Far From Jerusalem: The Exclusion of Jews on Christian Maps
online, USA
This lecture is about how medieval Christian maps use principles of inclusion and exclusion to generate fictions of collective identity. This talk will examine cartographical images of Jews, thus far understudied but key to the creation of a central myth of the Middle Ages: Christendom.
Dr. Asa Mittman is a professor in the Department of Art & Art History at California State University, Chico. A former New Yorker, Dr. Mittman received his Ph.D. in Art History from Stanford University and has written a number of books and articles on monsters, art, and film about the vaguely defined period known as the Middle Ages. Some of his recent works include a book titled Maps and Monsters in Medieval England and co-editing the The Ashgate Research Companion to Monsters and the Monstrous. He also serves as a director of the Virtual Mappa Project, an online resource dedicated to the research of early medieval maps and geographical texts. Dr. Mittman’s current research, which he will be sharing with us, pertains to images of Jews on medieval maps and their relationship with Christianity.