There is a mandatory student activity fee of €25.00 for this course as per on site visits. Student participants must always have a valid university student ID card on their person and another form of ID with their date of birth indicated for all site visits.
WEEK ONE: Roman Antiquity and the Rise of Christianity (in Class Lecture 1 & Site Visit 1)
in aula: Tuesday, 23 May 2017
1) Introduction: overview of course prospectus, syllabus, and expectations; paradigms and hermeneutics/methodologies employed
2) Pontifex Maximus: the office from the Roman monarchy, through the Republican SPQR, to the Imperial Period; Roman Law and Religion
3) Jewish and Roman: Mosaic Law; "Church" and "Peter" in the Christian New Testament; Roman Citizenship (1st century CE - Apostolic Period)
4) Roman and Christian: reaction to early Christianity and its "doctrines" (2nd century CE - Sub-Apostolic Period)
5) Competing Cults and Philosophies: Bacchus/Dionysos, Mithras/Sol Invictus, and Christus; Epicureanism, Platonism, and Stoic "unitas"
6) Tertullian's Turn: Stoic "oneness/unity", Christian "trinity", and the emergence of a state within a state (turn of the 3rd century CE)
in situ: Thursday, 25 May 2017
1) domus, mithraeum, basilica, and church of Saint Clement
2) the chapel of Saint Sylvester at the monastery church of Santi Quattro Coronati
3) the Baptistery, Basilica, and "Holy Staircase" of Saint John Lateran
4) domus "in Coelio" of Saints John and Paul
WEEK TWO: The End of Ancient Civilization and the Rise of the Catholic Church (in Class Lecture 2 & Site Visit 2)
in aula: Tuesday, 30 May 2017
7) Third Century Crisis I: Culture Clash: the Roman Response to the Christian Universal Assembly: supplications or persecutions
8) Cyprian's Solution: an alternative model of government in the Christian "Universal Assembly" (mid-3rd century CE)
9) Third Century Crisis II: Power Grab: lapsed catholics and the baptismal controversy
10) A New "Deal": Roman policy shift regarding religion and the dawn of a different empire (turn of the 4th century CE)
11) Constantinian Turn: religious "freedom", Christian promotion, Nicaea I, and the "Collegium Pontificium" (4th century CE)
12) Theodosian Shift: Julian the "Apostate"; Constantinople I; Ambrose of Milan; Theodosius I and the identification of church and state
in situ: Thursday, 1 June 2017
1) 2nd-4th century catacombs of Saint Agnes "outside the walls"
2) 4th century basilica of Saint Agnes
3) 4th century mausoleum of Princess Constance
4) 7th century church of Saint Agnes
WEEK THREE: The Rise of Christendom and the Consolidation of Papal Authority and Power (in Class Lecture 3 & Site Visit 3)
in aula: Tuesday, 6 June 2017
13) Eastern Confusion and Western Concussion: barbarians at the gates; Augustine of Hippo; the Council of Ephesus (5th century CE)
14) Eastern Clarification and Western Paralization: barbarians breach the gates; Leo the Great; Council of Chalcedon
15) Dark Ages I: Rome's Fall and its Repercussions: Christian elites: Boethius; Benedict; Gregory; monasticism; Islam (6th-7th cents. CE)
16) Dark Ages II: Gettin' Byzantine and Medieval: Charles the Hammer, Charles the Great, a new empire, and the largest "donation" in human history (8th and 9th centuries CE)
17) Middle Ages I: Papal and Imperial Showdown: Great Schism; Gregory VII; medieval universities; crusades (10th through 12th centuries)
18) Middle Ages II: King of the Mountain: Magna Charta; Franciscans and Dominicans; Inquisition; Scholasticism; Boniface VIII (12th and 13th centuries CE)
in situ: Thursday, 8 June 2017
1) Pantheon
2) Santa Maria sopra Minerva
3) Palazzo Porcari
WEEK FOUR: The Rise and Fall of the Papacy (Lessons 19-28)
in aula: Tuesday, 13 June 2017 (Research Project DUE!)
