| Session | Session Focus | Reading Assignment | Other Assignment | Meeting Place/Exam Dates |
| WEEK 1.1 | Introduction One: the “Course”: Who, When, and Where?
Overview: Course prospectus, syllabus, schedule and expectations; Who are “We”? Why study “Religion”, the “Popes”, “History”, or the “Catholic Church”? Introduction Two: the “Journey”: How, What, and Why? Semiotics and Paradigms: How do human societies form? How do basic needs and wants take on religious symbolism, significance, and systems? | Syllabus | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 1.2 | Critical Thinking: the “Process”: Thinking logically, analyzing rationally, and synthesizing critically. Hermeneutics: Methodologies for studying objects of inquiry: philology, epistemology, metaphysics, history, and culture. | Syllabus and Previous Lecture Material | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 2.1 | Pontifex Maximus: “Building Bridges”: The world’s oldest, continuously surviving, and most important title and office (8th century BCE – 1st century CE). Ancient “Eternal” Rome: from the Roman monarchy, through the Republican SPQR, to the Imperial Period; Roman Law and Religion.
| Previous Lecture Notes • Bokenkotter, “Prefaces” and “Introduction” • Duffy, “Prefaces” • Norwich, “Illustrations”, “Maps”, and “Introduction” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 2.2 | Peter: “the Rock”: The world’s second oldest, continuously surviving, and most important title and office (2nd century BCE – 1st century CE). Ancient “Roman” Jerusalem: Mosaic Law; the “Sanhedrin”; "Church", "Peter", and “Christ” in the Christian New Testament. | Previous Lecture Notes • 1 Cor 15, 1-14; Mt 16, 13-20; Mt 27, 57-61; Jn 20,1-10; Jn 20,30-31; Jn 21,24-25 • Bokenkotter, “Chapters 1-3” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 3.1 | The Fifth Gospel: “Incarnation & Resurrection”: Religion’s Astrological and Astronomical origins, and humanity’s most examined human artifact. Othonia, Sudarion, and Sindon: did Jesus “of Nazareth” or Jesus “Christ” exist? | Previous Lecture Notes • Mt 27, 57-61; Jn 20,1-10 • Duffy, “Chapter 1.1” • Norwich, “Chapter 1” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 3.2 | Third Century Crisis One: “Tertullian’s Turn and Cyprian’s Solution”: A new monotheism and the emergence of a state within a state (2nd – 3rd century CE). Ancient Roman “Architects”: Stoic "unitas", Tertullian’s "trinitas", and Cyprian’s "ecclesiae catholicae". | Previous Lecture Notes | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 4.1 | Third Century Crisis Two: “Persecutions or Supplications”: Roman religious revival and its consequences for Christians…and the Empire (3rd century CE). Ancient Roman “Culture Clash”: The “lapsi”, “confessors and martyrs”, “ex comunio”, the “baptismal controversy”, and Pope Stephen I. | Previous Lecture Notes • Duffy, “Chapter 1.2” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 4.2 | Constantine’s Conundrum: “If you can’t beat them, join them”: Roman policy shift regarding religion and the dawn of a different empire (4th century CE). Ancient Roman “New Deal”: Diocletian, Roman “Toleration”, a “Nova Roma”, the Council of Nicaea I, the “Collegium Pontificium”, and Julian “the Apostate”. | Previous Lecture Notes • Bokenkotter, “Chapters 4-6” • Duffy, “Chapter 1.3” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 5.1 | Theodosian Shift: “Church-State Identification”: Will the real “Christ”, please, stand up? (4th – 5th century CE). Ancient Roman “Identity Politics”: The Councils of Constantinople I, Ephesus, and Chalcedon; Pope Leo’s “Tome”, the “Fall” of Rome, and a new P.M.. | Previous Lecture Notes • Duffy, “Chapter 1.4” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 5.2 | Rome’s “Fall” and “Metamorphosis”: “Who’s in Charge Here?!”. The East’s complacency and the West’s precarity (6th – 8th century CE). Roman & Papal “Dark” Ages: The Councils of Constantinople II, Constantinople III, and Nicaea II; the advent of Islam; the end of Arianism and Iconoclasm. | Previous Lecture Notes • Bokenkotter, “Chapters 7-9” • Norwich, “Chapters 2-3” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 6.1 | Rise of the Papacy: “Charles in Charge…or so he thought”. The West’s consolidation and the East’s dissolution (8th – 11th century CE). And Then They Were “Two”: The “Barbarians” vs. the Merovingians and Carolingians; the birth of the “Holy Roman Empire” and the “Papal States”; monasticism and the “schola”; the “Great Schism” of 1054. | Previous Lecture Notes • Bokenkotter, “Chapters 10-13” • Duffy, “Chapter 2” • Norwich, “Chapters 4-8”. | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 6.2 | Papal Reboot of Civilization: “Deus lo vult”. Rome’s Reboot of Antiquity, for better and for worse (11th – 13th century CE). Roman “Middle” Ages: the “universitas”. | Previous Lecture Notes - Bokenkotter, “Chapters 14-16” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 7 | MIDTERM EXAM: Class will not meet formally this week. Six weeks in addition to exam time is afforded to the completion of this assignment (20% of the overall final course grade). | Previous Lecture Notes and assigned Readings | DOMICILIO
