“Framing the Medieval Mediterranean” is a research seminar supported by the Getty Foundation as part of its Connecting Art Histories initiative. Held in three meetings over two years at the American Academy in Rome (2014-2015), the seminar program explores the impact of national discourses on the development of medieval art history and archaeology in the Mediterranean littoral.

The role of nationalism in the preservation and presentation of medieval art and architecture in Mediterranean contexts has not yet been treated in any scholarly forum with the depth and comprehensiveness the subject deserves. And yet, national narratives fundamentally influence both scholarly discourse and public understanding. The periodization of material culture as “Ancient,” “Medieval”, “Byzantine”, “Ottoman”, and “Modern,” the characterization of religious change as positive or negative, even the visualization of the historical arc as one of progress or decline, are all fundamentally impacted by the ordering and categorizing activities that take place in museums and archaeological sites. These sites of presentation in turn shape the agendas of scholars as well as the ways in which the various national publics make sense of their past.

The seminar brings together younger scholars from around the Mediterranean to rethink their own research projects in light of discussions shared in the seminar. The seminar uses visits to local museums and archaeological parks in Rome and central Italy, as well as visits by local specialists, to inform its ongoing work.

Seminar website: http://www.fmma2014.org/.