HIST 074 PZ - Holiness, Heresy and the Body

What was holiness to pre-modern Europe? How was it expressed physically. What made someone a saint rather than a heretic or a witch? How did the relationship between sanctity and the body change in Europe from waning days of the Roman Empire to 1600 C.E.? What are the connections between such people and the evolution of Christianity in Europe? In order to answer these questions, we will study people either praised or holy or condemned as heretics and how their contemporaries figured out the difference. We will examine the significance of gender, attitudes toward body and mind, charisma, social status and relationships to supernatural or divine powers.

For up-to-date information on current course offerings and details, please refer to the Pitzer class schedule on MyCampus2 Portal.

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