The Marco Institute is committed to its mission of outreach. Our Medieval Day partnership with Knoxville’s Bearden High School, which provides fun educational programming for middle- and high-school students, has been going strong for five years. Marco faculty and staff have conducted in-person and (since the pandemic) virtual visits to local classrooms and teacher in-service training sessions. Marco faculty also helped develop a high school medieval studies language arts curriculum for Knox County Schools, which was first implemented by Sandy Hughes, a Bearden High School Latin teacher, in 2019.
Muriel Condon, Kristina Key, and Erin Wohletz demonstrated the art of intaglio printmaking to Knoxville area students at Family Medieval Day.
The Marco Institute’s partnership with the McClung Museum and the School of Art further provided UT undergraduate and graduate students with opportunities to learn about museum programming and how to host a community outreach event. Three student artists and printmakers from the School of Art’s Fine Arts program joined Marco faculty, students, and staff together with museum educators for Family Medieval Day March 8, 2020, at the McClung Museum.
History Professor Chris Magra, his wife Elizabeth, and their daughter Colette watch as English graduate student Caitlin Branum Thrash demonstrates medieval scribal techniques at Family Medieval Day.
The 208 visitors who enjoyed this event were highly engaged with the hands-on activities; many of the attendees were so engaged in art making and visiting the galleries that they remained intently focused as the guards gently informed them of the impending museum closure.
Adeline and Bernadette DiSalvo-Tinley, daughters of theatre professor Gina Di Salvo, show off their Visions of the End inspired art projects at Family Medieval Day.
Particularly exciting this year was our collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences and other campus entities to create a themed apocalypse semester in spring 2020. The semester featured campus-wide programming focused around concepts related to the Visions of the End exhibition of medieval and early modern art of the apocalypse at the McClung Museum.
Four Medieval and Renaissance Studies courses offered in the spring drew upon apocalyptic themes, while 20 additional classes in different disciplines tracked thoughts about the End Times from various interdisciplinary perspectives. The global pandemic cut short apocalypse semester, causing us to reflect upon the ironies of history but not on the vitality of our partnerships. We look forward to reviving our in-person outreach activities once public gatherings are advisable and safe.
The Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of Hamlet featured a community talkback event at which the theatre’s director, John Sipes, was joined by Marco faculty members Heather Hirschfeld, Gregor Kalas, and Gina Di Salvo to discuss the apocalyptic themes of Shakespeare’s famous play.