Download
1 / 17
170 likes | 279 Vues
Welcome to Religious Studies 80B! This course delves into the interplay between religion and politics in Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire to the 1600s, focusing on Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Key themes include the theology of the Church, popular religion, and the political influence of religious institutions. Expect intensive reading and writing, with assignments including a midterm, take-home final, and a final exam. Attendance and participation are crucial. For information on readings and course structure, please refer to the syllabus and attend your chosen section during the first week.
E N D
Contact Info • S.Tutino, e-mail: tutino@religion.ucsb.edu • Office hours: M 2-4pm • Office: HSSB 3063 • Website: www.tutino.wikispaces.com
Teaching Assistants • Andrea Neuhoff • Todd Foose
Announcement • Not enough copies of P. Collinson’s ‘The Reformation’ at the UCSB Bookstore: please get a copy through Amazon or in any other way you want
If you want to crash the class: • Add to the online wait list (through the department webpage, please do not email me or the TAs, as we cannot add you), and follow ALL the instructions • Go to the section you want to attend during the first week (if you fail to show up you will be dropped from the list) • Add codes will be given starting from the end of the second week, AS SPACE BECOMES AVAILABLE • Sorry about all this: I know it is difficult for you, but this year we have many constraints that prevent us from over-enroll classes.
Highlight from the syllabus Grading scheme: • Section attendance and participation: 15% • Midterm (essay questions): 20% • Take-Home Final: essay questions, 1,800 words total, 30% (Due March 5th) • Final (essay questions): 35% • Every assignment must be completed in order to pass the class
Deadlines: • MIDTERM: February 1st, in class (open-books, open-notes, essay) • TAKE-HOME due: March 5th (essays) • FINAL: March 16th, 8-11am, in class (open-books, open-notes, essay) • No late papers, no make up exams: please plan your schedules accordingly!
Important information • Reading-intensive (but very tight) • Writing-intensive (80B fulfills the GE writing requirements) • Attention to historical accuracy • PRIMARY SOURCES!
What is a primary source? • A primary source is a source written IN the period that we want to study • A secondary source is a source written ON the period that we study, but later than that
Scope of the class: • Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire until the 1600 • The role of religion within this: Christianity especially, but also Judaism and Islam • Two themes:
Church ‘high’ and ‘low’ • ‘High’: theology, doctrinal issues, ecclesiology • ‘Low’: popular religion, popular reception of ‘high’ debates, or how ‘high’ filters down ‘below’
Politics and religion • The political role of the Church • What happens when the states get strong • Pope & Emperor: a struggle that influenced deeply medieval and early modern Europe
‘High’ and ‘low’: who cares? • Idol=from Greek, image, representation, something that stands for something else. Since the Middle Ages it means ‘image of god’, or ‘image of a saint’ • Idolatry and Luther: a crucial theological controversy • And today??
‘High’ and ‘low’: religion and soup • Clam chowder: always on Friday! • Why? • Friday is the day of fasting in the traditional liturgy of the Christian Church: no meat
Pope & Emperor: who cares? • Do you remember the Warren-controversy? • Religion and politics today: a much debated question • Behind this, the issue of the nature of civil and religious power
