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090078 VO The Ascetic Ideal in Byzantium and the Eastern Mediterranean: A Historical Introduction (2022S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 9 - Altertumswissenschaften
Moodle

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Details

Language: English

Examination dates

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 07.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 3 2A211 2.OG UZA II Geo-Zentrum
  • Monday 14.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum AB3.24.2 Augasse 2-6, 3.OG Kern A, Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik
  • Monday 21.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum AB3.24.2 Augasse 2-6, 3.OG Kern A, Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik
  • Monday 28.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum Augasse, UZA Augasse 2-6, 5.Stock Kern B SR5.45
  • Monday 04.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum AB3.24.2 Augasse 2-6, 3.OG Kern A, Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik
  • Monday 25.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum AB3.24.2 Augasse 2-6, 3.OG Kern A, Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik
  • Monday 02.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum AB3.24.2 Augasse 2-6, 3.OG Kern A, Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik
  • Monday 09.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum AB3.24.2 Augasse 2-6, 3.OG Kern A, Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik
  • Monday 16.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum AB3.24.2 Augasse 2-6, 3.OG Kern A, Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik
  • Monday 23.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Digital
  • Monday 30.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum AB3.24.2 Augasse 2-6, 3.OG Kern A, Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik
  • Monday 13.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum AB3.24.2 Augasse 2-6, 3.OG Kern A, Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik
  • Monday 20.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum AB3.24.2 Augasse 2-6, 3.OG Kern A, Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Since their emergence in the fourth century AD, organized monasticism and asceticism became defining features of Eastern Christianity, both within the borders of the Byzantine Empire and beyond it (in North Africa, Syria, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus). Throughout the empire’s history, ‘holy men and women’ (monks, nuns, anchorites, etc.) wielded significant religious and social power and could often even influence decision-making at the imperial level. However, aside from these social and political functions, one determining factor for the enduring success of the monastic phenomenon in Byzantium remained the motivation and personal choice of individuals to apply in their own lives specific teachings, methods and techniques, with the intention of reaching a certain ideal of Christian perfection. The aim of this course is to explore just how this ‘ascetic ideal’ was first formed, what its intellectual roots were, how this ideal was perpetuated and popularized through rhetorical means, dedicated literary genres and communal practices (e.g. the cult of saints), and how the profile of this ideal changed as a result of the interplay between politics, religion, culture and gender. In order to answer these questions, the course will examine a broad variety of sources from the Late Antique and Byzantine period, composed in Greek, Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Arabic, and other languages (all in accessible translations). The course is open to all students interested in the history, society, culture and religion of Byzantium and the Medieval Middle East.

Assessment and permitted materials

The examination for this course will be a written take-home exam of 6-8 pages (exam period: 27 June to 15 July, 2022).
Exam language: English.
Format: A list of 17 questions for examination will be given to registered students on 27 June, 2022. Students have to choose 8 questions and submit a written answer (in one document) to the examiner until 15 July, 2022.
Each question should be answered in one-two paragraphs (300-450 words per question), amounting to a total of 2400-3600 words (or 6-8 pages).

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Basic familiarity with the course content. The minimum passing grade for the examination is 51%.
Grading: Each correct and complete answer is worth 12,5 points (10 points content + 2,5 points on language and style), amounting to a maximum of 100 points (8 x 12,5). A minimum of 51 points is necessary for passing the exam.
Grade equivalence: 89-100 points (= 1), 76-88 points (= 2), 63-75 points (= 3), 51-62 points (= 4), 0-50 points (= 5).

Examination topics

Content of the lectures.

Reading list

Chitty, Derwas (1966). The Desert A City: An Introduction to the Study of Egyptian and Palestinian Monasticism under the Christian Empire. London: Blackwell.Diem, Albrecht; Rapp, Claudia (2020). "The Monastic Laboratory: Perspectives of Research in Late Antique and Early Medieval Monasticism." In: The Cambridge History of Medieval Monasticism in the Latin West, eds. A. Beach and I. Cochelin. Cambridge: University Press.Dunn, Marilyn (2000). The Emergence of Monasticism. From the Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages. Oxford: Blackwell.Harmless, William (2004). Desert Christians: An Introduction to the Literature of Early Monasticism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Johnston, William (2015). Encyclopaedia of Monasticism, 2 vols. London/New York: Routledge.Vööbus, Arthur (1958-1988). A History of Asceticism in the Syrian Orient, 3 vols. Leuven: Peeters.Further bibliography will be given during the semester.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Th 11.05.2023 11:27