May 17, 2012 09:57
I'm relieved to have finished the last semester. It exemplified the imperative for mental athleticism in an academic career. Each class (Constantinople, Medieval Rome, History of the Mediterranean) was so rich unto itself that my cup ran over. As Nick recently said, "I'm sweating from too much food!"
I came to think of this semester's theme as "the invisible archetype" because I addressed art that survives only textually or piecemeal, as repercussions at other sites. My topics were a saints cycle at the Stoudios Monastery, image theory at Monte Cassino, and Merovingian church architecture. Monkish thought-worlds of remarkable similarity underwrote all this. Each church demonstrated the soteriological import of inscribed images within the charged space of a sacred site.
Now, my task is to prepare the summer class on medieval art. The most pressing thing is to write ten topical lectures bracketed by the Desert Fathers in the fourth century and the Cult of the Virgin in the fourteenth. If I do it wisely, these lectures will simultaneously engage my class and, secondarily, dovetail my exam preparation. It'll also be great to bequeath many readings that fired my imagination as an undergrad.
Also on the agenda: birthday, marriage. Nick's aunt held a bridal shower for me this past weekend. Everyone made a point of welcoming me into their family. My mom, sister, and other bridesmaids attended as well. To love and be loved. I'm happy to age because I feel full and ready to give freely as a wife, scholar, sometime mother, etc.