Course Outline: Fall Prerequisites Required for this Course: None

Transcription

1 Course Outline: Fall 2016 Location: Day(s): Time: W 17 (to be checked) Monday 11:30am 2:20 pm Instructor(s): Dr. Ramez Boutros Bishara Contact info: rbishara@uwo.ca Prerequisites Required for this Course: None Course Syllabus: A History of Christian Monasticism Since the 3 rd century Christian devotees, men and women developed a fervent ascetic movement that spread across Egypt. Hermits, anchorites and monks, were all passionate about dedicating their lives to God. From the recluse cave to the most sophisticated monastic complex, they created living spaces responding to their spiritual and material daily needs. The History of Christian Monasticism will present a broad historical overview on the origins of Egyptian monasticism based on written sources and will compare it to other monastic movements that appeared in Europe. The comparison of these sources with the outcomes of archaeological excavations will reveal the relation between spiritual and material aspects of monastic life. Samples of published literary sources produced for different monastic orders such as sermons, canons and biographies will be studied. Objectives - To expose students to the wealth of sources in the field of Christian monasticism. - To introduce students to different types of historical primary sources and how to historicallycritically interpret them. - To show the students how sources can be used to reconstruct the context of each period of the Christian monasticism. Outcomes - Students shall be able to provide key dates, names of persons and contexts for central events in the History of Egyptian and Western Monasticism. - Students shall be able to distinguish between different genres and types of historical documents. - Students will be able to identify historically important geographical areas and to distinguish between the different forms of monasticism. - The major outcome is to learn how to trace the periods of blossoming or decline of Monastic

2 2 institutions and what are the main factors that affect their decline or survival. Course Materials: Required readings (selected chapters from the following titles or other references will be posted in the OWL Portal) CHITTY D The Desert a City: An Introduction to the Study of Egyptian and Palestinian Monasticism under the Christian Empire, 3rd edition. Oxford: Blackwell. CLACKSON S.J Coptic and Greek Texts relating to the Hermopolite Monasteries of Apa Apollo. Oxford: Alden Press. DE DREUILLE, M. OSB From East to West. A History of Monasticism. New York: A Herder & Herder Book. GASCOU J Economic Activities of Monasteries. In The Coptic Encyclopedia vol. 5. New York-Toronto: Macmillan: GOEHRING J Ascetics, Society and the Desert: Studies in Early Egyptian Monasticism. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International. HARMLESS W. (S.J.) Desert Christians, An introduction to the Literature of Early Monasticism. Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press. KRAWIEC R Shenute and the Women of the White Monastery. Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press. LAWRENCE C. H Medieval Monasticism. Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Fourth Edition. London and New York: Routledge. MEINARDUS O Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian deserts. Cairo: American University Press in Cairo. Assignments & Method of Evaluation of Assignments: Marking Scheme 1) Attendance and in-class participation 10% 2) Reflection papers 35% 3) Book Review 10% 4) Class presentation 10% (Starting from week 3 to week 12) 5) Term paper 35% (10% for the proposal, which is due in Week 6. The proposal should contain a plan of the research and a suggested bibliography) 1) Attendance and in-class participation 10% Lectures will be in the first hour of the class, while the tutorials will immediately follow the lecture. Students will be expected to discuss and critique the readings during the lecture and tutorial sessions.

3 3 2) Reflection papers (5 reflection papers X 7= 35%) Due date (Each paper should be submitted in the week after the reading) All students are required to read the weekly assigned reading and to be prepared to participate in the class discussion Each student is required to write a reflection paper based on the selected reading posted on the OWL portal prior to the scheduled lecture (max words = circa 2 pages). A reflection paper is like a review that presents in a very condensed writing style the student s opinion about the author s methodology, approach and arguments. Additional notes can be added after the class discussion. Format: 12 Times New Roman; no title page or bibliography are required. 3) Book Review 10% Due date (Week 8) Write a book review in maximum two pages (circa 500 words). The book review should respect the following structure: a) a brief presentation of the book; b) analysis of the content, style and merit in relation to what the author set out to accomplish; c) conclusion with your opinion about the results and its relevancy to the actual course. Format: double space, font 12 Times New Roman For the book review, select one of the following references CHITTY D The Desert a City: An Introduction to the Study of Egyptian and Palestinian Monasticism under the Christian Empire, 3rd edition. Oxford: Blackwell. DE DREUILLE, M. OSB From East to West. A History of Monasticism. New York: A Herder & Herder Book. DOORN-HARDER VAN, P Contemporary Coptic Nuns, University of South Carolina Press. GOEHRING J Ascetics, Society and the Desert: Studies in Early Egyptian Monasticism. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International. HARMLESS W. (S.J.) Desert Christians, An introduction to the Literature of Early Monasticism. Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press. KRAWIEC R Shenute and the Women of the White Monastery. Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press. LAWRENCE C. H Medieval Monasticism. Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Fourth Edition. London and New York: Routledge. MEINARDUS O Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian deserts. Cairo: American University Press in Cairo. 4) Class presentation 10% Due date (Week 3 to Week 12) Every student is expected to give a class presentation (15-20 minutes maximum). 5) Term paper 35%

