Context and aims
Orient and Occident were in continuous contact in particular during the first millennium CE, exchanging people, ideas, motifs, goods and practices. There are manifold allusions to and appropriations of the other, reflecting an intense cultural contact and exchange besides all hostile events that took place: The early Islamic designs and decorative techniques of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, e.g., are heavily influenced by Byzantine art. ‘Oriental’ motifs and elements can be found in European decorative arts of the early and high medieval periods, in particular in gold-working, textile- or glass-working. To that respect, Orient and Occident cannot be separated when trying to understand and contextualize creative and aesthetic processes of this period in particular in the East Mediterranean.
Our exchange project focuses on aesthetic interaction and aims to connect different disciplines and bring students from different countries together through scientific and cultural dialogue. It embraces virtual and hybrid seminars and meetings with close interaction and dialogue between students and docents, as well as in-person elements during excursions to different destinations. Altogether, the number of 18 students and 4 docents could participate in the mutual exchange program so far.
Major aims of the project
- Capacity building on academic resources
- Developing interdisciplinary curricula/teaching modules/classes that reflect the latest developments in science
- Supporting student exchange by inciting academic (and personal) networks between cooperating institutions and further non-university actors such as museums or cultural foundations
- Promoting early-career researchers and academics by providing further qualifications and intercultural skills