. All this would have given rise to a stifling air of suspicion and intolerance of Church and State to any winds of change, which could have inspired in the populace thoughts of rebellion against the established order. Many were those ardent minds, however, who defied the suspicions of their peers, and managed to create new philosophies and new approaches to mathematics and astronomy, medical practice, and women’s’ rights. Reacting to the general air of suspicion, oppression and atrocious punishments which pervaded the Baroque age, other ardent minds found solace in an unprecedented appreciation of all that was beautiful and fine in cities and the visual arts so that there was never an age so infatuated with the patronized achievements of its architects, sculptors, painters and art collectors. The Baroque age was also obsessed with a love of all for all kinds of spectacle, used by ruthless rulers to impress crowds and discourage criticism and rebellion against a privileged establishment which provided them for their enjoyment and recreation. For this purpose, everything seems to have been orchestrated to provide a show – theatrical performances, public punishments, medical dissections, military drills and parades, spectacular banquets, garden festivities with breath taking pyrotechnics and, most importantly, an impressive range of indoor and outdoor religious rituals concerned with life and death. All these themes became multimedia experiences affecting all the human senses by their musical sounds, incense, damasks and interior artistry. An unprecedented appreciation of literary endeavour also occupied a special place in the Baroque world providing an opportunity for diverse literary expressions to subtly criticize happenings of the times but also to highlight the concerns of everyone for the very human problems of life, time and death, also to promote a love of God, encourage laughter and love as an escape from the harsh realities of contemporary life, also to resurrect idealized mythological themes of the ancient world and to immortalize the achievement of leading personalities and great military victories. These were the principal priorities that affected the mindsets of thousands of Europeans living in the Baroque age. Study-Unit Aims: The scope of this study-unit is to familiarise the student with state-of-the-art knowledge about (2) specific subjects within the milieux of general knowledge about the baroque age, which will be related to the dissertation. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study unit the student will have gained a working knowledge and understanding of the wider aspects of the Baroque age and the principal reference works involved which will place him in a stronger position to plan and complete his dissertation and place the theme that he would be writing about in the context of the times, necessary for the completion of any dissertation dealing with Baroque Studies. In addition, the conduct of the teaching and learning experience during the seminar sessions will enable the student to achieve confidence in public speaking, critical thinking and informal debate with all arguments raised being communicated in a clear and persuasive manner. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Complete in a satisfactory manner the dissertation, and, afterward, to disseminated the contents (in the context of related, more general studies on the subject) in debates, public speaking and conferences. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Blanning, Tim. The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648-1815. London: Penguin, 2008. - De Lucca, Denis., The Baroque Mind (University of Malta: International Institute for Baroque Studies, 2018) - Fisher, Herbert A.L. A History of Europe, vol. 1. London and Glasgow: Collins – The Fontana Library, 1966 - Mumford, Lewis. The City in History. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1966. - Villari, Rosario (ed.). Baroque Personae. Translated by Lydia G. Cochrane. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1995. SEMINAR THEME-SPECIFIC WORKS TO BE READ: - THEME 1 - POLITICS, VIOLENCE AND IDEOLOGICAL ISSUES - Bangert S.J., William V. A History of the Society of Jesus. St. Louis: St.Louis Institute, 1972 - Black, Christopher, The Italian Inquisition (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009) - Childs, John. Warfare in the Seventeenth Century. London: Cassell, 2001. - Cockle, Maurice J.D. A bibliography of military books up to 1642. Second Edition. London: Holland Press,1957. - DE LUCCA, D., BONNICI H., SPITERI S.; ‘LINES OF DEFENCE - FORTIFICATION DRAWINGS OF THE BAROQUE AGE AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MALTA (University of Malta: International Institute for Baroque Studies, 2016) - DE LUCCA, D., Jesuits and Fortifications: The Contribution of the Jesuits to Military Architecture in the Baroque Age (Leiden and Boston: Brill Academic Publishers: HISTORY OF WARFARE SERIES, 2012) - De Lucca, Denis., The Baroque Mind (University of Malta: International Institute for Baroque Studies, 2018) - Chapters 1,2,3 and 4. - Fara, Amelio. Il Sistema e la città: Architettura fortificata dell’Europa moderna dai trattati alle realizzazioni, 1464-1754. Genova: Sagep Editrice, 1989 - Hale, John Rigby. War and Society in Renaissance Europe, 