Content

The unit will first examine the place of learning in the friars branch of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). The focus will then be on the character of theology in the 13th century in the West, and the contribution of Albert the Great and Aquinas to this enterprise. The Summa Theologiae (Summa Theologica) of Aquinas will be studied. Particular emphasis will be placed on Aquinas’ understanding of the nature of Christian theology, knowing and speaking about God, the virtues, prayer and contemplation. Aquinas’ hymns for the Office of Corpus Christi and the Adoro Te will also be treated. Next the life and times of Meister Eckhart will be introduced. His basic ideas will be addressed: knowing and talking about God, the nature of God, the relationship of God and the world and union with God. Texts related to these themes from Eckhart’s sermons and treatises will be studied. The thought and writings of two of his leading Dominican disciples, Henry Suso and Joannes Tauler, will be briefly explored.

Unit code: CT9603C

Unit status: Archived (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Systematic Theology

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Demonstrate a grasp of the significance of the emergence of the universities in the 13th century West for the place of learning for the friars of the Order of Preachers and their newly created academic structures

2.

Evaluate attempts to establish a plan for the Summa Theologiae in the light of contemporary scholarly positions on the issue

3.

Evaluate selected texts of Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae, taking into account critical questions and scholarly positions with regard to them

4.

Evaluate selected texts of Eckhart, taking into account critical questions and scholarly positions with regard to them

5.

Identify key themes in Eckhart’s philosophical, theological and mystical thought, and compare them to the thought of Aquinas

6.

Develop a specific topic for research in a sustained and self-directing way

Unit sequence

CT8010C, CH8001C, DS8001C are recommended

Pedagogy

Lectures, seminars, tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

  • Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologiae. 60 vols. Edited by Thomas Gilby. London: Blackfriars, 964-81.
  • Davies, Brian. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae: A Guide and Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
  • Davies, Oliver, ed. and trans. Selected Writings of Meister Eckhart. London: Penguin, 1994.
  • Eckhart, Meister. The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart. Translated and edited by M.O’C. Walshe. Crossroad Publishing, 2009.
  • Hackett, Jeremiah H, ed. A Companion to Meister Eckhart. Brill’s Companion to the Christian Tradition 36. Leiden: 2013.
  • McGinn, Bernard. The Mystical Thought of Meister Eckhart: The Man from Whom God Hid Nothing. Crossroad Publishing, 2011.
  • Murray, Paul. Aquinas at Prayer: The Bible, Mysticism and Poetry. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013.
  • Torrell, Jean Pierre. Saint Thomas Aquinas. Vol. 1. The Person and His Work. Translated by Robert Royal. Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1996.
  • Tugwell, Simon, ed. and trans. Albert & Thomas Selected Writings. The Classics of Western Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press, 1988.
  • Woods, Richard. Eckhart’s Way. Rev. ed. Dublin: Veritas Publications, 2009.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Option A 7000 word essay

Or Option B

7000 100.0
Essay

Option B 2500 word seminar paper 4500 word essay

Or Option A

7000 100.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 20 Jul, 2015

Unit record last updated: 2021-09-21 15:00:51 +1000