Let's just say, I love this class. I'm doing pretty well in it, however I've only had two grades thus far, and I only have three more grades for the entire class. Hence, each of the assignments are incredibly important. Hence I feel this pressure to do very well on each of them. Hence I studied five hours plus for the first test. It totally paid off though....I did not do it by myself however.
Anyway.
Term paper, it's kind of a Big Deal.
First let me explain my mixed feelings. For my paper proposal, I picked this fresco in the Santa Maria Antiqua in Rome. Unbeknownst to me, this is actually a Western Medieval piece of art. Guess who does not know the difference between Western Medieval and Byzantine frescoes in the mid-sixth century? Me. Needless to say, I'm borderline freaking out about this paper.
But, I love the topic I chose. Depictions of Mary as a Maria Regina figure? Gosh dang, I love Byzantine art. And I love the piece I chose. It's a really unique one; it's the earliest depiction of Mary as the Regina (empress/queen) figure, AND it survived the Byzantine iconoclastic period in which many pictures were destroyed. Kind of a big deal for Byzantine art historians.
But according to my professor and others, it's technically Western Medieval.
"Whyyyyyy?" I whine.
So basically, I'm worried that this is a handicap to my paper, although my professor told me that it's not. I don't think he knows I'm a lowly freshman who has never written a research paper of this size. I'm also unclear as to what I'm supposed to do with this paper. He said to put it in context, but that is so vague. I need a prompt AP Lit style, please.
Plus, I'm writing this paper and the person grading it will be an expert on the subject. He has probably seen plenty of papers discussing the depiction of Mary as an empress. This is intimidating.
I'm thinking about discussing contemporary images of Byzantine empresses as well as images of Mary not necessarily shown as an empress but as the Theotokos, the "Bearer of God." Does this count? I feel like....these images indirectly (or directly, but I can't make such a bold claim) influence the decision to depict Mary as a Regina.
The biggest trouble I'm having is articulating my thoughts. I know what I want to say, but I don't know how to say it.
Bissera Pentcheva, could you please write this essay for me? I can pay you $5.
By the way, Bissera Pentcheva is currently my hero. I want to copy and paste her book Icons and Power: The Mother of God in Byzantium into a Word document and submit that for my paper.
Oh and one last question. Would it be weird if I talked about Ariadne and Sophia but left out Theodora? I mean, she came between Ariadne and Sophia and was kind of an important empress....but that would require more research. Blehh.