19) While the Pope's Away: Avignon; Black Death; Catherine of Siena; John Wycliffe; Jan Hus; Western Schism (14th century CE)
20) Return of the King: Council of Florence; Eugene IV; Nicholas V; Constantinople's Fall; Alexander VI; a new world (15th century CE)
21) Rinascimento I: Corruption at Home and Abroad: slavery; Savonarola; Julius II; Michelangelo and Rafaello (16th century CE)
22) Rinascimento II: Papal Propaganda: The Rooms of Rafaello
23) Rinascimento III: "Catholic" Catechesis: Michelangelo's ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
24) Rinascimento IV: Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther; Henry VIII; Charles V; Clement VII; Michelangelo's "Last Judgment"
in situ: Thursday, 15 June 2017
Vatican Museums including the Rooms of Raffaello and the Sistine Chapel
WEEK FIVE: Humanity Makes, the Papacy Takes (Lessons 19-28)
in aula: Tuesday, 20 June 2017
25) Barocco/Enlightenment I: Revolutions Above: conquistadores; Jesuits; Council of Trent; Pius V; Copernicus, Kepler, and Bruno (16th and 17th centuries CE)
26) Barocco/Enlightenment II: Revolutions Below: Galilei, Bernini, Urban VIII, Alexander VII (17th century CE)
27) Who Needs a King?: U.S. Constitution; Napoleon and Pius VII; U.S. Civil War and Pius IX (18th-19th centuries CE)
28) Stronger Than Ever: To Each His Own because They Will Not Prevail: Italian "unification"; l'Osservatore Romano; Fascism; Pius XII; the I.O.R.; Vatican City State; Second Vatican Council; a Vatican "Constitution" (20th-21st centuries CE)
in situ: Thursday, 22 June 2017
the "scavi" and Basilica of Saint Peter's in Vaticano
FINAL EXAM: Friday, 23 June 2017
FURTHER INFORMATION THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST: (all texts available in JCU’s Frohring Library)
Adler, Mortimer J.
- Aristotle for Everybody: Difficult Thought Made Easy, ISBN 0-684-83823-0.
- Ten Philosophical Mistakes, ISBN 0-684-81868-X.
Craig, William Lane.
- Creation Out of Nothing: a Biblical, Philosophical, and Scientific Exploration, ISBN 0-8010-2733-0. - --
- Reasonable Faith, ISBN 978-0-89107-764-0.
Dawkins, Richard.
- The God Delusion, ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
- The Greatest Show on Earth: the Evidence for Evolution, ISBN 0-593-06173-X.
Dennett, Daniel.
- Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, ISBN 0-670-03472-X.
- Science and Religion, ISBN 0-199-73842-4.
D’Souza, Dinesh.
- What’s So Great About Christianity? ISBN 1-596-98517-8.
- Godforsaken: Bad Things Happen. Is there a God Who Cares? YES. Here’s Proof, ISBN 978-1414324852.
Harris, Sam.
- The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason, ISBN 0-393-03515-8.
- The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Moral Values, ISBN 978-1-4391-7121-9.
- Letter to a Christian Nation. ISBN 0-307-26577-3.
- Free Will, ISBN 978-1451683400.
Hitchens, Christopher.
- Is Christianity Good for the World? ISBN 1-59128-053-2.
- The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Non-Believer, ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6.
- The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice, ISBN 1-85984-054-X.
- God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, ISBN 0-446-57980-7.
- Thomas Jefferson: Author of America, ISBN 0-06-059896-4.
- Thomas Paine’s “Rights of Man”: A Biography, ISBN 1-84354-513-6.
Hirsi Ali, Ayaan.
- The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam, ISBN 978-0-7432-8833-0.
- Infidel, ISBN 0-7432-9503-X.
Jaki, Stanley L.
- Means to Message: a Treatise on Truth, ISBN 0-8028-4651-3.
- The Savior of Science, ISBN 0-8028-4772-2.
Krauss, Lawrence.
- A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing, ISBN 978-1-4516-2445-8.
Turek, Frank.
- I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, ISBN 978-1581345612.
Schönborn, Christoph.
- Chance or Purpose? Creation, Evolution, and a Rational Faith, ISBN 978-1-58617-212-1.
VIDEO ONE: “Is Islam a Religion of Peace?”
