The Body in Early Christian Thought and Practice

Catalog description

The field of Early Christianity is frequently treated as the study of spiritual things. Yet early Christians, no less so than contemporary Americans, were convinced that their bodies mattered, and spent a great deal of time and text on them. Bodies were the locus for sin and salvation, required special treatment and training, and could become the signifiers of holiness as well as depravity. This course will explore the ways in which Christians from the second through sixth century C.E. thought about and treated their bodies: their own, those of saints and martyrs, and even that of Christ. Recommended prerequisite: Church History 750 or equivalent.