Anotace
General Information: The course deepens the knowledge of the history of Christianity, its diverse and manifolded appearances. Its concrete themes derive from various periods and developments. Students encounter various aspects and traditions of Christianity by studying them in the light of secundary literature (while learning to discern its relevance) and of primary sources, By that they learn to practise the historical critical method and interpretation. Students take part in discussions about these sources, fulfill smaller assignments and accomplish the course by a larger paper.
Possible themes:
- Early Christians and sexuality
- Christians under persecution
- Church and secular power
- Monastic traditions in history
- Secularization and the churches
Information for the Summer Semester 2023:
This semester the course examines the problem of Religion and Society. The aim of the course is to understand the complex and even contradictory role of religion in the history and present of Central European societies. The primary focus will be on the territory of the Czech Republic, but also countries like Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Germany and the Baltic state of Estonia will be examined under this perspective. Some of these countries like the Czech Republic are very secularized (only about 14 % membership of religious communities), whereas others rather belong to the most religious in Europe (Slovakia). These differences lead to the question whether the role of religion in these countries is also dissimilar or even incomparable, or whether it is possible to define a common denominator for the public function of religion in Central European society.