HISTORY 5341 001
(32489):
Fall 2015: HAGIOGRAPHY
Meets M 7-9:50 in Holden Hall 155
TEACHER
John Howe
Department of History;
Texas Tech University;
Office: Holden Hall 143
Hours:
MWF 11:00 - 11:45 am, M 9:30-10:15
pm, and by appointment
Telephone: 834-7544
FAX: 806 742-1060
E-Mail: john.howe@ttu.edu (the best contact point)
Web:
http://www.myweb.ttu.edu/jhowe
PURPOSES
OF THE COURSE
To introduce “hagiography,” the most common literary-historical
genre of the Middle Ages. To trace its chronological and
thematic developments. To learn how to use hagiographic
material to study medieval social, cultural, intellectual, and
religious changes. To gain insight into the development
of critical historiography.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this class students will be able to:
2.
Discuss the development of hagiography as a literary-historical
genre in the Latin West.
3.
Discuss major scholarly attempts to analyze this literature
critically (and the resulting debates).
4.
Appreciate hagiographical texts as works of literature.5.
Use hagiographical literature as a source for evidence concerning
problems of gender, class, historical geography, medical pathology,
and political and ecclesiastical ideology.
Methods for Assessing the Expected Learning Outcomes
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Required
Texts
Bartlett, Robert. Why Can the
Dead Do Such Great Things? Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs
to the Reformation. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013.
Brown, Peter.
The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Late
Antiquity. 2nd ed.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015.
Required Reading
Reading--a great deal of reading--is central to this graduate topics
course. There will be specific texts to be read for each
class, taken from the required reading, from lists that will be
provided, and from the web. The “Reading and Class Schedule”
indicates how the course will proceed. Student reports and
discussion will play a major role, so it is important to have all
assignments completed as scheduled.
Book Reviews
Over the course of the semester, each student will write eleven
reviews
of books, primary sources, and articles (no more than three may be on
Engllish-language articles). Each review should not be much longer than two
double-spaced typed pages. Students should be prepared to
report orally in class on works they have reviewed. Copies of
reviews should be emailed to all students in the seminar, no later
than a week after the due date.
Research Project
Each student will choose a medieval saint, the choice subject to the
approval of the instructor.
Attempt to answer the question: "For whom was this person a
saint?" In a paper of about 10 double-spaced pages, describe the
evidence that survives for the cult (literary, material, liturgical,
onomastic, etc.) and analyze what can be known about the saint's
patrons and audience.
Examination Essays
There will be no regularly scheduled
examinations. However, on the basis of the required readings
for the course, students will write two essays (about 1000 words
each), due on the final exam day (Tuesday, May 10). These essays
will be easier to write if students, as they study the assigned
readings, enter relevant points into note files devoted to each
question. Then the examination becomes largely a matter of
taking the data you have collected about your favorite questions and
organizing it to support your answers to two of the proposed essays.
1. Did hagiography have any
substantial influence on Western medieval society? That is,
did it lead to any modifications in or reinforcement of worship,
conduct, the social order, etc.?
2. For what audience(s) was
medieval hagiography composed?
3. Can “popular culture” be
studied through hagiographic documents?
4. In the High Middle Ages was
women’s spirituality different from men’s?
5. The process of canonization,
once a relatively spontaneous community acclamation, became the
world’s longest judicial procedure. How did this affect the
cult of the saints?
Class Attendance
Successful completion of the course
requires regular attendance. Students who will need to miss
more than three classes should not be enrolled because they will not
be able either to do their best or to demonstrate their knowledge
fully.
NOTIFICATIONS
Necessary Accommodations:
Any
student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some
special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should
contact the instructor as soon as possible so that the necessary
accommodations can be made.
Observance of a Religious Holy Day:
Texas House Bill 256 requires institutions of higher education to
excuse a student from attending classes or other required
activities, including examinations, for the observance of a
religious holy day. The student shall also be excused for time
necessary to travel. An institution may not penalize the student for
the absence and it should allow the student to take an exam or
complete an assignment from which the student is excused. No prior
notification of the instructor is required.
