Dana M. Polanichka
Assistant Professor of History
Office: 327 Knapton
Office Hours: Mon & Wed 2-3:30pm & by appt.
Phone: 508-286-3672
Fax: 508-286-3640
Email: polanichka_dana@wheatoncollege.edu
Degrees
Ph.D., Medieval History, University of California, Los Angeles
M.A., Medieval History, University of California, Los Angeles
A.B., Medieval Studies, Dartmouth College
Main Interests
Late antique and medieval cultural history; popular religion and devotion; sacred kingship and the intersection between religion and politics/power; medieval art and architecture; popular culture.
Research Interests
My main research interest is medieval cultural history, particularly religion, gender, and architecture. The specific questions driving my research tend to revolve around the visual, corporal, and ritual aspects of Christianity: What role did the visual and material play in medieval Christianity? How did corporeal performance affect belief and vice versa?
In my doctoral dissertation, "Precious Stones, Living Temples: Sacred Space in Carolingian Churches, 751-877 CE," I undertook an extensive investigation of both visual and textual sources. The project examines how sacred space developed metaphorically, architecturally, and ritually in the Frankish world of the eighth and ninth centuries. In approaching this topic, I analyzed and synthesized myriad texts: theological treatises, legal sources, episcopal statutes, biblical commentaries, liturgical directives, saints' lives, relic translations, a treatise on religious art, a monastic plan, art, and architecture, including more than twenty Carolingian and earlier Italian churches and monasteries. Examining the ways in which churches were conceived, constructed, and used, I demonstrate how theology, devotion, ritual, gender, architecture, and art intersected.
Currently I am revising my dissertation into a book manuscript. In expanding my project, I am now exploring the diverse functions and effects of churches in creating not only religious, but also social and political communities. In particular, my postdoctoral research considers how the ways in which Carolingian churches were conceived, created, and used affected the social and political workings of the Carolingian kingdom.
Teaching Interests
I am happy to teach courses that span the ancient and medieval Western worlds, especially courses focusing on gender, religion, and cultural history. I am particularly interested in leading interdisciplinary courses and history classes in which we examine myriad different texts, both written and visual. I also hope eventually to develop a comparative course (perhaps an FYS) on medieval religion and contemporary pop culture (From the Madonna to Madonna: Icons and Idols in the Middle Ages and Today).
My courses for the 2009-2010 academic year are:
100. Ancient Western History (Fall 2009)
207. Medieval Europe (Spring 2010)
298. Popular Religion and Devotion in the Middle Ages (Spring 2010)
(Note: I am hoping to take students in Hist298 to the Cloisters Museum in NYC.)
398. Sex, Gender, and the Body in the Medieval East and West (Fall 2009)