In the context of cooperation between Ivan Franko Drohobych State Pedagogical University and Lincoln Bishop University (Lincoln, England), a seminar was held featuring a lecture by Dr Rebecca Pinner (University of East Anglia) entitled “Waterscapes and Religious Culture in Medieval East Anglia.”
The lecture was organised for history students of Ivan Franko Drohobych State Pedagogical University at all three levels of higher education, as well as for students of Lincoln Bishop University. The online event was moderated by Derwin Gregory, Deputy Dean and Head of the School of Applied Humanities at Lincoln Bishop University.
The speaker argued that rivers and marshes were not only geographical features but also key elements in the religious imagination. By analysing textual sources, Rebecca Pinner demonstrated that “waterscapes” influenced how saints’ cults were experienced and narrated, revealing a close interaction between environment and religious culture. Although she focused primarily on texts and manuscript miniatures, her method can also be applied to frescoes. In both media, she showed how composition, colour, and spatial arrangement encode ideas of identity and sanctity.
The lecture sparked a lively and extended discussion, during which a number of debated aspects of the topic were raised.
Participation in such events provides students with an opportunity to engage directly in international academic discourse, become acquainted with modern research approaches and current methods of historical analysis, and thereby broaden their academic outlook and intercultural communication experience.
Cooperation between Ivan Franko Drohobych State Pedagogical University and Lincoln Bishop University has been ongoing for three years and envisages the further organisation of joint events, including lectures and seminars.