From Perpetua to Dorothy Day: Women's Spiritual Experience from the Early Church to today (CH3215Y)

Undergraduate, 18.0 points

Content

This unit explores the meaning of Christian spirituality using the writings of women throughout history. Emphasis will be placed on the historical context of the primary sources used, the struggles of women in coming to find their own voices within their contexts, the theological relevance of their writings, and the specific literary genres that they used. This study enables students to appreciate both the significance of these writings for their own times, as well as their continuing relevance to our life and mission in the Christian Church today.

Unit code: CH3215Y

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 3

Unit discipline: Church History

Delivery Mode: Blended

Proposing College: Yarra Theological Union

Show when this unit is running

Learning outcomes

1.

Outline and analyse the elements that identify Christian Spirituality particularly in relation to women’s writings throughout history.
2.

Analyse and articulate the historical context within which selected women communicate Christian spirituality throughout history.
3.

Identify and evaluate key features of the Christian spirituality within women’s writings.
4.

Interpret a range of literary genres used by women writers in Christian History.
5.

Analyse how women did or did not find their voice through their writings in the context of the Church of their times
6.

Critically discuss the implications of the understanding of these texts for ministry in the contemporary Christian church.

Pedagogy

Asynchronous and synchronous lectures, tutorials, and discussion forums

Indicative Bibliography

  • Bennett, Judith M., and Ruth Mazo Karras, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Women and Gender in Medieval Europe, 1st ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
  • Castelli, Elizabeth A. Martyrdom and Memory: Early Christian Culture Making. New York: Columba University Press, 2004.
  • Day, Dorothy. The Long Loneliness. NY: Harper Collins, 2009.
  • Finnegan, Mary Jeremy. The Women of Helfta: Scholars and Mystics. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1991.
  • Harris, K. ed. Illumined by God: Essays on Medieval Monastic Women. Croydon, Vic: Benedictine Union of Australia and New Zealand, 2000.
  • Meville, Gert. The World of Medieval Monasticism: Its History and Forms of Life. Collegevilee, MI: Liturgical Press, 2016.
  • Rumsey, Patricia M. Women of the Church: The Religious Experience of Monastic Women. Blackrock, Co. Dublin: Columba, 2011.
  • Schulenberg, Jane Tibbets. Forgetful of her Sex: Female Sanctity and Society: 500-1100. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1998.
  • Smelik, Klaas A. D. et al., eds. Spirituality in the Writings of Etty Hillesum. Proceedings at the Etty Hillesum Conference at Ghent University. November 2008. Leiden: Brill, 2011.
  • Sullivan, John. Edith Stein: Essential Writings. New York: Orbis Books, 2002.
  • Tyler, Peter and Edward Howells, eds. Teresa of Avila: Mystical Theology and Spirituality in the Carmelite Tradition. London: Routledge, 2017.
  • Ward, Benedicta, trans. Sayings of the Desert Fathers:The Alphabetical Collection. Cistercian Studies Series, vol. 59. Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1984.
  • Wheeler, Bonnie, ed. Listening to Heloise: The Voice of a Twelfth-Century Woman. Basingstoke, Hampshire: MacMillan, 2000.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Portfolio

Portfolio of 5 Tutorial Exercises of 200 words each

 1000 20.0
Tutorial Paper/Seminar Paper 10000 30.0
Essay 3000 50.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 28 Jul, 2025

Unit record last updated: 2025-07-28 08:49:11 +1000