Undergraduate - UnitATS3288 - Angels and demons: Rome, the papacy and the world

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2012 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

print version

12 points, SCA Band 1, 0.250 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Monash Passport category	Research Challenge (Investigate Program)
Offered	Not offered in 2012
Coordinator(s)	Kathleen Neal

Notes

Previously coded HSY3690

Synopsis

The papacy has been central to the development of the modern world. A mysterious and powerful institution, it lies at the heart of European culture and the broader Catholic world. This unit explores the nature and role of the papacy in relation to changing political, social, intellectual and cultural circumstances from the medieval to modern periods. Topics include: understandings of papal polity, religious reform and revolt, the impact of humanism, cultural encounters and exchanges, Catholicism and modernity, the papacy on the world stage, as well as expressions of power in papal Rome.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

Have acquainted themselves with the considerable body of knowledge on the changing nature of the papacy and religious reform and be able to evaluate it critically.
Have some knowledge of the ways in which religion interacts with social, cultural and political experience in specific contexts.
Be able to evaluate the various methodologies and the theoretical issues surrounding recent approaches to the study of religion and religious reform.
Be able to engage in critical discussion of the issues raised by the subject.
Have acquired critical and analytical skills, and the ability to communicate their views verbally and in writing (coherently, economically and rigorously), in a way which is appropriate to the advanced study of religious discourse within an historical framework.
Be able to display an independent approach to research on the issues involved.
Be able to demonstrate a more sophisticated understanding of the theoretical issues involved.