FYS 1185 - Holy Cow! The Bull in Art

Credits: 4.00
Contrary to popular belief, the bull has not universally been a symbol of masculine strength and virility. This course will examine the ways in which the bull has been depicted in art from the prehistoric period to Picasso; from the caves at Lascaux, the shrines at Çatal Hüyük, Sumer, Babylon, and Persia in the ancient Near East to Egypt, Crete, Greece, and Rome in the Mediterranean, through the Middle Ages and Modern periods in Europe. The course will look at the ways in which the bull served as an artistic expression of religious, mythological, philosophical, social, and literary aspirations and ideal of various peoples and cultures throughout history. Other topics include: the Celtic cattle raid tradition, the Persian Mithraic/Zoroastrian cult of the bull and later Roman adaptations, the modern bullfight and it origins in these traditions, as well as Picasso’s appropriation and transformation of the legend of the Greek Minotaur. Of course, we will also discuss the role that the bull/bison played in American Indian culture, too.
McDaniel Plan: Creative Expression, First-Year Seminar, International Nonwestern, Social, Cultural, and Historical Understanding