4 4 Due date (Week 12) Every student is required to submit a term paper proposal no later than Week 6. The proposal should contain a thesis that the student puts forward as a premise to be argued and a suggested bibliography. The Instructor will provide the students with a primary list of references to help them in the bibliographical search. Number of pages required: (circa 15 pages of text; plus plans, figures, maps and pictures) Format: double space, font 12 Times New Roman. Footnotes should be placed at the bottom of each page (a style sheet will be posted on the OWL Portal). The paper should respect the following structure: a) a short introduction; b) the thesis which the student has chosen to be argued; c) a brief assessment of sources (the main references used to write the paper); and method of research; d) discussion and arguments; e) conclusion; f) Bibliographical list of books and articles used in the research should be annexed at the end of the essay. The Lectures (36 hours) (September 12 to December 5, 2016) Week 1 (September 12) Religious and political timelines Introduction: Origin of the Egyptian Monasticism; Eastern and Western Monastic Orders Week 2 (September 19) Week 3 (September 26) The Early Western Monastic Movements: The Rule of Benedict; Celtic Monasticism Early Sources on Egyptian Monasticism (Apohtegmata Patrum; Historia Monachorum; History of Palladius; Life of St. Anthony; Life of St. Paul; Institutions of John Cassian; Writings of Evagrius Ponticus); Writings of St. Jerome. Week 4 (October 3) Foundation of the main Monastic Centers in Egypt (4th/5 th c.): Scetis; Kellia; Nitria; Atripe; Saqqara; Bawit; Tabenese (October 10) Thanksgiving Holiday (No classes) Week 5 (October 17) Week 6 (October 24) The Rule of St. Pachomius; Writings of Shenute of Atripe; The Rule of St. Benedict, The Rule of Saint Francis Assisi The Impact of the Arab Conquest on Egypt and Middle Eastern Monasticism Week 7 (October 31) The Western Medieval Orders: Benedictines; Cluniacs; Carthusians; Cistercians (Bernardines); Dominicans and Franciscans

5 5 Week 8 (November 7) Papacy and Monasticism. The Military Orders in Medieval Europe. Book review due date Week 9 (November 14) Week 11 (November 21) Week 12 (November 28) Week 13 (December 5) Monastic Institutions in Egypt from the 6 th to the 8 th centuries Decline of Egyptian Monastic Centers in the 9 th century: (Bawit, Kellia, Nitria and Monasteries of the Theban Mountain) Decline of Western Monasticism Monastic Buildings (Samples of Egypt and Europe) Conclusions Term paper due date December 7 th fall term classes end Additional Statements: 1. Statement on Use of Electronic Devices during Tests and Exams It is not appropriate to use technology (such as, but not limited, to laptops, PDAs, cell phones) in the classroom for non-classroom activities. Such activity is disruptive and is distracting to other students and to the instructor, and can inhibit learning. Students are expected to respect the classroom environment and to refrain from inappropriate use of technology and other electronic devices in class. 2. Statement on Academic Offences: Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following web site: 3. Plagiarism-detecting Software/Computer Marking: A) All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between The University of Western Ontario and Turnitin.com ( ). B) Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating. 4. Support Services: UWO Registrar s Office:

6 6 Huron s Faculty of Theology, Office of the Dean: srice@uwo.ca, , ext. 289 Huron s Writing Skills Centre: UWO Student Support and Development Services: 5. Accommodation for absences: Documentation is required for either medical or non-medical academic accommodation. a) Non-medical absences: Any non-medical absences from tutorials, or late essays or assignments, has to be justified by a documentation submitted by the student directly to the Faculty s Dean s office (or academic counselor), and not to the instructor. For the Faculty of Theology, all such documentation must be submitted to room A227. It will be the Dean`s office that will determine if accommodation is warranted. Marks are deducted (0.5%) on a daily basis for late work. Every assignment has a drop dead date that will be announced in the first class, beyond which work will not be accepted. b) Medical absences: See also the Policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness Undergraduate Students, at For work representing 10% or more of the overall grade for the course, a student must present documentation indicating that the student was seriously affected by illness and could not reasonably be expected to meet his/her academic responsibilities. Documentation must be submitted as soon as possible to your Faculty Dean s office (Huron Arts & Social Science students should take their documentation to the Academic Counselor, through the Academic Services Centre at Huron), together with a Request for Relief specifying the nature of the accommodation requested. The request and documentation will be assessed and appropriate accommodation will be determined by the Dean s office in consultation with the instructor(s.) Academic accommodation will be granted ONLY where the documentation indicates that the onset, duration and severity of the illness are such that the student could not reasonably be expected to complete his/her academic responsibilities. The UWO Student Medical Certificate (SMC) and Request for Relief are available at the Student Centre website ( Huron University College Academic Counseling website ( or from the Dean s Office or Academic Services Centre at Huron.