DESCRIPTION,
REQUIREMENTS,
GRADING
Course Description and Objectives: This course surveys women’s spirituality from the beginnings of Christianity through the High Middle Ages. We will attempt to understand 1) the social, economic and political condition of women in a given period, 2) the kinds of ministry or leadership roles available to women, 3) how the piety of “holy women” differed from that of “holy men,” and 4) the attitudes of Christian theologians and church leaders toward women. We will focus on primary sources that preserve the actions or writings of prominent women. Through readings, lectures, and discussions we will explore such themes as sexuality vs. spirituality, marriage and celibacy, martyrdom, monasticism, mysticism, and holiness. We will consider the ways in which late antique and medieval women pursued the spiritual life and related to the dominant ecclesiastical structures and authorities of their day.
Another goal of this course is to help students acquire a critical and analytical approach to history in general through careful reading, writing about and discussion of primary and secondary sources from the pre-modern world.
Grading will be based on the following criteria:
Attendance and Participation: 15% - includes occasional response papers & helping to lead one discussion.
Pop Quizzes: 20%
Midterm: 20%
Book Review: 20 % (1000-1200 words)
Final Project: 25% (5-8 pages)
Attendance, Participation, Pop Quizzes: Attendance is required at all classes. Noticeable absences will adversely affect your participation grade. I will also give three or four pop quizzes during the semester. Those who are absent without a legitimate excuse will receive a 0 for that quiz grade. Participation will also involve occasional short writing assignments (no more than 1 page) on the readings and active contributions to class discussions. (You should always click the Assignments and Questions link Wednesday evening.) Finally, each of you will be involved in groups of 3 or 4 in helping to lead a discussion during one of the periods on Tuesday or Thursday. I will normally meet with your small groupbefore the relevant class to help you plan the discussion.
Midterm: An in-class midterm exam will be given on Thursday, March 4. 50% of this exam will consist of objective or short answer questions, and 50% will be an essay. Possible essay questions will be posted two days before the exam.
Book Review: A
book review of 1000-1200 words
(approximately 4 pages) will be due on March 16th (the first
Tuesday
after spring break), though students are encouraged to hand it in
earlier if possible. You will have a
choice of reviewing one of four books that cover material from the
first half of the class:
Gillian Cloke, “This Female Man of
God;” Carolyn Osiek, A Woman's Place. House Churches in Early
Christianity, Aline Rousselle, Porneia: On Desire and the Body in
Antiquity, or
Susanna Elm, ‘Virgins
of God.’
The Making of Asceticism in Late Antiquity.
More information about book reviews will be given in class.
Here is a sheet to guide you as your prepare your
review: "How to Write a Book Review".
Final Project: There is no final exam for this case. Instead, each student will choose a topic related to the spirituality of medieval women for a final mini-research paper. More information about this project will be given later in the semester. In general, the final essay should be 5-8 pages in length and must:
1. focus on one or more primary sources.
2. demonstrate understanding of the historical context.
3. engage at least two secondary authors (articles or book chapters) on the chosen theme.
4. have a clear thesis or argument.
This paper will be due
in my office by
Possible Topics for
Final Project:
Holy women as missionaries
Medieval women’s friendships
The problem of discerning a woman’s voice (Elizabeth of Schönau)
Hildegard of Bingen’s Visionary Authority
Beguine Spirituality (Mary of Oignies)
Angela of Foligno & knowledge of God – Is there something distinctly female here?
The body as a theme in women’s mysticism
Sorrow & pain in women’s mystical experience [Angela of Foligno, Marie d’Oignies, Kempe]
Illness and female spirituality in the Middle Ages
Angela of Foligno
& the female
penitent movement in
Women mystics and ecclesiastical authority
Catherine of Siena in her own eyes and those of others
Mistrust of holy women at the end of the Middle Ages
Authority and the Spirit – coming to terms w/institutional & charismatic authorities
Spiritual couples in the middle ages: male confessors & female penitents
Isolation vs. Community in Women’s Spiritual Experience [Christina of Markyate, Hildegard]
Grading
Scale:
A- = 90-92.4
B+ = 87.5-89.9
B = 82.5-87.4
B- = 80-82.4
C+ = 77.5-79.9
C = 72.5-77.4
C- = 70-72.4
D+ = 67.5-69.9
D = 62.5-67.4
D- = 60-62.4
F = Below 60