
Dear colleagues and friends,
cordially invite you to the opening lecture of this semester’s JinaX Mid-C series. Traditionally, the semester will be opened by Prof. Ivan Foletti.
The art of the South Caucasus – especially of today’s Armenia and Georgia – is still a Cinderella in art historical research. Interest in this territory is also narrowly defined among the general public. It focuses only on its natural beauty and associated tourism, or on the consumer perception of Tbilisi as a capital of seemingly exotic alcohol parties. This situation did not arise by chance. It is a long-constructed view of the region that was shaped during the years of the so-called “Great Game”, i.e. the rivalry between Russia and Great Britain over Central Asia. However, the imperialism of the Soviet Union and, to some extent, of Putin’s Russia later also had an impact on the situation. The Western sense of superiority that comes from the long tradition of Orientalism also plays a role in this optic.
The aim of the lecture is to reflect on the current view of the Caucasus and, above all, to uncover the mechanisms that have caused it. For, at least in pre-modern times, it was the unadulterated cultural hegemon of the Eurasian space.
We will meet on Thursday 26 September at 7 pm in the Hans Belting Library in the FF building on Veveří. The lecture will again be broadcast online on our YouTube channel.
The lecture is part of the Contexts of Humanity project of energeia o.p.s.
We look forward to seeing you