CURRICULUM VITÆ
Michael E. Morse
Office: Faculty Office Building Room 6
Emails: Personal frgator1@aol.com, Academic morsem@lscc.edu
(Summer) michael.morse@sfcollege.edu, michael.morse@stleo.edu,
Committee Work:
Curriculum Committee: Fall 2011-present
Search Committee for full-time English Instructor: Spring 2012
Diversity Committee: Fall 2012- present
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
Graduate: University of Florida Ph.D. in History, 2009; University of Florida M.A. in
Art History, 1998; St. Meinrad School of Theology, M. Div., 1984.
Ph.D. Major: Early Modern European; Minor: History of Science; outside concentration
Art History. Doctoral Dissertation: The Politics of Art and Religion: Absolutism and
Catholic Iconography in Early Stuart England, 1603-1649. Languages: Spanish and
Italian.
M.A. in Art History emphasis, Southern European Early Modern and Latin American
Early Modern; Masters Thesis: The Influence of Italian Mannerism in Early Viceregal
Peru: Mateo Perez de Alesio, Bernardo Bitti and Anglino Medoro, 1998.
M.Div., emphasis, The Catholic Theology and Tradition.
Undergraduate: Saint Ambrose University, BA, 1979. Majors, Fine Arts and
Philosophy.
Spoon River College, AA, 1977.
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
Instructor of Humanities and History at Lake-Sumter Community College
Adjunct Professor of Religion at St. Leo’s University at the Lake City and Trenton
Center: REL 401 The Catholic Tradition, REL 450: History of Christianity, REL 220
Christian Morality, 2002-2010. I am also credentialed to teach REL 423 Christian Ethics
III: Medical-Moral Issues.
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Adjunct Professor at Santa Fe College in Humanities: HUM 2210 Ancient through
Renaissance, HUM 2230 Renaissance through Enlightenment, HUM 2250 Enlightenment
through the Present, 2004-2010.
Adjunct Professor at University of Florida in Art History: ARH 2050; Introduction to the
Principles and History of Art 1; Summer 2002, Fall 2003, ARH 4312; Late Renaissance
Art in Italy, Fall 2009.
During my teaching career, I have also had experience with Blended Class format. In
these classes, I used Blackboard 9 or WebCt formatting.
PUBLICATIONS: IN PROGRESS:
Book: Michael E. Morse. The Destabilization of Early Modern Europe through the Arts:
The Early Stuarts in England and Bohemia. This text emphasizes the relationship
between the destabilization of society by a renewed use of the fine arts in Protestant
Stuart England (the reigns of James I and Charles I). It contrasts the destruction of arts in
a Catholic country by the Elector and his wife Elizabeth (daughter of James I and sister of
Charles I), Protestant rulers in Catholic Bohemia. For members of the Stuart royal family
the creation or destruction of art was destabilizing. Arts production or destruction
ultimately aided the demise of The Elector and Elizabeth Stuart, and Charles Stuart as
monarchs.
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND RESEARCH:
I have traveled extensively and have an extensive collection of slides, photos and
research materials and data from these visits. I used my collection of photography for my
Dissertation and for many of the illustrations for his Masters Thesis. Research trips
before 2003 include England, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Austria,
Luxembourg, and Denmark. I have also traveled in Latin America doing research in
Bolivia, Peru, Columbia and Mexico for my Masters Degree in Art history in the 1990’s
as well as in Italy, Egypt, Israel, and Jordan in the 1980’s.
2012: May; Italy. I visited and researched various sites and museums in Rome, Pompeii,
Sorrento, Amalfi and Paestum.
2010: December; Spain and Portugal. I visited and researched at various sites the
influence of Moorish culture on early modern art and architecture in Cordoba, Lisbon,
Segovia, Salamanca, and Toledo.
2009: Ireland: Dublin. Research dealing with the treatment of Catholics by the English in
the 16th and 17th centuries. This research focused particularly on the destruction of
church art and the suppression of the Mass by the English before, during, and after the
English Civil War, which included major battles fought in Ireland.
