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-11430000002971800Great Christian Thinkers (S2) 00Great Christian Thinkers (S2) RT1506Semester 2 (2017/18)Check your timetable for time and room detailsAssessmentsFor Semester 1: 10 MaySummative EssayModule LeaderDr Marika Rosemarika.rose@winchester.ac.ukOffice hours: MC201Friday 10:00 – 12:00One of the most complete definitions of philosophy was given by Plotinus: philosophy, he said, is ‘what matters most’. For much of Western history, the question of what matters most has been answered in relation to the key concepts and claims of the Christian tradition. This module considers the question of what matters most through the work of some of the West’s great Christian thinkers, focusing on the problem of suffering as one possible focus for the question of what matters most. In the second semester, the module will take a chronological approach, exploring major Christian thinkers in historical order and considering the ways in which key Christian ideas about suffering and what matters most have developed over time. The theologians we will be studying this semester are: Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, John Calvin, Friedrich Schleiermacher and Gustavo Gutiérrez. LEARNING OUTCOMESBy the conclusion of this two-semester module a student will be expected to be able to: demonstrate knowledge of the underlying concepts of Christian thought, comprising an ability to evaluate and interpret historical issues and key thinkers’ ideas.demonstrate an understanding of the methodological approaches in theological discourse, and evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches to key problems.utilise key methodologies in the study of Christian thought and ethics in order to present, evaluate and interpret qualitative information.possess study skills for the critical handling of relevant texts, which will equip them for further study/training and employment?ASSESSMENTSREFERENCES in your Assessments must be formatted in FOOTNOTE format and a BIBLIOGRAPHY must be included. Instructions for this format can be found in the Programme Handbook. Your completed essay is due on Thursday 10th May at 3:30pm (Assessment Period). It must be submitted online via Canvas. It is worth 100% of your mark towards this module. Summative AssessmentDue: 15:30 10/05/18 (Thursday of Week 1, Assessment Period)Assessment Type: Summative EssayWord Length: 2,500Percentage: 0Essay Question:Focusing on the work of two of the Great Christian Thinkers we have studied over the course of this module (Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, John Calvin, Friedrich Schleiermacher and Gustavo Gutiérrez), answer one of the following questions: How have Christian theological responses to the problem of suffering been shaped by the different historical contexts in which they have been produced? What role does the human body play in [Great Christian Thinker 1] and [Great Christian Thinker 2]’s understanding of suffering?How do [Great Christian Thinker 1] and [Great Christian Thinker 2]’s ideas about the nature of God shape the way they respond to the problem of suffering?What positive role do [Great Christian Thinker 1] and [Great Christian Thinker 2] think that there can be for different kinds of suffering?Feedback due back: 02/07/18NB: YOUR COMPLETED ESSAY SHOULD BE SUBMITTED ONLINE VIA THE MODULE PAGE. Instructions on how to submit via the Module Page are available on your programme’s Canvas homepage and in your Programme Handbook. Marking criteria can also be found, listed by level, in the Programme Handbook.CLASS OVERVIEWWEEK 1: Great Christian Thinkers?WEEK 2: Thomas Aquinas 1WEEK 3: Thomas Aquinas 2WEEK 4: Catherine of Siena 1WEEK 5: Catherine of Siena 2WEEK 6: John Calvin 1WEEK 7: ENRICHMENT WEEKWEEK 8: John Calvin 2WEEK 9: Friedrich Schleiermacher 1WEEK 10: Friedrich Schleiermacher 2WEEK 11: Gustavo Gutiérrez 1WEEK 12: Gustavo Gutiérrez 2TOPIC LISTWEEK 1: Great Christian Thinkers?We will spend the first half of this session thinking about what it means to be a ‘Great Christian Thinker’, drawing on the set reading, which discusses the type of language and thinking that universities train students in, and whether that type of language and thinking is adequate to answer the question of what matters most. How do we decide what makes an author ‘Great’? What does it mean to be a specifically Christian thinker? What kinds of people get recognised as ‘thinkers’, and why? We will also spend some time thinking about feedback: now that you have had some experience of being given feedback on your academic work, how can you make the most of the feedback you’ve been