Our project was inspired by individual province research from our current HIS216 History of Ancient Rome class taught by Dr. Hevelone-Harper. My portion of the project focuses on Egypt as a Roman Province and how Egyptian religious culture and art informed that of early Christian communities (St. Catherine's Monastery). I will compare the artistic styles/techniques of Egyptian funerary portraits with some of the earliest Egyptian icons (comparing specifically images of Mary and Isis) and discuss the theme and importance of beauty as it emerged from the diverse landscape of Roman Egypt. Mark Shan will connect the Icon of the Virgin Mary (from St. Catherine's) to the historical dispute about the identity and role of the Virgin Mary. This will be exemplified by Nestorius and Antiochian theologians, which will culminate at the Council of Ephesus (3rd Ecumenical Council). This leads to a further, more serious split among certain churches that see it as a violation of ecclesiastical justice, resulting in the 4th ecumenical council at Chalcedon. Together, we will demonstrate the themes of beauty and justice as they evolved, transforming the theology of the early church.
This topic is what I am writing my Linguistics Honors Thesis on. I am looking at how the structure of Chinese Characters provides a different level of meaning through visual representation, differing from other writing systems that reflect pronunciation and/or spoken language alone. I aim to look at this writing system, that has been simplified and fetishized, from an objective standpoint, to discuss controversies in Chinese Linguistics, and ultimately to highlight the beauty of Chinese Characters as a reflection of Chinese culture and history.