| See JCU's Moodle platform for further specific detailed instructions, prompts, and due date. |
| WEEK 8.1 | The “Crusdaes”, the “indulgentia”, and the “buying and selling of indulgences”. Role of the Papacy: Pope Gregory VII vs. H.R.E. Henry IV and the “Dictatus Papae”; the “Magna Charta”. (11th-13th cent. CE) | Duffy, “Chapter 2” • Norwich, “Chapters 9-13” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 8.2 | Retreat of the Papacy: “Living Saints”. The Papacy’s Claim of Rome. (13th – 14th century CE). Papal “Middle” Ages: Lateran Council IV and the Mendicant Orders; Second Council of Lyons; the “Unam Sanctam” and the first “Jubilee”; the “Avignon Papacy”, and the “Western Schism”. | Previous Lecture Notes • Duffy, “Chapter 3” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 9.1 | Return of the King: “Living Sinners”. Rome’s Claim of the Papacy (15th century CE). Proto-Rinascimento & Proto-Reformation: The “Black Death”; Pope Martin V and the Council of Florence; Pope Eugene IV; John Wycliffe and Jan Hus; Slavery; Pope Nicholas V and the “Fall” of Constantinople. | Previous Lecture Notes • Bokenkotter, “Chapters 17-18” • Norwich, “Chapters 14-16” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 9.2 | Papal Power: “Forged in Fire and Gold”. Papal Rebirth of Rome (15th – 16th century CE). Papal Rinascimento I: Pope Sixtus IV and his Chapel; Savonarola, Pope Alexander VI, and a New World; Pope Julius II, a reluctant sculptor, and an ambitious architect. | Previous Lecture Notes • Duffy, “Chapter 4.1” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 10.1 | Papal Prowess: “The Ceiling that Daunts”: “Catholic” catechesis "a fresco" (16th century CE). Papal Rinascimento II: Michelangelo and his ceiling that almost wasn’t. | Previous Lecture Notes • Norwich, “Chapters 17-19” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 10.2 | Papal Presumption: “The Room that Taunts”: Papal propaganda "a fresco" (16th century CE). Papal Rinascimento III: Raffaello and his room that almost killed him. | Previous Lecture Notes • Duffy, “Chapter 4.2” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 11.1 | Papal Paralysis: “The Wall that Haunts”: Final Judgment "a fresco" (16th century CE). Protestant Reformation: Luther, Calvin, and Henry VIII; the Sack of Rome; Michelangelo and his wall that almost condemned him. | Previous Lecture Notes • Bokenkotter, “Chapters 19-21” • Norwich, “Chapter 20” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 11.2 | Papal Posturing: “The Writing on the Wall”: From Reformation to Revolution (16th – 17th century CE). CounterReformation and Revolution: Pope Pius V, the Jesuits, and the Council of Trent; Copernicus and Galileo; Popes Urban VIII and Alexander VII; Bernini. | Previous Lecture Notes • Duffy, “Chapter 4.3-4.4” • Norwich, “Chapter 21” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 12.1 | TBD | | | |
| WEEK 12.2 | TBD | | | |
| WEEK 13 | PREPARATION and EXTENSION WEEK: Class will not meet formally this week. Students should use this preemptive extension period to finish all remaining assignments including the Outline and Worksheet Two, the Research Project Presentation, and the Final Exam. This blanket extension is afforded to all students, regardless of legitimate or illegitimate extension requests, which will not be granted to any student beyond the assignment due dates. | Previous Lecture Material | DOMICILIO | |
| WEEK 14.1 | RESEARCH PROJECT PRESENTATION: The Modern Papacy (18th – 19th centuries CE) | Previous Lecture Notes • Bokenkotter, “Chapters 22-37” • Duffy, “Chapter 5-6” • Norwich, “Chapters 22-28” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 14.2 | RESEARCH PROJECT PRESENTATION: The Contemporary Papacy (20th – 21st century CE). | Previous Lecture Notes • Bokenkotter, “Chapters 22-37” • Duffy, “Chapter 5-6” • Norwich, “Chapters 22-28” | IN AULA | |
| WEEK 15 | FINAL EXAM: Whether you study hard or hardly study, I sincerely wish you all the best of success on all of your course work! | All previously assigned readings and lecture material. See JCU's Moodle platform for further details, instructions, prompts, and due date. | DOMICILIO | Friday 09 May 2025 |