CUA Syllabus Template

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES CHURCH HISTORY PROGRAM SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES HISTORY DEPARTMENT

History 531A / 833A / TRS 420 / 728L: The Renaissance Papacy

Credit Hours: 3 Class Numbers: 4496, 4243, 3827, 4477 Prerequisites: none Classroom: Shahan 203 Wednesdays 3:10-5:40 Instructor contact information: Professor Nelson H. Minnich Mullen Library 320 and Caldwell Hall 417 Phone: x-5079 (Mullen) or x-5702 (Caldwell) E-mail: [email protected] Office Hours: Tuesdays1:00 to 2:00 pm in Caldwell 417

Course Description: A study of the Renaissance papacy: its popes; theological underpinnings; administrative organization (court, curia, city of Rome, Papal States, etc.); officials (cardinals, curial officials, ambassadors, etc.); relations with councils and with national churches and governments; role in the defense and spread of Christendom; dealings with heretics; patronage of letters, art, architecture, and music; and influence on the intellectual and cultural life of Western Europe, especially of Italy, from 1417 to 1565.

Instuctional Methods: a combination of lectures, discussions, reports, and paper

Required Texts: none

Discussions based on weekly readings: please see bibliography

Course Goals

The purposes or goals of the course are to help the student understand the various challenges and threats the Renaissance papacy faced and how it dealt with them: e.g., to its independence (protection of its base in Rome and the Papal States), from cardinals and councils that wanted to limit its power, from civil rulers who wanted to control ecclesiastical appointments and finances, from the Turks and Moors who were attacking Christendom, from the expansion of Christendom by the Portuguese and Spanish explorers and the need to set up churches in new lands, from heretics who challenged traditional beliefs and called for radical church reform (e.g., Hussites, Averroists, Protestants, etc.), from orthodox demands for church reform, and from Renaissance art and culture and the need to put it at the service of the Church. An effort will be made to assess how well the papacy met these challenges will. Goals for Student Learning

At the conclusion of the course, the student should be able to discuss intelligently the various challenges faced by the Renaissance and assess how successfully it met these challenges.

Course Requirements:

Students are expected to attend the lectures and discussions. They are to write a two-page report on each reading and send it electronically to the teacher and other students by noon (12:00pm) on Monday. They should come to the discussions with assigned readings completed and be ready to share with others their understanding of the readings.

Paper Option: This course may be taken as a seminar and will be graded accordingly (e.g., a research paper of at least 25 pages in length, based on primary sources and up to date scholarly literature. For those who take the course as a colloquium, a smaller paper of ten to twelve pages on a topic approved by the teacher will be required.

Examinations:

There will be a final written examination for those who take the course as a colloquium.

Expectations and policies

Academic honesty: Academic honesty is expected of all CUA students. Faculty are required to initiate the imposition of sanctions when they find violations of academic honesty, such as plagiarism, improper use of a student’s own work, cheating, and fabrication. The following sanctions are presented in the University procedures related to Student Academic Dishonesty (from http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrityprocedures.cfm): “The presumed sanction for undergraduate students for academic dishonesty will be failure for the course. There may be circumstances, however, where, perhaps because of an undergraduate student’s past record, a more serious sanction, such as suspension or expulsion, would be appropriate. In the context of graduate studies, the expectations for academic honesty are greater, and therefore the presumed sanction for dishonesty is likely to be more severe, e.g., expulsion. ...In the more unusual case, mitigating circumstances may exist that would warrant a lesser sanction than the presumed sanction.” Please review the complete texts of the University policy and procedures regarding Student Academic Dishonesty, including requirements for appeals, at http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrity.cfm and http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrity.cfm.

Other Policies or Expectations. Attendance at lectures and discussions are required policy, punctuality in submitting papers on time will be enforced with penalties for tardiness, participation in discussion is expected, no cell phones activated in the class room, papers are to be submitted in both electronic and hard copy. Campus Resources for student support: Students writing a paper must schedule an appointment with an advisor at the Writing Center, bring a draft of the paper to the Writing Center, go over the paper with the advisor, and submit with the paper a completed signed form testifying to their having consulted with the advisor.

Semler Accommodations for students with disabilities: Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss specific needs. Please contact Disability Support Services (at 202 319-5211, room 207 Pryzbyla Center) to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. To read about the services and policies, please visit the website: http://disabilitysupport.cua.edu. Assessment:

Colloquium:

Discussion: 25%

Final examination: 25%

Reports: 25%

Short Paper: 25%

Seminar:

Discussion: 30%

Reports: 20%

Extended Research Paper: 50%

University grades: The University grading system is available at http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad//gradesfull.cfm#II for undergraduates. Reports of grades in courses are available at the end of each term on http://cardinalstation.cua.edu .

Course Schedule

Renaissance Papacy HIST 531A HIST 833A TRS 420 TRS 727L Tentative Class Schedule

1/12 Overview

1/19 Ecclesiology, Councils, Cardinals

1/26 Roman Court and Curia

2/2 Papal States and Finances

2/9 Rome: Society, government, economy, religion

2/16 [Rome conference: students work on paper]

2/23 Papal patronage: Humanists, artist, musicians Semler 3/2 Relations with National States

3/9 Spring Break

3/16 Crusades

3/23 Crusades/Heresy

3/30 Heresy

4/6 Schism and Eastern Churches

4/13 Reading Day

4/20 Protestantism

4/27 Reform

5/4 Examination 4:00-6:00

Final exam (as found on the Registrar’s website) “The final exam must be given on the day and time assigned by the Registrar. Final examinations, if required, must be administered in the final examination period. Please plan accordingly for travel, work or appointments.”

Semler