Africa and Byzantium: Reflections on a Proposed New Synthesis (part 1/3)
The Conventional Wisdom—and its Critique
If you had asked me to think of two topics that I’d be unlikely to blog about, the “African continent” and “Byzantium” (the geographical empire, or the historical era) would be near the top of the list. I could readily plead ignorance—but a more candid answer would be, “Not high on my current list of interests.”
Yet here I am, rolling up my sleeves to share a new preoccupation—and to invite you to join this quest... in three installments.
Two prods:
Often, I skim reviews of art exhibitions just to get a sense of what’s on display and whether I might find it worth probing… and perhaps visiting.
Last year, I took note of Africa and Byzantium— a major exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (which moved in early April to the Cleveland Institute of Art). The exhibition received lengthy reviews in major publications—typically with “over-the-top” superlatives.
Recently, I have become fascinated by the human capacity to synthesize large amounts of information and, thereafter, to organize that information in ways that are legitimate, clarifying, sometimes mind-opening. (Please see other blogs in this series (link here) as well as this conversation (link here) with Steven Pinker.
Triptych with Crucifixion Eastern Mediterranean, 13-15th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art for Africa-Byzantium exhibition (on loan from Coptic Museum of Cairo)
At the same time, though less frequently, I have worried about efforts at synthesis that are overly ambitious; that, however well motivated, do not stand up to scrutiny (for discussion see Gardner, 2005; 2020 ). And so , I wondered, what’s this Africa-Byzantium synthesis all about? And how well does it work? I’ll get to that soon enough… in the succeeding blogs, I describe the exhibition (Blog 2) and then present my reflections (Blog 3).
But first, a seemingly remote but hopefully helpful comparison. In 1961, while a freshman at Harvard College, I decided to take Social Sciences One (“Soc Sci 1” as it was universally abbreviated): “History of Western Civilization.” With various names and various eminent professors, this survey course had been given for decades—perhaps even longer! Over a semester term, or an entire year, instructors (and students) surveyed Western history, from classical times, through the Middle Ages, to the Enlightenment of the 18th century, the various “Romantic” reactions of the 19th century, with a coda about the World Wars of the 20th century. The course was considered a “must” for those who wanted to study history and/or to learn about the background of “our own society.” Its nickname put it pungently and playfully: “From Plato to NATO”!
Within a decade or two, such courses were largely terminated. On the one hand, among various constituencies on campus, there was less of an identification with “the West”—particularly in its triumphant and triumphalist guises. On the other, there was considerable debate about whether such survey courses were viable, or even legitimate. (For a discussion of the demise of “Western Civ,” see Allardyce, 1982). Of course, in certain regions of the United States, there are currently pressures to revive and rejuvenate such courses—with typically a triumphalist (and sometimes a religious and/or politically conservative) accent—see Green, 2024.
Headline:
Catalogue edited by Andrea Myers Achi
I construe the exhibition, Africa and Byzantium—and especially the accompanying and authoritative 350 page text—as a searching critique of a triumphalist “Western Civ” approach. As well, it’s a pioneering (and admittedly tentative) effort to propose a new synthesis—across space, across time, and across populations. In this and the following blogs, I give a brief introduction to the exhibition, and then indicate how I—indisputably a rank amateur—evaluate the proposed new synthesis. Let’s go…
In 313 AD Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. When Rome fell, a century later, the center of Western civilization moved east to Constantinople—what is now the metropolis of Istanbul. Often this site—and this era—is called Byzantium.
The “Conventional Wisdom”
In the era encompassed by History 1 (or Soc Sci 1), Constantine and surrounds were featured. That’s where the leadership, the political system, the trade route, the artifacts and works of art were examined and weighed. For many authorities, the Middle Ages were a period of stagnation, if not regression (sometimes termed “the Dark Ages.”) For others, the same millennium was considered an era of stability, comfort, even quiet progress. When I took Soc Sci 1, the lecturer dubbed the 12th century “The Medieval Synthesis.”
Icon with the Virgin Enthroned, Egypy 6th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art for Africa-Byzantium exhibition, on loan from Cleveland Museum of Art
If Africa was discussed at all, it was as an aside, an afterthought, a footnote. There were signs of Christianity in certain regions, but these were largely overtaken by Islam after the 7th century AD. The Crusades of the 11th-13th centuries constituted an effort to re-establish a Christian hegemony in the Middle East but of course that endeavor was costly and largely ineffective.
Undermining the Conventional Wisdom
No one now considers Africa as a footnote to the history of Western civilization. Africa is recognized as a vital set of lands, cultures, countries, populations, societies. As one example, Ethiopia was—and remained—a Christian society. As another example, Egypt continued and built upon many of the cultural elements, traditions, and practices of the dynastic period. North Africa was a dynamic trading center, interacting in many ways with many societies in many directions. The exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum constitutes a brief in favor of the latter “story” and “history.”