Class Schedule
WEEK 1
W Aug. 25
Introduction to the course: Paradigms of holy foolishness
F Aug. 27
Old Testament prophetic tradition
WEEK 2
M Aug. 30
Old Testament prophetic tradition
Deadline for choosing your 1st oral presentation topic
W Sept. 1
Asceticism in the Pagan World: Stoics and Cynics
F Sept 3
Diogenes and the Cynics
WEEK 3
M Sept. 6
Diogenes and the Cynics
W Sept. 8
Paul of Tarsus, First Epistle to Corinthians
F Sept. 10
Christian Asceticism: Articles "The Way of the Ascetics: Negative of Affirmative?" by Kallistos Ware and "Asceticism and Scripture in Early Christianity" by Elizabeth A. Clark
WEEK 4
M Sept. 13
Christian Asceticism: "The Rise and Function of the Holy Man in Late Antiquity" by Peter Brown, pp. 64-85
W Sept. 15
F Sept. 17
Life of St. Antony
WEEK 5
M Sept 20
The Desert Fathers
Additional activities:
I encourage all of you to attend a 9:45 paper (on Monday, Sept. 20) by Donald Senior, CP, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, "The Experience of Migration in the Early Christian Communities"
W Sept 22
The Desert Fathers
F Sept 24
Feigned Madness: Life of Isidora the Fool
WEEK 6
M Sept. 27
W Sept. 29
Secret Sanctity: Life of Alexis the Man of God
Another version of the Life of St. Alexis
F Oct. 1
Byzantium: Life of Simeon the Fool of Emesa
WEEK 7
M Oct. 4
Byzantium: Life of Simeon the Fool of Emesa
Life of Andrew the Fool of Constantinople
W Oct. 6
Life of Andrew the Fool of Constantinople and Russian spirituality
F Oct. 8
Eastern Slavic appropriations of Byzantine Christianity: The Paterik of the Kievan Caves Monastery: Life of St. Isaak
WEEK 8
M Oct. 11
The Paterik of the Kievan Cave Monastery: Life of St. Feodosii
W Oct. 13
The Paterik of the Kievan Cave Monastery: Lives of St. Feodosii and St. Isaak
F Oct. 15
Midterm Exam
Mid Semester Break
Oct. 16-24
WEEK 9
M Oct.25
Novgorodian tradition: St. Prokopius of Ustiug, Nikola Kochanov, St. Fedor of Novgorod
pp. 223-227
W Oct. 27
Moscow: St. Basil the Blessed of Moscow; John the Big Cap
St. Nicholas Salos, St. Ivan Vlasaty (the Hairy one)
pp. 228-233
Ivan the Terrible and the tradition of foolishness in Christ (lecture)
F Oct 29
St. Michael of Klopsko Monastery
pp. 236-240, 242
WEEK 10
M Nov. 1
Russian Old Believers: Archpriest Avvakuum, Life Written by Himself
pp. 241-267 we will discuss holy fools Theodore pp. 260 (434-435), 262-263
Afanasy, 263
and Avvakum`s behavior at the Church Council of 1667, pp. 263-264
W Nov. 3
Modern Russian Fools in Christ:
Nineteenth-century fools for Christ:
St. Feofil of the Kievan Cave Monastery pp. 319-327, 331-332
Pelageia Ivanovna Serebrenikova, pp.337-352
F Nov. 5
The Holy fool in the XX century:
Was Rasputin a holy fool?
Martyrs of the Gulag
St. John of San Francisco [Mary and Lucas]
WEEK 11
M Nov. 8
The Holy Fool in Russian literature:
Grisha from Tolstoi`s Childhood, pp. 353-357
Dostoevsky, 358-363, 364-366
Turgenev`s Strange Story, 367-377
W Nov.10
Svetlana Vasilenko, Little Fool [Nicole and Patricia]
F. Nov. 12
Svetlana Vasilenko, Little Fool
WEEK 12
M Nov. 15
Western Christianity:
Article, God-Denying Fools and the Medieval `Religion of Love`
evening screening of Brother Sun Sister Moon
W Nov. 17
St. Francis of Assisi [Judas and Shanin]
F Nov. 19
St. Francis of Assisi
WEEK 13
M Nov. 22
Desiderius Erasmus, In Praise of Folly
W Nov. 24
Desiderius Erasmus, In Praise of Folly
Thanksgiving
Nov. 25-28
WEEK 14
M Nov. 29
Michel Foucault, "The Birth of the Asylum" in: Madness and civilization
W Dec. 1
Students` presentations
Matthew Warchol
Alicia Solis
Polly Husmann
Patricia Phan
F Dec. 3
Students` presentations
Holly Gilbertson
Nicole Mikicic
Petra Dankova
WEEK 15
M Dec. 6
Students` presentations
Meghan Jones
William Champness
Judah Wilson
Mary Eleazer
W Dec. 8
Students` presentations
Brent Haydan
Luke Boughen
Shanin Leeming
Final Paper due
(Study Days, December 9-12)
Final Exam, December 16, 8 am-10 am, OSHA 116
