It found it so interesting how our conversation in class could directly correlate to the things we saw in the day to activities. One such example was the German museum of history. Since it captures every aspect of Germany, it was the perfect place to connect what we had learned in class to something directly in Germany. The First historical piece I noticed was this fascinating image of Martin Luther a short time after the Reformation. We discussed him extensively on the first day of class. One of the most important topics that came up was the issue of a direct connection with God. Luther believed you didn’t really need anything else besides the bible to get to heaven. A very controversial idea at a time when the Catholic church was at the height of its reign. Our discussion made this piece that much more interesting. In this image, it shows a sleeping Luther on a cloud presumably going to heaven. Through our discussion, I realized this was no ordinary painting but rather a piece of propaganda that suggested that Protestantism was just as effective at getting someone to the afterlife as any other religion. The other image that stood out to me from class was a picture of Jesus holding a globe. Not just an ordinary globe that you would see in a Renaissance painting, this globe was clearly marked gridded and mapped out. Making it clear that the image came from the Enlightenment. I found this so interesting because in class we discussed extensively how logic and reason because the only way to think about the world during this period. Clearly, logic and reason were not just applied to the sciences. This image demonstrates or suggests that logic was beginning to be used in people’s religious lives as well. These connections happened many times over and allowed me to engage with the museum that much more. It is experiences like these that make studying abroad so much more unique and effective.
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