Early Monasticism: Landscapes, Texts and Practices

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

One of the most enduring legacies of early Christianity was the monastic movement. In this course, we will explore the varieties of ascetic practices in the early church, and their distinctive types of literature, with a particular interest in the relationship of ascetics to their environment. In the first half of the semester, we will focus on the solitaries, reading selections from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, and from the Lives of the Syrian ascetic heroes and the leaders of the Palestinian monks. In the second half of the semester, we will turn to the first monastic communities, reading the Rules of Pachomius, Basil, and Benedict. Along the way, we will incorporate modern experiences and views of the monastic life, reading selections from Thomas Merton and Kathleen Norris, among others, and discussing the extraordinary film Into Great Silence.