Course Description

What is the relationship between a life and a Life?

 

This course will examine the writing of saints' lives--hagiography--in premodern Christian communities. The course does not require intensive background in the history of Christianity, but rather critical reading skills and the ability analyze texts using the tools of cultural studies. (For those students who wish to acquire more background in the history of Christianity, some recommended books are listed among the links and resources on the course website.)

 

Over this quarter, we will ask a series of questions that pertain not just to the history of Christianity, but to religious traditions in general:

  • What role do holy men and women (as both social phenemona and textual “relics”) play in religious cultures, and how are these icons of sanctity reformed, rejected, or renovated into new forms?

  • What is the quality of holiness that inheres in particular individuals, in the lives written about them, and in images and relics?

  • Was this quality captured, subverted, tamed, or otherwise refracted between social reality and text?

  • What role does asceticism play in the ideal, or real, formation of religious selves?

The course will examine both hagiographic texts in translation, and also engage with various historical explanations of sainthood, biography, and personal devotion.

 

Theoretical texts that allow students to approach the intersections of biography, society, and piety are also paired, when appropriate, with primary and secondary readings throughout the quarter; the goal of the course is to examine the ways in which religious writing intersects with concepts of gender, the body, society (nationalism and imperialism), and class in the private and public consumption of holy figures.

 

 

Course Materials

The following books have been ordered and are available at UCR Bookstore, and are on reserve at Rivera Library. The links below take you to the amazon.com website:

 

Carolinne White, Early Christian Lives (Penguin)

 

Benedicta Ward, Harlots of the Desert (Cistercian Studies)

 

Peter Brown, The Cult of the Saints (U Chicago)

 

Robert Doran (ed. and tr.), The Lives of Simeon Stylites (Cistercian Studies)

 

David Halperin, Saint Foucault (Oxford)

 

 

Additional readings (articles, book chapters, primary sources) are available online through the course website;these readings underlined in the course schedule. Online readings marked by an asterisk (*) are subscription-only resources and must be accessed through a UCR terminal. Readings marked by an asterisk (*) that are not underlined are available in electronic format through the Blackboard site (http://iLearn.ucr.edu/).

 

Readings for presentations can be accessed from the UCR Library or from Prof. Jacobs; after choosing a presentation in the beginning of the quarter, check with Prof. Jacobs to make sure you can access your presentation reading.

 

 

Course Requirements

Final grades will be based on the following:

 

Class Participation: 20%

This course will operate as a seminar: although the professor will act as "group leader," it is the job of every participant in the seminar to contribute actively and vocally in every class session. This means coming to class prepared to discuss the materials of the day, to ask questions (both of the material and of your fellow students), and to engage creatively and productively with the issues at hand. Attendance in every class session is mandatory.

 

Class Presentation: 20%

Every week, at least one student (depending on the number of students enrolled) will be responsible for presenting a supplementary text for discussion to the rest of the class, and guiding part of the discussion based on his or her presentation. (For long texts, student groups of two or three may present a single text.) Students will pick their presentation texts at the beginning of the quarter, and are encouraged to come prepared with any supplementary materials they feel are necessary to facilitate understanding and discussion of their text (handouts, summaries, etc.).

 

Students also have the option of choosing to present a hagiographic text from their own research field (the introduction of non-Christian sacred writings is encouraged). Students who wish to pursue this option should coordinate with the professor to choose an appropriate class session in which to introduce their chosen text.

 

Midterm Assignment: 20%

Every student will complete a directed analysis of a text or texts (assignment distributed in Week Four), using the insights gained from course readings. The assignment is take-home, and will be due in class in Week Six.

 

Final Paper: 40%

By Week Six, every student must also have chosen a topic for a final term paper, due to HMNSS 2620 by noon on December 13, 2006. All final papers should be between 15-20 pages and should employ the critical insights gained throughout the quarter. Specific guidelines will be handed out in class, and students are encouraged to meet at least once with the professor to consult on their progress.

 

For more details on these assignments, click here.