units

ATS4288

Faculty of Arts

Monash University

Undergraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 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.

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12 points, SCA Band 1, 0.250 EFTSL

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LevelUndergraduate
FacultyFaculty of Arts
Organisational UnitHistory
Monash Passport categoryResearch Challenge (Investigate Program)
OfferedClayton First semester 2013 (Day)
Coordinator(s)Associate Professor Peter Howard

Notes

Previously coded HSY4690

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

  1. 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
  2. have some knowledge of the ways in which religion interacts with social, cultural and political experience in specific contexts
  3. be able to evaluate the various methodologies and the theoretical issues surrounding recent approaches to the study of religion and religious reform
  4. be able to engage in critical discussion of the issues raised by the subject
  5. 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
  6. be able to display an independent approach to research on the issues involved
  7. be able to demonstrate a more sophisticated understanding of the theoretical issues involved.

Students taking the subject at Level 4 have the additional objectives of acquiring a greater degree of analytical skills and a greater understanding of the key conceptual and methodological issues involved in using different kinds of literary and historical works in the context of social history.

Assessment

Essay related work: 60%
Critical journal: 20%
Seminar preparation and presentation: 20%

Chief examiner(s)

Contact hours

One 1-hour lecture and one 2-hour seminar per week

Prerequisites

A History or RLT Sequence

Prohibitions