Introduction to the Course: Encounters with Beauty

Creation : Origins of Beauty

“When we contemplate with wonder the universe in all its grandeur and beauty, we must praise the whole Trinity.”

(St John Paul II, Catechesis).

With a particular emphasis on Genesis, we will explore ways in which ideas on art and beauty might emerge through a reflection on the first (and most recent) encounters of creation and humanity. 

Creation : The Matter of Beauty

In this lecture, we will seek to address questions on the relation between matter and beauty, on how matter may positively serve as a means of expressing and thinking about the divine.  

Spatial Encounters: Sacred and Secular

What do the terms ‘sacred’ and ‘space’ mean, and how do these meanings change when the terms are brought together? How are the senses and matter key players in identifying and animating sacred space? In this session, we will explore the origins and some of the earliest manifestations of sacred space. 

Spatial Encounters: Locations and Orientations 

How do sacred spaces interact with the landscapes in which they are located? What role do notions of design, geometry, cosmology, and technology, play in the construction and memorialisation of sacred spaces? Which parts of our domestic and communal spaces have the potential to participate in the sacred?  

Spatial Encounters: The Temple 

In this session, we will consider the Biblical roots to sacred space, the transition and cross-cultural adaptations in Judeo-Christian and Classical public, private and religious space.   

Origin, Matter and Spirit

Visit to St Agatha Catacombs, Rabat

Spatial Encounters: Adorning and Adoring 

What are the ways in which space could be prepared and adorned for the encounter with the divine? In this session, we will explore some early Christian and medieval sacred spaces, their architecture, and decoration as a reflection of the main beliefs and practices animating the encounter with the sacred.  

The Body: Embodying the Divine 

How can consider the human body as a category of analysis in the discourse on beauty? In this session, we will explore notions on how the body may be envisioned as a temple or as a sacred space.  

Sacred Space

Site Visit to St John`s Co-Cathedral

The Body: Becoming like the Divine

In this session, we will explore different ways of thinking about the relationship between icons and idols, particularly in light of Christian doctrine, apologetics, and theology. 

Violent Encounters: Worship and Destruction

In this session, we will address issues concerning iconoclastic reactions to the figurative representation of the divine and how violence and destruction may inform our notion of beauty, religious practice, and worship. A special focus will be given to Eastern Christianity, art, and architecture. 

Violent Encounters: Reconciling Beauty: the crucifix 

In this session, we will take a look at the central image, Eikon, of Christianity: the Crucified Christ, and how the portrayal of suffering—especially as expressed in Western religious imagery—may evoke a spirit of empathy and transformation in the beholder. 

Violent Encounters: Memory and Remembrance 

In this session we will consider the memorialisation of political violence through sacred (or pseudo-sacred) art, taking the city of Valletta as a departure point to reflect on the making of political, corporate, religious, and cultural identities.  

Violent Encounters

Visit Valletta Streets

Violent Encounters: Revelation of Beauty

In this conclusion, we will reflect on how the rhetoric of violence, as expressed through the arts, may afford a unique space to contemplate central Christian notions concerning redemption, salvation, fraternal and divine love.  

Half-day retreat with class suggestions, class presentations and group reflection  

Last Lecture: Class suggestion