Were they mad or did they lead boringly routine lives—eating lentils, tending gardens, reading, and praying? Why would anyone choose to live on top of a pillar whipped by wind and rain? What is achieved by speaking to others in your house only for a few hours one day a week and for the rest keeping silent? And did Teresa of Avila in ecstasy really levitate above ground, when she was also the woman who rode mules and ate partridges with gusto, founding convents and proving herself a wily business woman? The monastic venture would seem an impossible one: the aspiration to achieve oneness with the divine while grappling with human limitations and frailities. Yet the monks and mystics we will encounter between the fourth and sixteenth centuries CE altered landscapes, created and maintained interregional travel networks, and established communities that have endured into our century. Many also brewed (still brew) the best beer. This seminar will consider what appears foreign and pre-modern about the monastic vocation, and where the counter-culture of monks and mystics may remind us that another reality is always possible.

Course Requirements:

Reading, active participation in discussion, and weekly writing in preparation for a final research paper

Intended Audience:

Junior and Senior History Majors. Others are welcome, depending on availability of openings. Please contact the instructor with any questions.

Class Format:

History majors and upper-class students from other departments depending on open seats