Academic
Honesty:
"Texas Tech is committed to creating an exciting university
atmosphere that is free of academic dishonesty. All members of the
university community, including faculty, students, and staff, are
upheld to the standard of having integrity in the work they produce.
The standard is for all members of the Texas Tech community to
contribute to the campus environment in an ethical, fun, and honest
manner. Integrity matters because student success matters."
Because we live in an imperfect world, it is sometimes necessary to
undergird ideals and norms with enforcement mechanisms. Be
aware that Texas Tech has acaedmic regulations
that mandate specific
Disciplinary Procedures for Academic Honesty Violations.
GRADING
The course grade will be computed as follows: 50% from the
eleven book or article reports (i.e., 5% from each, with the lowest
grade dropped); 15% from the research project; 25% from the two
comprehensive essays; and 10% from class participation.
The class participation grade is
computed on the basis of attendance, class preparation, and class
contributions by dividing students up at the end of the semester
into three groups: 1) outstanding; 2) generally average; and
3) significantly below acceptable standards. In computing the
course grade, the first group gets the class participation component
credited as an ‘A’; the second group has the points removed from the
averaging process (so they neither help nor hurt); and the third
group has them credited as an ‘F’.
READING AND LECTURE SCHEDULE
M Aug 24 Introduction: Saints and Hagiography
Bartlett 1-238;
Charles
D. Wright, "Hagiography," Illinois Medieval Studies
;
M Aug 31 Overview: The Saints in the
Middle Ages
[M Sept 7
Holiday]
M Sept 14 Overview: The Cult of the Saints
Bartlett 504-57; Passio of the Scilltan Martyrs (d. 180) ; Passio of Cyprian (d. 258); Read from List #1: “Martyrs”
M Sept 21
The Literature of Sanctity: 1) The Passiones of the
Martyrs
Jerome on “Paul the First Hermit”
(fl. 4th cent?); Brown, “The Rise and
M Sept 28
The Literature of Sanctity: 2) The Desert Fathers
(and Mothers)
Mary the Younger; Alexander
Kazhdan, "Hagiography," ODB
2:897-89; Alice-Mary Talbot. "Hagiography," in
Oxford
Handbook of Byzantine Studies, ed. Elizabeth Jeffreys (2008)
(emailed scans); read from
List #3: “Byzantine Hagiography”
M Oct 5 The Literature of Sanctity: 3) Byzantine Hagiography
Sulpicius Severus Vita Martini;
Alcuin's Vedastus;
read from
List #4: “Episcopal Sanctity”
(from the early medieval sections)
M Oct 12 The
Literature of Sanctity: 4) Bishops and “Apostles”
Gregory I, Dialogues II; John
Howe, "The Awesome Hermit," Numen 39 (1983): 106-19
[JSTOR];
List #5: “Monastic Saints” (from the early medieval
sections)
M Oct 19 The Literature of
Sanctity: 5) Hermits. Monks and Nuns as Saints
Read from
List #6A: "Holy Kings and
Queens” or from
List #6B: “Laypersons as Saints”
M Oct 26
The Literature of Sanctity: 6) Kings
and Laypersons as Saints
[M Oct 26 Final
day to declare pass fail intentions]
The Authoritative Life of Francis: Read from List #7A: “Mendicants as Saints” or from List #7B: "Mysticism"
M Nov 2 The Literature of Sanctity: 7) Mendicant Saints/ Mystical Saints
Bartlett 333-409;
Read from List
#8: "Miracles"
M Nov 9 The Literature of Sanctity: 8) Collections of Miracles
Read from List #9A:
"Canonization"
or from List 9B: "Processus Documents"
M Nov 16 Canonization as a Legal Process
Read
List #10: Hagiographical Topoi
(no review needed); browse the
Bollandist Web site
M Nov 26 Hagiographical Topoi
Read List #11A: Saints of the Reformation
or from
11B: Saints and Scholars
M Nov 30 Reformation Saints
[Dec
2 Final day of
classes]
M Dec 7
Discuss the In-Progress
Essays & Proposals
W Dec 9
Final papers due no
later than 10:00 in my
office
Commencement Dec 11-12