Content

This unit will provide students with a comprehensive overview of women’s roles, position and status in Late Antiquity (the period of transition from the ancient to the medieval world, 3rd to 8th century CE), and attitudes towards them. By reading selected primary sources, this unit will introduce students to some of the most powerful and influential women in antiquity such as Hypatia the philosopher, Melania the aristocrat, Theodora the Empress, Pelagia the harlot, and Syncletica the desert mother. The unit will also analyse the roles these women played in religious and theological debates, the home, and social and economic life.

Unit code: AH8159A

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: History

Delivery Mode: Online

Proposing College: St Athanasius College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Provide a historical overview of women's history in Late Antiquity and evaluate the various roles they played;

2.

Analyse the change in attitude towards women in the transition from Ancient to early Medieval times;

3.

Compare and contrast the various theologies that were prominent in Late Antiquity and the role some of the women (considered in the unit) played in these debates;

4.

Develop a critical framework for reading and interpreting historical events contained in the primary sources.

5.

Critically evaluate the theological significance of monastic architecture

Pedagogy

Online: Six fortnightly sessions, comprising guided reading from the set texts, additional reading resources and some notes, together with an online tutorial. Students will be expected to contribute to the discussions in each session.

Indicative Bibliography

Primary sources:

Secondary sources:

  • Brock, Sebastian & Susan Harvey, Holy Women of the Syrian Orient, (London, 1998).
  • Clark, Elizabeth, Women in the Early Church (Collegeville, 1983).
  • Clark, Gillian, Women in Late Antiquity, (Oxford, 1994).
  • Coon, Lynda, Sacred Fictions: Holy Women and Hagiography in Late Antiquity, (Philadelphia, 1997).
  • Dietz, Maribel, Wandering Monks, Virgins, and Pilgrims, (University Park, 2005).
  • Grubbs, Judith Evan, Women and the Law in the Roman Empire, A Sourcebook, (Routledge, 2002).
  • Kraemer, Ross, Her Share of the Blessings: Women's Religions among Pagans, Jews and Christians in the Greco-Roman World, (Oxford, 1992).
  • Kraemer, Ross & Mary Rose D'Angelo, Women and Christian Origins (Oxford, 1999).
  • Wilfong, T.G., Women of Jeme. Lives in a Coptic Town in Late Antique Egypt (Ann Arbor, 2005). USD18 Articles that are compulsory weekly readings will be made available online [in PDF format].

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Report

Project Report 1,500 words

0 25.0
Essay

Essay 3000 words

0 50.0
Forum

Forum discussion and responses to key readings equivalent to 1500 words

0 25.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 1 Nov, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2019-10-03 11:34:38 +1000