HISTORY 243

Body and Blood: Religious Cultures and Conflicts c.50-1650

Description

 

"Body and Blood" offers an examination of Christianity, Islam and Judaism mainly in the late antique and medieval periods, and considers the conflicts which shaped the three faiths.

We will examine the roots of Christian and Muslim religious thinking, their interaction with Jewish and Pagan traditions, the Crusades, aspects of the Jewish-Christian debate, heresy, schisms within Christianity and developments within Islam.

The course covers a wide span of history, covering aspects of the late Roman, early medieval, high and late medieval periods, and will finish with the Reformation of the sixteenth century and its immediate aftermath. The emphasis is on relations between different religious cultures, and the ways in which both conflict and tolerance shaped their identities.

Broad themes include the impact of changing economic and social forms, the role of authority and government in regulating religious interaction and the place of gender and sexuality in both moderating and exacerbating conflict. Although we focus largely on quite distant pasts, most of the topics we will discuss have strong relevance and resonance in the present day. World politics and both western and middle-eastern cultures are still shaped by the religious movements which had their beginnings many centuries ago. We hope that through taking the course students will come to a better understanding of modern religious cultures and conflicts.

• For full course information see the Digital Course Outline.
  
  Digital Course Outlines will be refreshed around November/December.

Availability 2025

Semester 2

Lecturer(s)

Coordinator(s) Professor Kim Phillips
Lecturer(s) Dr Lindsay Diggelmann

Assessment

Coursework + exam

Points

HISTORY 243: 15 points

Prerequisites

15 points at Stage I in History and 30 points passed

Restrictions

HISTORY 356