2014-2015 HEMED online course : Religions and figurative depictions

For 25 centuries, the believers of different religions have had to ponder over three questions, regarding the topic of figurative representations: How to depict the transcendent? Is it possible and acceptable to depict with a pen, a brush or any other instrument the creation of life? What type of relationship can the believer entertain with such a depiction? Every religion, depending on times and places, has given different answers to these questions. Three periods are especially noticeable: the VIIth-VIth centuries BC (written interdiction and stories proving it didn’t always prevail), the VIIIth century (Jews, Christians and Muslims establish the core of their theory concerning the relationship between religion and image), the XIXth and XXth centuries (growing inability to control the depictions, for political and technical reasons).

As for now, this course is only available in French, but an English translation should follow : http://hemed.univ-lemans.fr/cours2014/fr/co/Module_5_web.html

All the HEMED online courses are available at this address: http://hemed.univ-lemans.fr/index.html