Pitts Digital Collections · Digital Exhibitions

My Eyes Beheld an Eerie Sight: The Place of Monsters in Theology

Curated by Nathan Fleeson

Throughout history monsters have played a key part in the religious imagination. In their wonder and complexity, they pose questions about how we interpret the world. It might be about the extent of Jesus' salvific power or even whether monsters exist. This exhibit looks at the questions monsters raise and the answers of theologians throughout history. It asks how we have attempted to interpret monsters, their relationship with humanity, and the blurred line between the two.

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A woodcut of the four beasts which appeared to Daniel in a vision. Each beast represented a different kingdom.

Reformation Counterfeits: How 16th Century Printers Counterfeited the Works of Martin Luther

Curated by Drew Thomas

By taking advantage of the printing press, developed about 70 years earlier in Mainz by Johannes Gutenberg, Martin Luther was able to spread his message much further than he could from the pulpit. However, many printers sought to cater to public demand by counterfeiting Luther’s books. Printers across the Empire would falsely print that their books came from Wittenberg, the home of Luther’s movement. The Richard C. Kessler Collection at Pitts Theology Library has many counterfeits of Luther’s works from the 1520s. This exhibition will teach you how to identify counterfeit books and why printers undertook such manufacturing tactics.

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A woodcut portrait of Martin Luther dressed in the traditional garb of an Augustinian monk and holding a book, likely a Bible, with a dove above him, representing the Holy Spirit.

Masquerade: Scripturalizing Modernities Through Black Flesh

Curated by Vincent Wimbush

Through focus on the masquerade—the “play-element” in culture--this Exhibition opens a window onto the performances, dynamics, arrangements, psycho-logics, and politics (“scripturalizing”) by which modernities are made (-up to be) natural or fixed (“scripturalization”). Racialization as the hyper-signification (racialism/racism) of difference in human flesh (“scripture”) is identified as the primary impetus behind and reflection of the realities of modernities. The open window onto these realities is facilitated by an “interesting” 18th century “mask-ing” or “self”-invention story told by a complexly positioned Black-fleshed “stranger”--Olaudah Equiano/Gustavus Vassa.

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Controversy, Control, and Revolution: Paradise Lost and the Politics of Print in the Reign of James II

Curated by Greg McNamara

This exhibit features four sections for consideration associated with the fourth edition of Paradise Lost as part of a deeply felt and adventurous expression of the cultural milieu; yet the featured works are independent political tracts without great literary pretense.

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An engraving of a medallion or coin featuring James II of England on the face, framed by the inscription "IACOBUS II DEI GRA ANG SCOT FRAN ET HIB REX" ("James II, by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, [France?], and [Hibernia]"). On the back, there is a scene of a naval battle behind a set of Roman style armaments beneath the inscription "GENUS ANTIQUUM".