Fall 2009
RN 307/607/TX817 Medieval Christianity
Course Description: This course explores the variety and evolution of Christian beliefs and practices in medieval Europe from the fifth century CE (emergence of distinctive Latin and Greek Christianities) through the early sixteenth century (the Reformation) within and outside formal Church structures. We will read and analyze primary sources on diverse topics including the conversion of Europe and religious acculturation of pagan peoples, the power and appeal of Christian saints, Christian kingship and notions of appropriate Christian power, monastic, scholastic, and lay piety, pilgrimage and Crusade, dissent and institutional response, the relationship to those outside the faith, the religious crisis of the fifteenth century and the breakdown of Latin Christian unity.
Spring 2010
RN 242/ HI 306 Magic, Science and Religion from Plato to Voltaire
Course Description: This course explores the ways in which boundaries defining and separating magic, science, and religion emerged in western thought and culture from late antiquity through the European Enlightenment, when the definitions generally recognized in western culture today were delineated. We will consider the nature of "magic," "science" and "religion" in historical context, the relationship between learned and popular thought and practice, and the interplay of disciplines we would define oppositionally (e.g., astrology and astral magic with astronomy, medicine and healing), while exploring underlying assumptions about God, Nature and natural forces.
Other Courses
RN 212 Christianity
Course Description: In this introduction to Christianity,we will examine the nature of Christianity and Christian self-understanding in its multifaceted world context. After a brief orientation to the framework of Christian history, the course will proceed thematically, exploring a range of beliefs and practices in theological, social, cultural, and historical contexts. In examining any given theme, we will range widely over time and space, considering a variety of approaches to each subject from within Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and dissenting traditions. The course does not presume a familiarity with Christianity in any of its manifestations, and students with a personal background in one Christian tradition will be encouraged to expand their understanding of the religion from a variety of perspectives.
RN 305/605/TH 815 The Bible in the Medieval World
Course Description: The Bible was of such importance to medieval Europeans that scarcely any aspect of life remained untouched by its influence. Turning to primary source readings as well as modern scholarship, this course will consider the place of Sacred Scripture in medieval European religion and culture. Subjects to explore will include: varieties of Biblical exegesis; learned and lay interaction with the text; issues of control and dissent, including the emergence of vernacular (non-Latin) Bibles and vernacular theology in Latin Christendom; Christian, Jewish and Muslim debate; and Biblical motifs and imagery in literature, drama, art, and political thought.
RN 337/637 Gender and Judaism
Course Description: The introduction of gender as a category of analysis in recent decades has had a dramatic impact on all fields in the social sciences and humanities, religious and Judaic studies included. In this course, we will look at some of the ways that a consideration of gender reshapes our understanding of Judaism and, more particularly, Jewish history from ancient to modern times.
RN 413/713/TX 813 Gender in Medieval Christian Mysticism
Course Description: The emergence of a vibrant tradition of vernacular Christian literature and theology in thirteenth-century Europe opened the doors of Christian mystical thought and practice to an increasingly wide audience. In this seminar, we will focus our attention on some of the classic mystical texts and visionary literature from the high and later Middle Ages, both Latin and vernacular, orthodox and heterodox. Exploring the varieties of mystical expression and the social and cultural contexts underlying them, we will pay particular attention to the role of gender and authority in mystical writing, practice, and teaching.
RN 470/770 HI 407/707 TX 871 Topics in Medieval Religious Culture: Religious Cultures in Contact and Conflict: Christian-Jewish Encounter
Course Description: The relationship between Jews and Christians in medieval Europe was extremely complex and marked by many contradictions. This seminar will explore positive as well as negative encounters between Jews and Christians and wrestle with the difficult question of toleration and its limits in medieval context. Subjects will include social relations, economic ties, intellectual and cultural exchanges and influences, conversion/apostasy, the Crusades, changing images of the Other, Christian missionizing and the expulsion of Jews from western Lands.
WR 150 Research and Writing Seminar: Heroes, Saints and Martyrs
Course Description: Heroes, saints and martyrs are by definition extraordinary individuals; their sacrifice of self or earthly life for a greater vision compels us to respond. This seminar will explore the relationship between conviction, conscience, action and audience as depicted in a variety of literary and historical texts. We will work especially on developing an understanding of the interaction between primary and secondary source material and the process of research and analytical writing.