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Summer 2005 Courses and Faculty

 

Summer Courses

MI 40004/60004 (formerly MI 470/570) Medieval Latin
Frank A.C. Mantello
3 credits; 10:20-12:05 MWF
6/22/05-8/3/04

This course is an introduction to the Latin language and literature of the late antique and medieval periods (ca.A.D. 200-1500). Designed to move students toward independent work with Medieval Latin texts, the course will emphasize the close reading and careful translation of a variety of representative Medieval Latin texts and documents, with attention to vocabulary and word formation, orthography and pronunciation, morphology and syntax, and prose styles and metrics. The course will also provide an introduction to some of the areas of Medieval Latin scholarship, including lexica, bibliographies, great collections and repertories of sources, and reference works for the study of Latin works composed in the Middle Ages.

Prerequisite: Both elementary and intermediate Classical Latin or the equivalent, taken recently for college credit. Students are strongly encouraged to register concurrently for Intensive Latin Review MI 40020/60020 (=MI 471/571).

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MI 40020/60020 (formerly MI 471/571) Intensive Latin Review
Frank A.C. Mantello
1 credit; T H 10:20-12:05 & 2:40-4:25
6/22/05-6/30/05

This course is an intensive, two-week review of the principal constructions of Classical Latin syntax, designed for those who have completed both elementary and intermediate Classical Latin or the equivalent and wish to study Medieval Latin.

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MI 47801/67801 (formerly MI 487A/587A) Research in Biocultural Anthropology
Susan G. Sheridan and Robert Haak
6 credits 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. MTWHF
5/30/05-7/8/05

The Jerusalem field school will engage students in an experiential learning environment which immerses them in anthropological method and theory. Using the large Byzantine St. Stephen’s skeletal collection as the cornerstone, historical and archeological information will be synthesized in a biocultural reconstruction of ancient monastic life. Students will conduct original research, share in a field trip program visiting numerous Byzantine sites and area research institutions, and will participate in a lecture program delivered by top scholars in the fields of biological anthropology, classics, and Near Eastern studies. Students will develop a suite of methodological skills in the natural and social sciences, explore regional topography for an appreciation of the environmental constraints effecting human adaptability, delve into the pertinent literature using several world-class libraries, develop skills for collaborative research, and discover the importance of a holistic approach to a fuller understanding of life in the past.

Enrollment limit 10. Permission of instructorand application required; contact Susan Guise Sheridan (Susan.G.Sheridan.5@nd.edu), 574-631-7670.

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MI 60005 (formerly MI 517) Paleography
Frank A.C. Mantello
3 credits; MWF 2:40-4:25
6/22/05-8/3/05

This course is an introduction to the study of medieval writing materials and practices and of Latin scripts from antiquity to the early Renaissance. Designed to provide students with the skills necessary to make use of Latin manuscripts in their research, the course will focus on practical exercises in identifying, transcribing, dating, and localizing the various scripts. It will be of interest (1) to a wide variety of students whose courses are centered in or touch upon the Middle Ages and who wish to work with unpublished Latin materials of the medieval period; (2) to professional Latinists and other humanists who study the classical tradition and the transmission of texts before the age of printing; and (3) to librarians and others with an interest in manuscripts, diplomata, incunabula, and rare books.

Prerequisite: Both elementary and intermediate Classical Latin or the equivalent, taken recently for college credit, or MI 40004/60004 (=MI 470/570) or the equivalent.

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MI 60403 Theology of Early Christianity
Robin Darling Young
3 credits; MTWHF 8:15-10:30
6/20/05-7/8/05

This course provides an introduction to the sources, settings, development, and debates of early Christian thought. Concentrating on primary sources in translation from the late first to early sixth century, it will allow students to attain a basic understanding of the early Christian literature that expresses the doctrine (including philosophy and ethics), ritual, and patterns of institutional and personal life of communities spread from the western Mediterranean to Mesopotamia. Secondary treatments will supplement the translated texts.

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MI 60472 Classic Christian Mystics to the Reformation
Bernard McGinn
2 credits; MTWHF 8:15-10:30
6/20/05-7/1/05

What is mysticism? What role does it play in Christianity broadly conceived? In order to understand the nature of mysticism, it is important to study the major mystics who helped shape the Christian mystical tradition, both in the East and in the West. The purpose of the course is to gain an initial an acquaintance with ten classic Christian mystics of the period c. 200 to c. 1500 as an introduction to the historical development and major themes of Christian mysticism. The emphasis will be on reading primary sources in translation in order to understand the nature of mystical texts, their special modes of communicating God's presence, and the relation of mysticism to other aspects of Christian belief and practice. Each session will consist of brief lectures to frame the particular mystics in their time and place, to be followed by detailed discussion of the texts assigned. Each student will be expected to give an oral presentation of one of the texts, or part thereof, from the readings. There will also be a final exam. (Two-week course.)

Mystics to be considered: Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, Dionysius (Pseudo-Dionysius), Bernard of Clairvaux, Bonaventure, Meister Eckhart, Catherine of Siena, Julian of Norwich, Nicholas of Cusa.

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MI 60660 (formerly MI 506) Introduction to Modern Standard Arabic
Abdul Massih Saadi
3 credits 9:10-12:30 MTWHF
6/20/05-8/6/05

An introduction to modern standard Arabic. This course is the equivalent of a full academic year (two semesters) of elementary Arabic, the student will be able to read vocalized literary Arabic texts, have a working knowledge of Arabic grammar and an active basic vocabulary of more than 450 words and/or productive roots (from which many lexical items can be formed).

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Summer Session Faculty

Robert Haak
Professor Haak teaches in the areas of Hebrew Bible, archaeology, and religions of the Middle East at Augustana College, Rock Island, IL.

Frank A. C. Mantello
Professor Mantello has a doctorate from the University of Toronto's Centre for Medieval Studies. Since 1979 he has taught Medieval Latin, Latin Paleography, Codicology and Textual Criticism at the Catholic University of America, where he is a professor in the Department of Greek and Latin and chair of the department.

Bernard McGinn
The Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor Emeritus of Historical Theology and of the History of Christianity in the Divinity School and the Committees on Medieval Studies and on General Studies at the University of Chicago, Professor McGinn is a graduate of Gregorian University and received his doctorate from Brandeis University. He works in the history of Christianity and the history of Christian thought, primarily in the medieval period. He has written extensively in the areas of the history of apocalyptic thought and, most recently, in the areas of spirituality and mysticism. His current long-range project is a five-volume history of Christian mysticism in the West under the general title The Presence of God, three volumes of which have appeared: The Origins of Mysticism; The Growth of Mysticism; and The Flowering of Mysticism.

Abdul Massih Saadi
In addition to ongoing research and cataloguing of Syriac and Arabic early and medieval manuscripts, Professor Saadi teaches Arabic and Syriac languages and their literatures. He has edited and translated the encyclopedic work of Moshe Bar Kepha (9th century), a Syrian bishop and scholar. He has taught various courses on Eastern (Syriac) Christianity and Islam and is visiting professor of classics at Notre Dame.

Susan Guise Sheridan
Professor Sheridan is the coordinator of the Byzantine St. Stephen's Project, a biocultural study of life in a large urban monastery in Jerusalem. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado and is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Notre Dame.

Robin Darling Young
Associate Professor of Theology at Notre Dame, Professor Darling Young has taught in the fields of History of Christianity (Wesley Theological Seminary), Greek Patristic Theology (The Catholic University of America), and Armenian Studies (The University of Chicago). Her chief interests lie in the languages and cultures of the ancient Christian East, viz. Greek, Syriac, and Armenian.Her undergraduate degree is from Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.

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