1450-1620. Leicester: Leicester University Press in assoc. with Fontana, 1985. - Helfferich, Tryntje. The Essential Thirty Years War: A Documentary History. Cambridge [Ma]: Hackett Publishing Company Inc., 2015. - Hoppen, Alison. The Fortifications of Malta by the Order of St. John, 1530-1798. Malta: Mireva Publications, 1999. - Pepper, Simon and Adams, Nicholas. Firearms and Fortifications – Military Architecture and Siege Warfare in Sixteenth-Century Siena ( Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1986) - Pollak, Martha, Cities and War in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2013) - Serracino Inglott, Peter. Baroque Philosophy and Death in ‘Journal of Baroque Studies’ Volume 1. Edited by Petra Bianchi. University of Malta: International Institute for Baroque Studies, 2003. - Spiteri, Stephen. The Art of Fortress building in Hospitaller Malta. Malta: BDL Publishing, 2008. - Virol, Michèle. Vauban: De la gloire du Roi au service de l’État. Seyssel: Champ Vallon, 2003. - Yelegaonkar, Shrikant. Western Thinkers in Political Science. Lulu.com: Ashok Yakkaldevi, 2015 THEME 2 - RELIGIOUS REFORM: - Black, Christopher, The Italian Inquisition (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009) - Ciappara, Frans., Society and the Inquisition in Early Modern Malta (Malta:PEG, 2001) - Cullen Murphy, God's Jury: The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World (2012) - De Lucca, Denis., The Baroque Mind (University of Malta: International Institute for Baroque Studies, 2018) – Chapter 2 - Evennett, H. Outram, The Spirit of the Counter-Reformation (Cambridge University Press, 2008) THEME 3 – THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION AND MEDICAL PRACTICE: - Briffa, Glorianne. The Anatomy Lesson : Teaching Anatomy in Malta in the Baroque Age. M.A. in Baroque Studies Dissertation. University of Malta : International Institute for Baroque Studies, 2016. - Cohen, H. Floris. The Rise of Modern Science Explained: A Comparative History (Cambridge University Press, 2015). - De Lucca, Denis., The Baroque Mind (University of Malta: International Institute for Baroque Studies, 2018) – Chapter 7 - Henry, John. The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science (2008) - Knight, David. Voyaging in Strange Seas: The Great Revolution in Science (Yale U.P., 2014) - Lindberg, D.C. The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, 600 B.C. to A.D. 1450 (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1992). - Pedersen, Olaf (1993). Early Physics and Astronomy: A Historical Introduction. (Cambridge Univ. Press 1993). - Savona Ventura, Charles. Knight Hospitaller Medicine in Malta (1530-1798). Malta: P.E.G. Ltd., 2004 - Sharratt, Michael. Galileo: Decisive Innovator. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1994) - Shapin, Steven., The Scientific Revolution.( Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1996). THEME 4 – AESTHETICS AND FINE THINGS: - Boscarino, Salvatore. Sicilia barocca: Architettura e città 1610-1760. Rome: Officina Edizioni, 1986. - Brown, Jonathan. Kings and Connoisseurs: Collecting Art in Seventeenth-Century Europe. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1993. - De Lucca, Denis., The Baroque Mind (University of Malta: International Institute for Baroque Studies, 2018) – Chapter 6 - Toman Rolf. Baroque: Architecture, Painting, Sculpture ( ULLMANN 2011 ) - Giuffrè Maria, Barocco in Sicilia (San Giovanni Lupatoto: Arsenale Editrice, 2006) - Pesco, Daniela del and Hopkins, Andrew (ed.). La città del Seicento in Storia della città Vol. 10. (Rome: Editori Laterza, 2014) - Portogesi, Paolo, Roma barocca, (Rome-Bari: Editori Laterza, 1997) - Wittkower, Rudolf, Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750, Volumes I [Early Baroque],II [High Baroque]and III [Late Baroque] (New Haven and London: Yale University Press,1982) THEME 5 – GENDER ISSUES: - DE LUCCA D., Gender Issues in the Baroque Age in Francis Ciappara (ed.), Journal of Baroque Studies Vol. 2 no.3 Supplement (International Institute for Baroque Studies, 2019) - Muscat, Christine., Public Women (Malta, - Muscat Christine., the Magdalene Nuns and Penitent Prostitutes in Valletta (Malta, THEME 6 – SPECTACLE AND LITERARY ACHEIVEMENT: - De Lucca, Denis., The Baroque Mind (University of Malta: International Institute for Baroque Studies, 2018) – Chapters 8 and 9 - Gatto, Simona. Grandiose Feste nella città di Messina tra il XVI e XVIII sec. Journal of Baroque Studies,Volume 1, Number 2. Edited by Francis Ciappara. University of Malta: International Institute for Baroque Studies, 2014. - Gori Sassoli, Mario. Della Chinea e di altre ‘macchine di gioia’: Apparati architettonici per fuochi d’artificio a Roma nel Settecento. Milano: Charta,1994. - McCabe S.J., William H. An Introduction to Jesuit Theater. Edited by Louis Olani S.J. St. Louis: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1983. - Tamburini, Elena, Scenotecnica barocca: Costruzione de' teatri e machine teatrali (E & A Editori Associati, 1994). THEME 7 –THE CONSERVATION OF THE BAROQUE ARCHITECTURAL LEGACY: - Feilden, Bernard M., Conservation of Historic Buildings (Architectural Press, 2003). |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Seminar | ||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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