given and learn from it so as to improve your work in future?In the second half of the class we will begin to explore the life and ideas of our week 2 and 3 thinker, Thomas Aquinas, an Italian Dominican friar and Catholic priest. How did European Christianity change between Augustine and Thomas?You’ll notice that this semester there are no pre-class exercises beyond the required reading. Instead, you are expected to begin thinking about your summative essay for this module as early as possible so you can begin to research and read around your chosen topic. Where last semester was designed so that the reading you did for class could make up the bulk of your reading for your formative essay, this semester you will be expected to do much more wider reading around your chosen essay topic.Required ReadingLe Guin, Ursula, ‘The Mother Tongue, 1986. WEEK 2: Thomas Aquinas 1 The first half of this session will focus on discussing some of the key themes and ideas from this week’s required reading. The second half will introduce our second week of readings by Thomas Aquinas, including an exploration of the development of ideas of penance, the sufferings of Christ, and the sufferings of the damned in Hell during the medieval period.Required ReadingThomas Aquinas, ‘Whether evil is a nature?’, in Summa Theologiae, First Part, Question 48, Article 1 Thomas Aquinas, ‘The cause of evil’ in Summa Theologiae, First Part, Question 49 Eleonore Stump, ‘Providence and the Problem of Evil’ in The Oxford Handbook of Aquinas, edited by Brian Davies and Eleonore Stump (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 401-417.Further ReadingFergus Kerr, ‘Thomas Aquinas’ in The Medieval Theologians, edited by Gillian R Evans (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001), 201-220.Denys Turner, ‘A Dominican’, in Thomas Aquinas: A Portrait (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013), 2-46.Brian Davies, ‘Aquinas, God, and Evil’ in Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil (Oxford: Oxdord University Press, 2011), 113-132.WEEK 3: Thomas Aquinas 2In the first half of class, we will go over the required reading, discussing any questions which it raises, and exploring in particular about what the extracts tell us about Thomas’s thinking about suffering. We will spend the second half of class introducing our second Great Christian Thinker, Catherine of Siena, a 14th century Dominican tertiary and theologian and her historical context. Required ReadingThomas Aquinas, ‘Is Penance a sacrament’ and ‘Its proper matter’ in Summa Theologiae, Third Part, Question 84, Articles 1-2, Thomas Aquinas, ‘Was it necessary for Christ to suffer for men’s deliverance?’, ‘Was there any other possible means of delivering men?’, ‘The extent of His sufferings’, ‘Was the pain which He endured the greatest’ and ‘Did His entire soul suffer?’ in Summa Theologiae, Third Part, Question 46, Articles 1-2 and 5-7, Thomas Aquinas, ‘The punishment of the damned’ in Summa Theologia, Supplement, Question 97, Jacques Le Goff, ‘The Logic of Purgatory’ in The Birth of Purgatory (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984), 209-234.Further ReadingDavid Biale, ‘God’s Blood: Medieval Jews and Christians Debate the Body’ in Blood and Belief: The Circulation of a Symbol Between Jews and Christians (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007), 81-122.Mark Jordan ‘Sacramental Bodies’ in Teaching Bodies: Moral Formation in the Summa of Thomas Aquinas (New York: Fordham University Press, 2016), 49-62.Adam Kotsko, ‘Monasticism and Medieval Christianity’ in The Prince of this World (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2017), 77-105.WEEK 4: Catherine of Siena 1In the first half of class we will discuss the required reading and exploring in particular what the set texts tell us about Catherine’s ideas about suffering. In the second half of class we will explore Catherine and her context in more detail, focusing especially on the changing role of women in the later medieval period and changing ideas about the role of experience in Christian theology.Required ReadingRaymond of Capua, ‘Epilogue: Catherine’s Patience’ in The Life of Catherine of Siena by Blessed Raymond of Capua, Confessor to the Saint (Harvill Press, 1960), 358-384.Catherine of Siena, ‘Letter to Brother Raimondo of Capua of the Order of the Preachers’, in Saint Catherine of Siena as Seen in her Letters, translated by Vida Dutton Scudder (London: J M Dent and E P Dutton, 1995), Catherine of Siena, ‘Letter to Monna Alessa dei Saracini’, in Saint Catherine of Siena as Seen in her Letters, translated by Vida Dutton Scudder (London: J