Historical Courses for the 2012 Winter Session

From the subapostolic age to the "Triumph of Orthodoxy" in the East and the Carolingian revival and Treaty of Verdun in the West. Geographical expansion of the church; the relation of Christian faith to cultural settings and other religions; the development of doctrinal and ethical positions; forms of Christian life and worship; the rise of Islam. Class participation, course portfolio, one short essay, and two other academic exercises (choice of reading notes, short papers, weekly quizzes, final exam, etc.).

Development of Church and society in the Middle Ages; its development of thought and piety. Lectures, discussions, minor paper, major paper, final exam.

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. The course will consist of lectures, small group discussions, and oral reports that summarize small group discussions. 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.

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.

An examination of the concept of martyrdom and its literature during the early modern period, its political and theological causes, and its inspirational and polemical role in the consolidation of early modern religious traditions. The course will also discuss methods of approaching martyrology across various denominations and regional settings including England, Reformation Europe, the Americas and the Orthodox Church in various countries. Evaluation: short assignments, participation, short presentation and final exam or research paper.

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. Lectures, readings, class discussion, minor papers critical book report, major reasearch essay, final exam.

Outlines the history of Christian missions from its beginnings in Pentecost to the end of the 20th century, followed by area studies of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe, and concluding with a consideration of the transition from missions to development to post-development. Short papers and collaborative internet project.

Development of "Byzantine" and "Oriental" Orthodox mentalities and doctrines after the monophysite controversy and Council of Chalcedon; failure to heal this rift in theology for the next 200 years, even by two more ecumenical councils. Other theological issues of the period: grace and faith, epistemology and hesychasm, the Creed, and filioque. Selections from key Fathers of this era and from documents of 4th - 6th Councils.

A review of all of the surviving works of Richard Hooker, often called the first theologian of Anglicanism, his Calvinism and reaction to Calvinism, his scholasticism, and his defence of the institutions of the Church of England. Seminars, short report and major paper. (Taught in alternate years)

The scope of what was understood as “liturgy” in the middle ages went far beyond the bare words used in the Mass, daily prayer and baptism and descriptions of how the services were performed. It included knowing the names and functions of the grades of ordained clergy (which varied from place to place) and their dress, the design of churches, their furnishing and consecration, the calendar of the liturgical year and of course the nature of the music which accompanied the liturgy.Teaching methods: lectures, DVDs of manuscripts, video, musical recordings.

Is beauty simply “in the eye of the beholder” or is it something more? Is it a way to God, a moral precept, or the specific locus for a unique kind of pleasure? This course examines a variety of subjective and objective views of beauty in the history of Western philosophy and theology from antiquity to the present (e.g. in the thought of Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, Kant, Weil, Barth, and Balthasar). It will also consider the implications of these views of beauty for the production of the visual arts, music, and literary culture in Western religion and society.

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 seminar will examine the doctrine of individuality (and individuation) developed by the two Franciscan thinkers John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham and the configuration of their thought as one or another form of discursive “individualism.”  It does so against the backdrop of their participation within the Franciscan spiritual tradition on the one hand and the Aristotelianism of their university environment and training. In so doing, it explores a properly historical understanding of a philosophical figure’s choice of discursive type. Texts: Francis of Assisi, Collected Works; John Duns Scotus, Philosophical Writings, On Individuation; William of Ockham, Philosophical Writings

Most people, when the subject of mediaeval liturgy is mentioned, think of the old service books which have the words spoken (sacramentaries, lectionaries, missals, breviaries) and descriptions of the action (ordos). There is another class of book entirely, the liturgical commentaries, which goes through the public services, explaining the elements they contain. They were also interested in the ministers of the liturgy, their orders and dress, in the structure of church and altar, in the calendar (temporal and sanctoral), and of course in the vexed question of how a priest computed the date of Easter (no diocesan journals in those days). Teaching methods: shared reading of 4 commentaries with explanations by the instructor.

A review of all of the surviving works of Richard Hooker, often called the first theologian of Anglicanism, his Calvinism and reaction to Calvinism, his scholasticism, and his defence of the institutions of the Church of England. Seminars, short report and major paper. (Taught in alternate years)

The scope of what was understood as “liturgy” in the middle ages went far beyond the bare words used in the Mass, daily prayer and baptism and descriptions of how the services were performed. It included knowing the names and functions of the grades of ordained clergy (which varied from place to place) and their dress, the design of churches, their furnishing and consecration, the calendar of the liturgical year and of course the nature of the music which accompanied the liturgy. Teaching methods: lectures, DVDs of manuscripts, video, musical recordings.

Is beauty simply “in the eye of the beholder” or is it something more? Is it a way to God, a moral precept, or the specific locus for a unique kind of pleasure? This course examines a variety of subjective and objective views of beauty in the history of Western philosophy and theology from antiquity to the present (e.g. in the thought of Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, Kant, Weil, Barth, and Balthasar). It will also consider the implications of these views of beauty for the production of the visual arts, music, and literary culture in Western religion and society.