2004-2009: Doctoral research period.
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2007: Italy: Rome, Florence and Milan. Research dealt with ancient Christianity, art
and culture. During this trip, I visited museums, which now hold part of the dispersed
collection of Charles I. Focus of this research was Catholic themes in Stuart art collected
or created by Charles I, Queen Henrietta Maria, James I and Queen Anne of Denmark.
Here I studied and photographed the Constintinian works done in St. John Lateran, which
described the inter-relationship between Church and Monarchy. The Stuart monarchy
made connections with previous Christian monarchs such as Constantine and
Charlemagne.
2007: In Washington D. C. I spent two weeks during the summer and visited the
National Gallery of Art to examine artworks that were originally in the collection of the
early Stuarts. Of particular notice were the large numbers of religious works
commissioned by Charles I or collected by the monarch. The Early Stuarts were the first
English monarchs to collect religious art on any scale since Henry VII Tudor nearly one
century earlier.
2006: Greece: Delphi, Corinth, Athens, and Olympus. The focus of this research dealt
with early Christianity, the arts of antiquity and the early church. Much of this research
was incorporated into my humanities classes at Santa Fe College and Religion classes for
St. Leo’s.
2005: England: London, Oxford, Cambridge, and Scotland: Edinburgh. Under the
valuable guidance of Dr. C. John Sommerville and Dr. Robert Hatch (committee chair), I
explored evidence dealing with Stuart Monarchy, the use of Art, Catholic treatment
during the Early Stuart years. I also studied the influence of Queen Henrietta Maria and
Queen Anne of Denmark, as well as iconoclasm during the English Civil War on
Protestant as well as Catholic holy sites and churches. One of the most important
evidences to be gleaned from his research was the importance of the Stuart consorts in
religious and political direction in Early Modern England. I spent extensive time looking
at the Collections of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and many works associated with the
Early Stuarts dispersed after the execution of Charles I and re-collected by Charles II and
following kings after the restoration of the monarchy. I also made a through study of the
Banqueting House in London, commissioned by James I and decorated by Charles I with
the magnificent Rubens works depicting the Stuart Monarchy in counter-reformation
style and theme. At Oxford, I studied the Church of St. Mary the Virgin where
Archbishop Laud commissioned a counter-reformation portal featuring The Virgin Mary
and angels. This came under attack during the English Civil War and was used by the
Parliamentary officials as “proof” of the archbishop and king’s Roman leanings.
2003: Italy: Rome, Pompeii, Florence, Venice. Research dealing with renaissance art and
neo-platonism, ancient Roman arts. I studied the importance of renaissance, mannerist
and counter-reformation art during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries under the direction of
Dr. Robert Westin. It was during this period that I put together my initial proposal of
making a connection between Catholic counter-reformation art and the counterreformation arts that emerged in Protestant England under the early Stuarts after 1618. In
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addition, for a second time, I participated in the seven week long University of Florida’s
Rome Program. Much of this research and photography has been incorporated into his
humanities classes as well as his Dissertation.
Master’s Research:
1998: South America: During the spring of 1998, I visited Peru, Bolivia, and Columbia to
research the influence of the Italian artists Mateo Perez de Alesio, Bernardo Bitti and
Anglino Medoro. During this two-month period, I was given permission to review
documents from churches archives that still hold these late Renaissance masterworks in
trust. As with my dissertation, I used many of my own photographs for my Masters
thesis as these artists are under appreciated and many photos of their works remain
difficult to find. Dr. John Scott directed my master’s work along with guidance from the
rest of his committee, Dr. Robert Westin and Dr. David Stanley.
1995: Italy; Rome, Florence. During two months in the summer of 1995, Dr. Morse
researched Alesio and photographed the Church of S. Eligio degli Oreficci, Rome. Here
the under appreciated artwork of this Italian mannerist artist was incorporated into his
Masters Thesis. In addition, he participated in the seven week University of Florida’s
Rome Program and did independent study with Dr. Robert Westin. As with other trips,
much of my research has been incorporated into my humanities and religion classes.
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