M Dent and E P Dutton, 1995), Catherine of Siena, ‘Letter to Benincasa her brother when he was in Florence’, in Saint Catherine of Siena as Seen in her Letters, translated by Vida Dutton Scudder (London: J M Dent and E P Dutton, 1995), Catherine of Siena, ‘Letter to a Religious Man in Florence who was shocked at her ascetic practices’, in Saint Catherine of Siena as Seen in her Letters, translated by Vida Dutton Scudder (London: J M Dent and E P Dutton, 1995), HYPERLINK "" \l "2Religiousman" Catherine of Siena, ‘Catherine of Siena’ in The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism, edited by Bernard McGinn (New York: Modern Library, 2006), 540-545.Further ReadingTina Beattie, ‘The Rise of the Universities’ in Theology after Postmodernity: Divining the Void – A Lacanian Reading of Thomas Aquinas (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 147-164.Suzanne Noffke OP, ‘Exploring Catherine’s Theology and Spirituality’ in Catherine of Siena: Vision Through a Distant Eye (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1996), 125-153.Elizabeth Alvilda Petroff, ‘Women and Mysticism in the Medieval World’ in Body and Soul: Essays on Medieval Women and Mysticism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994), 3-24.WEEK 5: Catherine of Siena 2We will spend the first half of class discussing the required reading and how Bynum Walker and Jantzen’s arguments might change the way we read texts by and about Catherine.We will spend the second half of class introducing John Calvin, a 16th century theologian, pastor and reformer, and the Protestant Reformation which profoundly transformed Western Christianity at the end of the medieval and the beginning of the modern period.Required ReadingCaroline Walker Bynum, ‘Catherine of Siena’ in Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987), 165-180.Grace Jantzen, ‘The Vision of Virgins’ in Power, Gender and Christian Mysticism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 193-196, 216-223.Further ReadingThomas Luongo, ‘Catherine’s Vocational Years: Worldliness and Female Sanctity’ in The Saintly Politics of Catherine of Siena (New York: Cornell University Press, 2006), 23-55.Karen Scott, ‘Mystical Death, Bodily Death: Catherine of Siena on the Mystic’s Encounter with God’ in Catherine M Mooney (ed), Gendered Voices: Medieval Saints and their Interpreters (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), 136-67.WEEK 6: John Calvin 1In the first half of class we will discuss the required reading and the role that the doctrine of providence plays in Calvin’s thinking about suffering. In the second half of the class we will think about some of the social and political changes which were taking place during the Reformation and how Christian ideas about politics and suffering in general, and John Calvin’s ideas in particular, were formed by this changing context.Required ReadingJohn Calvin, ‘Use to be made of the doctrine of Providence’ in The Institutes of the Christian Religion, translated by Henry Beveridge (1845), William J Bouwsma, ‘Calvin’s Anxiety’ in John Calvin: A Sixteenth-Century Portrait (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), 32-48.Further ReadingTimothy George, ‘Glory unto God: John Calvin’ in Theology of the Reformers (Tennessee: Broadman and Holman, 2013), 171-266.B A Gerrish, ‘The Place of Calvin in Christian Theology’ in The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 289-304.WEEK 7: ENRICHMENT WEEK: No LectureWEEK 8: John Calvin 2In the first half of the class, discuss the required readings from this week. In the second half of class, we will introduce our third Great Christian Thinker: Friedrich Schleiermacher, an 18th/19th century German theologian, philosopher and biblical scholar whose work sought to respond to the challenge of Enlightenment thinking.Required ReadingJohn Calvin, ‘Of Civil Government’ in The Institutes of the Christian Religion, translated by Henry Beveridge (1845), Roland Boer, ‘Politics: Overthrowing Ungodly Rulers’ in Political Grace (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 75-92.Further Reading Ulinka Rublack, ‘John Calvin and Geneva’ in Reformation Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017), 124-143.William R Stevenson, ‘Calvin and Political Issues’ in in The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 173-187.WEEK 9: Friedrich Schleiermacher 1We will spend the first half of this class discussing the set reading and what it tells us about Schleiermacher’s understanding of suffering.In the second half of class we will explore Schleiermacher’s ideas and context in more death, focusing especially on changing ideas