92Y Talks (5 October 2010)
Moderator: Laurie Goodstein
Motion For: Tariq Ramadan
Motion Against: Christopher Hitchens
(video length 1:31:21) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMraxhd9Z9Q
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VIDEO TWO: “Is Islam a Religion of Peace?”
Intelligence Squared – U.S. (6 October 2010)
Moderator: John Donvan
Motion For: Zeba Khan; Maajid Nawaz
Motion Against: Ayaan Hirsi Ali; Douglas Murray
(video length 1:46:35) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh34Xsq7D_A
VIDEO THREE: “Islam: A Religion of Peace or Violence?
The Richmond Forum (26 November 2013)”
Moderator: John Donvan
Ayaan Hirsi Ali; Maajid Nawaz; Feisal Abdul Rauf
(video length 1:57:31) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2prB3weT4c
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VIDEO FOUR: “The Catholic Church Is a Force for Good in the World”
Intelligence Squared – UK (2009)
Moderator: Zainab Badawi
Motion For: John Onaiakin; Anne Whitaker
Motion Against: Stephen Fry; Christopher Hitchens
(video length 1:59:09) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrIHw0fZNOA
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VIDEO FIVE: “Is Religion the Problem?”
The Henkels Lecturer Series,
The Center for Philosophy of Religion and the
Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts – Notre Dame University (2010)
Moderator: Michael Ray
Motion For: Christopher Hitchens
Motion Against: Dinesh D’Souza
(video length 1:48:03) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V85OykSDT8
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VIDEO SIX: “Atheism, Theism, Antitheism” 92Y Talks (2008)
Moderator: Neil Gillman
Motion for Theism: Shmuley Boteach
Motion for Atheism and Antitheism: Christopher Hitchens
(video length 1:33:55) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnMYL8sF7bQ
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VIDEO SEVEN: “Is Good from God?”
The Henkels Lecturer Series, The Center for Philosophy of Religion and the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts – Notre Dame University (2011)
Moderator: Michael Ray
Motion For: William Lane Craig
Motion Against: Sam Harris
(video length 2:06:54) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqaHXKLRKzg
VIDEO EIGHT: “What Best Explains the Universe:
Theism or Atheism?”
The College of New Jersey – (2011)
Moderator: James Taylor
Motion for Theism: Frank Turek
Motion for Atheism: Christopher Hitchens
(video length 2:06:18) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlozGOXJNFg
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VIDEO NINE: “Is it Reasonable to Believe that God Exists?”
The City Bible Forum – Australia (August 2013)
Moderator: Graham Oppy
Motion For: William Lane Craig
Motion Against: Lawrence Krauss
(video length 1:46:24) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol-A_SU3m5c
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VIDEO TEN: “Science Refutes God”
Intelligence Squared – U.S. (2012)
Moderator: John Donvan
Motion For: Lawrence Krauss; Michael Schermer
Motion Against: Dinesh D’Souza; Ian Hutchinson
(video length 1:48:54) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKNd_S3iXfs
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VIDEO ELEVEN: “Evolution or Creationism/Intelligent Design?” Q&A – Australia (2012)
Moderator: Tony Jones
Motion for Evolution: Richard Dawkins
Motion for Creationism/Intelligent Design: George Pell
(video length 1:00:29) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8hy8NxZvFY
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VIDEO TWELVE: “Something from Nothing”
The Origins Project – Arizona (2012)
Lawrence Krauss
(video length 54:11) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUH77mYBUtM
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VIDEO THIRTEEN: “Does God Exist?”
Biola University – California (2009)
Motion For: William Lane Craig
Motion Against: Christopher Hitchens
(video length 2:27:24) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxvalmFOgAc
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VIDEO FOURTEEN: “Is God Great?”
Samford University – USA (2009)
Motion For: John Lennox
Motion Against: Christopher Hitchens
(video length 1:53:24) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Al3Y8Lssps
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VIDEO FIFTEEN: “Christopher Hitchens”
Festival of Dangerous Ideas – Sydney (2009)
Interlocutor: Tony Hawkins
As Himself: Christopher Hitchens
(video length 1:43:50) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwiHkM126bk
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