History of Christianity, From the Jesus Movement to the Reformation

Catalog description

A historical overview of the Church and society in Western Europe from the origins of Christianity through the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. This course will examine the development of early Christianities in the period following the birth of the Jesus movement; the emergence of normative or "Catholic" Christian belief and practice; and the institutions and culture of Christianity as it developed in Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Themes will include the varieties of monasticism; relationships with Judaism and Islam; the development of Roman primacy and Papal government; scholasticism and other intellectual movements; and late-medieval attempts at institutional and intellectual reform. The course will introduce students to major themes and ideas through the reading of survey texts, and to historical interpretation through the analysis of primary sources.