about the nature and place of religion during the 18th and 19th centuries.Required ReadingAlbert L Blackwell, ‘Schleiermacher’s Sermon at Nathanael’s Grave’ in The Journal of Religion 57.1 (1977), 64-75, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Christmas Eve: A Dialogue on the Celebration of Christmas (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1890), 1-5 and 30-51.Further ReadingReardon, Bernard, ‘Chapter 2. Schleiermacher on the religious consciousness,’ Religion in the Age of Romanticism: Studies in Early Nineteenth-Century Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985)DeVries, Dawn, ‘Chapter 19. Schleiermacher’ in Jones, Gareth, ed., The Blackwell Companion to Modern Theology (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007)WEEK 10: Friedrich Schleiermacher 2We will spend the first half of the class discussing the required reading and what it tells us both about Schleiermacher’s ideas about suffering and the ways in which Christian theology was changing at the time Schleiermacher writes.In the second half of class we will introduce our final Great Christian Thinker. Gustavo Gutiérrez was born in 1928 and is a Peruvian theologian and Dominican priest who was one of the founders of liberation theology, an important political and theological movement which began in Latin America in the second half of the twentieth century. We will consider some of the ways that Christian theology changed over the course of the twentieth century, and the ways in which it responded to key historical events.Required ReadingFriedrich Schleiermacher, ‘The Constitution of the World in Relation to Sin’ in The Christian Faith (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1928), 315-324.Friedrich Schleiermacher, ‘The Devil’ in The Christian Faith (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1928), 161-170.B A Gerrish, ‘The Christ of Faith’ in A Prince of the Church: Schleiermacher and the beginnings of modern theology (London: SCM, 1984), 21-40.Further ReadingTerrence N Tice, ‘Schleiermacher yesterday, today and tomorrow’ in The Cambridge Companion to Friedrich Schleiermacher (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 307-318.Walter E Wyman, ‘Sin and Redemption’ in The Cambridge Companion to Friedrich Schleiermacher (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 129-250.WEEK 11: Gustavo Gutiérrez 1We will spend the first half of this class discussing the required reading and what it tells us about Gutiérrez’ understanding of suffering. We will spend the second half of class exploring some questions about the relationship between theology, philosophy and politics, and how the events and developments of the twentieth century have changed the way that people read and study theological and philosophical texts, and the different role that they have come to play in helping us to think about what matters most.Required ReadingGustavo Gutiérrez, On Job (Maryland: Orbis Books, 1987), 11-38.Further ReadingRobert McAfee Brown, ‘An Individual Biography of One Author of Liberation Theology’ in Gustavo Gutiérrez: An Introduction to Liberation Theology (Eugene: Orbis Books, 2013), 22-49.Rebecca S Chopp and Ethna Regan, ‘Latin American Liberation Theology’ in The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology Since 1918 edited by David Ford and Rachel Muers (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), 469-484.WEEK 12: Gustavo Gutiérrez 2We will spend the first half of this class discussing the required reading and the questions it raises about theology, philosophy, suffering and what matters most. The second half of the class will be an essay writing workshop, designed to help you plan, edit and polish your summative essays for this module.Required ReadingGustavo Gutiérrez, ‘Poverty: Solidarity and Protest’ in A Theology of Liberation (London: SCM, 2010), 162-173.Adam Kotsko, ‘Gutiérrez and Negri on Job: Between Theology and Materialism’ in The Bible and Critical Theory 8.1 (2012), 110-114 Further Reading Roberto S Goizueta, ‘Gustavo Gutiérrez’ in The Blackwell Companion to Political Theology, edited by Peter Scott and William T Cavanaugh (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007), 288-301.Roland Boer, ‘Negri, Job and the Bible’ in Antonio Negri, The Labor of Job: The Biblical Text as a Parable of Human Labor (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 109-128.Maarten Wisse, ‘Gustova Gutiérrez’ in Scripture between Identity and Creativity: A Hermeneutical Theory Building upon Four Interpretations of Job (Utrecht: Ars Disputandi, 2003), 111-135 ................
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