#  The Eye of the Mind 

 



    ![Book cover of The Eye of the Mind](/sites/g/files/omnuum4931/files/styles/hwp_5_4__480x385/public/2026-10/2026.11.10%20Bartolini-2-1920x1536-web-thumbnail%20%281%29.png?itok=wLuAd7iN) 

 



 

####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **November 10, 2026** 

 05:00PM - 06:30PM EST 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **IN-PERSON AND ONLINE**  

 [1737 Cambridge Street  
Cambridge, MA 02138  
United States



 ](<https://www.google.com/maps?q=US MA Cambridge 02138 1737 Cambridge Street>) 

CGIS-Knafel Building | Room K-354, 3rd Floor

 

 

 



 

### Book talk and discussion of *The Eye of the Mind: Vision, Memory, and Meditation in Seventeenth-Century Ukrainian Preaching* with **Maria Grazia Bartolini,** Associate Professor of Slavic Philology and Linguistics at the University of Milan

Chaired by [Michelle Viise](https://www.huri.harvard.edu/people/michelle-viise), Monographs Editor at HURI Books. Books are available for purchase on the [HURI Books website](https://books.huri.harvard.edu/books/the-eye-of-the-mind).

*This event is organized by HURI as part of the Seminar in Ukrainian Studies public event series and* [*HURI Books Program*](https://books.huri.harvard.edu/).



 

 [REGISTER TO ATTEND IN-PERSON chevron\_right](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-eye-of-the-mind-tickets-2003155898215?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true) [REGISTER TO ATTEND ONLINE chevron\_right](https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZMy9mtAWRICEcL1dUy2SpA#/registration) 

 

 

 

 

## About the Book

This study explores the role of vision, memory, and meditation in the sermons produced in Ukraine during the second half of the seventeenth century. It argues that the cognitive importance that vision and memory enjoyed in medieval and early modern culture informed their centrality in these sermons. *The Eye of the Mind* demonstrates how preachers used verbal and visual images to encourage the meditative re-creation of biblical events in the minds of their audiences. An investigation of the mental furniture of early modern Ukrainian preachers and their audiences, this book recovers a fascinating tradition that merged word and image to build “multimedia machines” for the spiritual elevation of the faithful.

## About the Author

 ![Maria Grazia Bartolini](/sites/g/files/omnuum4931/files/2026-10/2026.11.10%20Bartolini-1-200x200-web-speaker.png)

 

[Dr. Maria Grazia Bartolini](https://www.unimi.it/it/ugov/person/maria-bartolini) is an Associate Professor of Slavic Philology and Linguistics at the University of Milan. Her research focuses on the religious culture of early modern Ukraine, with special attention to the intersection of preaching, memory, and visual arts in seventeenth-century Ukraine, the political and social aspects of homiletic and hagiographical texts, and the reception of Christian Neoplatonism in the East Slavic region. Her monographs include Piznai samoho sebe (Kyiv, 2017), a study of Hryhorii Skovoroda and Christian Neoplatonism, which was awarded the 2019 Ivan Franko International Prize, and The Eye of the Mind: Vision, Memory, and Meditation in Seventeenth-Century Ukrainian Preaching (HURI, 2026). Her articles on Ruthenian religious culture have received awards from the Early Slavic Studies Association and the American Association for Ukrainian Studies. Dr. Bartolini was a Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages &amp; Literatures at Harvard for the Fall 2025 term.

---

###### Questions? Contact HURI Events Coordinator, [Kat Ambrus](https://www.huri.harvard.edu/people/kat-ambrus).

###### Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access should contact us at least two weeks in advance.

###### Watch videos of past HURI events on our [YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/user/huriyt) and [subscribe](https://mailchi.mp/fas.harvard.edu/huri-subscribe) to our email list to receive announcements about upcoming events and other activities of the Institute.



 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Book Talk ](/event-type/book-talk)
- [ Literature ](/fields-expertise/literature)
- [ Medieval and Early Modern History ](/fields-expertise/medieval-early-modern-history)
- [ Religious Studies ](/fields-expertise/religious-studies)
- [ Public Event ](/event-categories/public-event)
 
 

 Share on:- [     Facebook ](#)
- [     Twitter ](#)
- [     Linkedin ](#)
 


 Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://www.huri.harvard.edu/node/1619046/event-feed.ics)  Copy link link