ECST 715 Ascetics and Healing in Late Antiquity
The course will be divided into two major sections. The first section examines primary material of the period roughly 300-600 that describes the engagement of Christian ascetics in the care of the sick, as well as issues connected with nature, the body, the miraculous, and the providence of God. The second section focuses on the Pastoral Care of Pope Gregory the Great (590-604), examining it less as a handbook on rhetoric and the exercise of religious authority and more as a guide to varying levels of mental and spiritual "health." Students will read material from the period (in whatever languages they read), create their own secondary reading program, deliver a seminar, and write a research paper of their choice. The course is open to graduate students from any school, department, or program.