The aim of the unit is to introduce students to the literary genre of hagiography that developed in the 4th century and traces its origins to the Life of Antony attributed to Athanasius of Alexandria. In this unit, students will gain an appreciation of the interrelationship between hagiographical text, liturgy and iconography in establishing the cult of a saint. The unit will follow the developments of the hagiographical genre and the associated cult of the saints, through Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, by focusing on both monastic accounts and martyrologies, and finally consider the liturgical implications of hagiography as a means of understanding the role of the saints in the present day.
Unit code: CH1440A
Unit status: Archived (New unit)
Points: 18.0
Unit level: Undergraduate Level 1
Unit discipline: Church History
Delivery Mode: Face to Face
Proposing College: St Athanasius College
Show when this unit is running1. | Construct a geography of sacred space using documentary, art historical, archaeological, and liturgical sources |
2. | Describe the purpose and means by which religious institutions propagated the cult of a saint through hagiography |
3. | Identify the various social and religious motives and liturgical implications behind the composition of a hagiographic text and understand the role pilgrimage plays in this context |
4. | Discern hagiography among various literary genres |
Required reading and additional reading resources
Type | Description | Word count | Weight (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Essay | Essay 1750 words |
0 | 40.0 |
Essay | Essay 1750 words |
0 | 40.0 |
Oral Presentation | Presentation (equivalent to 500 words) |
0 | 20.0 |
Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 19 Oct, 2017
Unit record last updated: 2022-10-31 15:53:59 +1100