German Studies Lecture Series: Kristin Böse and Markus Späth

Join the Department of German Studies for a meeting of the Lecture Series, with Professor Kristin Böse and Professor Markus Späth.

A medieval “Kulturlandschaft” of many shades

Forming and transforming Hesse in the Later Middle Ages

Abstract:

In German-speaking Humanities, the interrelation of a landscape and its material culture, particularly works of art and architecture, is a long-discussed issue. Scholarly definitions of “Kulturlandschaft” or “Kunstlandschaft”, however, tend to consider landscape as a rather coherent phenomenon often without dynamics within the historical process. One particular German region, to which such a seemingly homogenous attribution is made, is Hesse. In this talk, Böse and Späth will demonstrate that what is nowadays the “Bundesland” Hesse is rather a network of partly diverse microlandscapes formed and transformed over centuries due to its position on important crossroads in the center of Europe. The speakers will present results from their research during their recent stay as Gerda Henkel Visiting Professors at the Department of German Studies, which focuses on defining appropriate parameters to describe the complexity of the formation and transformation of a medieval landscape.

About the speakers:

Kristin Böse and Markus Späth hold a joint Gerda Henkel Visiting Professorship in German Studies at Stanford University during Fall Quarter 2022 with the teaching and research project “Route – Place – Object. Re-defining ‚cultural landscape‘ in medieval Germany”, focusing on the central German region of Hesse from the thirteenth century until the Reformation. Kristin and Markus are professors of Medieval Art History at the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe-Universität Frankfurt and at the Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen.

Register here in advance. Lunch will be provided. This talk will be in English.