MEDVL 4557
Last Updated
- Schedule of Classes - June 7, 2023 8:54PM EDT
- Course Catalog - June 7, 2023 7:14PM EDT
Classes
MEDVL 4557
Course Description
Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2022-2023.
How and why do landscapes come to inspire the religious imagination? And why do religious practices, rituals, traditions, and beliefs take place in particular landscapes? This seminar treats these questions by focusing on the desert, both imagined and real, as it has shaped religious ascetic practice, especially the development of Christian monasticism in the Middle East. We will read widely from monastic literatures, mostly from late ancient Egypt, to explore both the historical development of monasticism in Christianity and examine why the monastic impulse seems so closely tied to the "desert." In addition to reading saints lives and the stories of hermits, we will read early monastic rules, the desert fathers, and we will draw from archaeological sources to examine the varieties of ascetic practices in the deserts of late ancient Egypt, Gaza, Sinai, Palestine, and Syria. Throughout the course we will explore ancient and modern ideas about "wilderness" and we will explore parallels between ancient Near Eastern literatures and their nineteenth- and twentieth-century parallels in the American frontier and environmental literatures.
When Offered Spring.
Breadth Requirement (GHB)
Distribution Category (CA-AS, ETM-AS, HST-AS)
Course Attribute (CU-ITL)
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: CLASS 4677, NES 4557, NES 6557, RELST 4557, RELST 6557
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Graded(Letter grades only)
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Class Number & Section Details
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Meeting Pattern
- M White Hall B14
- Jan 23 - May 9, 2023
Instructors
Haines-Eitzen, K
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Additional Information
Instruction Mode: In Person
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