SMC Misrepresentation of Jews in Medieval Culture Questions

This assignment won’t be so much about comparing or contrasting but more about delving into an issue that is often overlooked when discussing Christianity and medieval art within art history. 

Part 1. 

Read this short article titled Representing and Misrepresenting Jews in Medieval CultureLinks to an external site. by Anthony Bale.  Write a short response to the questions below based on Bale’s article :  

1. According to Bale, how were Jews imagined, (mis)represented, and vilified in medieval culture?
2. How was Medieval art and culture instrumental in defining, developing, and repeating a kind of cultural violence against Jews?
3. Define physiognomy and describe how medieval culture used it in a harmful way toward Jewish people. 

Part 2

After answering the above questions, check out the images included in the exhibition called Outcasts, Prejudice, and Persecution in the Medieval WorldLinks to an external site. by the Getty. 

Towards the bottom of this website, you will find several themes that the exhibition highlights in medieval art: 

• Anti-semitism
• Islamophobia
• Ableism and Classsicsm
• Stigma of Disease
• Misogyny
• Homophobia
• Censorship
• Slavery
• Whitewashing
• Tokenism

Pick at least three themes, and for each theme:

1) give a short explanation of the theme and what it signifies (you can always google it)

2) describe how the accompanying images visually portray the theme.