“National Narratives and 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 (2014–15), the seminar program explores the impact of national discourses on the development of medieval art history and archaeology in the Mediterranean littoral.

The eleven participants will present final papers produced during the seminar. The speakers will address the role of nationalism in the preservation and presentation of medieval art and architecture in Croatia, Tunisia, Egypt, Spain, Cyprus, Albania, Israel and Italy. 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, will all be discussed.

The presentations will be given in English. The seminar website is fmma2014.org.