Historical Courses for the 2010 Winter Session

Development of thought and piety; monasticism and mendicants; crusades, parish life; papacy, princes and church councils; Byzantium; East-West relations; relations with Jews and Muslims; Renaissance and reformations; reformers; missionary expansion; confessionalism. Mid-term assignments; choice of final exam or research papers. NOTE: Students who have taken --H2002H Medieval Christianity (600-1500) and/or --H2003H Reformation & Early Modern Christianity may not take Christianity II (843-1648). Prequisite: History of Christianity I or permission of the instructor.

Development of thought and piety; monasticism and mendicants; crusades, parish life; papacy, princes and church councils; Byzantium; East-West relations; relations with Jews and Muslims; Renaissance and reformations; reformers; missionary expansion; confessionalism. Lectures. NOTE: Students who have taken --H2002H Medieval Christianity (600-1500) and/or --H2003H Reformation & Early Modern Christianity, may not take Christianity II (843-1648). Prerequisite: 1000 level history course. Primary source assignment, discussion groups, minor paper, take home final.

An introduction to Patristic thought to 451 AD, surveying principal writers East and West. Detailed study of Athanasius On the Incarnation and The Tome of Leo. Lectures, readings, four short reports and a final oral examination.

A survey of Medieval and Reformation Theologies, from 843 to 1648. The Carolingian Revival and Monastic Schools; Anselm and Cur Deus Homo; Peter Lombard and the Cathedral Schools; Abailard and the Universities; the rediscovery of Aristotle; the Friars: Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, William of Occam; Gregory Palamas; the Reformation: Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer; the Synod of Dort; Richard Hooker; Second Scholasticism.

Sketches 4 major cultural challenges facing the Church, 1900-1960. Explores the official responses from the Magisterium, and a few individual attempts to find living solutions to these problems, leading up to Vatican II. Lectures/Seminar and readings. Class participation, weekly email questions, three short papers and final exam.

The background of the Reformation, especially in the late Middle Ages; the central figures of Erasmus, Luther, Calvin and Zwingli; the special circumstances of the English Reformation and the spiritual renewal of the Counter-Reformation. Readings, class discussion, critical book report, major essay, final exam.

An exploration of the roots of early Christian communities, the Constantinian era, church councils, cultural pluralism and Eastern churches, the investiture controversy, the medieval parish, conciliar development, early reform, and Protestant Reformers. Attendance and oral participation: 10%; Reading reports: 20%; Research essay: 40%; Open book exam: 30%.

This course examines four temporally and culturally distinct examples of Christian thinking about God, self and world. It takes up one ancient, one medieval, one modern and one "postmodern" thinker and compares how they frame their thinking with respect to their scholarly world and the pre- and post-Christian elements characteristic of it. It compares their respective attempts to speak of the problematics signaled by the terms God, self and world: a. knowledge as religious, b. self as simultaneously divine image and part of a world of creatures, c. the social world as the field within which God, self and world intersect.

Study of the context of the church union movement; Basis of Union; changing patterns of theology, social teaching and organization. Group discussion of assigned readings with occasional lectures. Informed participation, short papers, research paper. Prerequisite: History of Christianity I or permission of the instructor.

Western liturgy and its calendar, physical setting, sources, rites. Ancient and developed mediaeval Roman mass. Divine office. Baptism. Nuptial Blessing. Introduction to use of manuscripts. Some Latin helpful but not required. Class participation, assignments, quizzes, final exam.

During the Renaissance, a notion of grace served as the central critical concept for understanding art, and the achievement of grace in art was taken to be the highest artistic ideal. The course willl examine the concept of grace within its theological, philosophical, and art theoretical contexts in an effort to understand more completely how art was thought to function in the early modern period. It will also consider the place of grace in the development of the aesthetics tradition.

Topics for the seminar will vary from year to year but will focus on issues related to approaches to spiritual formation and the relationships between individual experience, social transformation, and institutional identity in North American contexts. Responsible participation, mid-term written assignment, research paper.

In class, readings of the instructor's translations of sections of the commentaries will be followed by discussions of their liturgical significance. Commentaries studied will include those of Isidore of Seville, Bernold of Constance, Bonizo of Sutri and William Durandus. Evaluation will be based on the quality of class participation, tests which will follow the study of each of the commentators and a final written examination covering the most important liturgical issues dealt with in the readings. Knowledge of Latin is helpful but not essential.

This course examines four temporally and culturally distinct examples of Christian thinking about God, self and world. It takes up one ancient, one medieval, one modern and one "postmodern" thinker and compares how they frame their thinking with respect to their scholarly world and the pre- and post-Christian elements characteristic of it. It compares their respective attempts to speak of the problematics signaled by the terms God, self and world: a. knowledge as religious, b. self as simultaneously divine image and part of a world of creatures, c. the social world as the field within which God, self and world intersect.

Emphasis on the history of the iconoclastic controversy and ecumenical councils, especially for the development of Christology. Readings from Nicaea II, Theodore the Studite, John of Damascus and Theodore Abu Qurrah.

Iconography and spirituality. Church visit. Lectures-seminar, reflection papers, major paper. Prerequisite: Three courses from the Theological or Historical departments.

Canada is a nation of immigrants, and the Canadian religions are the religions of immigrants. The waves of religious immigrants will be studied including 17C French, 18C Irish and Scottish, 19C German, Polish, Jewish, and Ukrainian immigrants; 20C English, Italian, and Portuguese to the more recent Caribbean, Filipino, Chinese, Tamils, Vietnamese, and Korean religionists. The attitudes of Euro-Canadians will be examined as they progress from Anglo-Celtic Calvinism to Canadian secular multiculturalism. The techniques of archival research, historical analysis, and historiography will be explored. Seminar presentation and research paper. Class Presentation 30%; Research Essay 40%; Collaborative Recapitulation (open book exam) 30%.

This course will trace the historical development and theology in the East and West of the catechumenate and the rites of baptism, confirmation/chrismation and Eucharist. In light of this historical investigation, contemporary reforms in various churches will be critically evaluated, with special emphasis on the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Readings, lectures, discussions, online exercises, take-home examinations, short papers or research paper.

This course serves as an introduction to the highly relevant Islamic faith and culture. It will cover the historical evolution as its doctrine and life. Beginning with its emergence with the Prophet, his revelation and early community, its spread under the caliphs, the fixation of the Qu’ran, and its subsequent historical development: the Umayyad, Abbasid, Famitid, Mamluk, Ottoman, and contemporary periods. Alongside this historical aspect, a systematic reflection on the main principles of Islamic faith, its theology and piety, its life, observances and festivals, and not least, its interaction with other religions in the modern world, chiefly Christianity, will be engaged. Discussions, presentations. One essay.

This course serves as an introduction to the highly relevant Islamic faith and culture. It will cover the historical evolution as its doctrine and life. Beginning with its emergence with the Prophet, his revelation and early community, its spread under the caliphs, the fixation of the Qu’ran, and its subsequent historical development: the Umayyad, Abbasid, Famitid, Mamluk, Ottoman, and contemporary periods. Alongside this historical aspect, a systematic reflection on the main principles of Islamic faith, its theology and piety, its life, observances and festivals, and not least, its interaction with other religions in the modern world, chiefly Christianity, will be engaged. Discussions, presentations. One essay.