Sinners, Saints, and Heretics

3-4 Credits

Exploring how religion is linked to issues of gender, power, and identity, this course investigates the fascinating complexities of Christian belief and practice in medieval England. How does a culture that idealizes social unity come to justify the burning of heretics? How does it arrive at distinctions between perfect virgins and ordinary wives, between holy mendicants and slothful beggars? How do such identifications map on to current understandings of social identity and institutional power? Attribute/Distribution: CC, HE, W