Dr. Karin Krause

Biography

Karin Krause specializes in Christian visual cultures of Byzantium and the premodern Mediterranean region. Her research interests include visual hermeneutics, Byzantine manuscript culture, and the interrelation of texts and images, particularly in the context of cult relics and the theology of icons. At the Divinity School, she aims to broaden the concept of religion by highlighting the significance of material artifacts alongside traditional texts and theories. Krause is the Director of the Undergraduate Program in Religious Studies and is dedicated to helping students develop skills in examining material artifacts as primary evidence. Her recent publication, 'Divine Inspiration in Byzantium: Notions of Authenticity in Art and Theology' (Cambridge University Press, 2022), explores ideas of divine origin in texts and material artifacts, tracing their reinterpretation in Byzantine literature and art to assert claims of religious truth and authority. This work contributes to the understanding of how visual arts influenced the formation of Eastern Orthodox theology and cultural identity. She is also working on a monograph titled 'Propaganda, Cult, Scholarship: The Response to Byzantine Artifacts in Venice' which investigates the history of the reception of Byzantine religious artifacts in Venice from the late Middle Ages to the 1800s.

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Experience

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