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MODULE HANDBOOK – YEAR 1
Great Christian
Thinkers (S1)
MODULE HANDBOOK – YEAR 1
RT1506Semester 1 (2016/17)
Check your timetable for time and room details
AssessmentsFor Semester 1:
14 December
Formative Essay
Module LeaderDr Marika Rose
Office hours: MC201
Thursday 15:00 – 17:00
One of the most complete definitions of philosophy was given by Plotinus: philosophy, he said, is ‘what matters most’. For much of Western history, the question of what matters most has been answered in relation to the key concepts and claims of the Christian tradition. This module will consider the question of what matters most through the work of some of the West’s great Christian thinkers. In the first semester we will focus on the acquisition of textual analysis and academic writing skills. To gain these skills, we will collectively work on responding to a single question: the question of why and how suffering matters in the work of St Augustine of Hippo. The academic skills developed in this first semester will not only form a solid basis for turning to address a range of other topics and thinkers in the second semester, but will also form the central set of skills that you utilise across all of your future modules.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the conclusion of this two-semester module a student will be expected to be able to:
(a) demonstrate knowledge of the underlying concepts of Christian thought, comprising an ability to evaluate and interpret historical issues and key thinkers’ ideas.
(b) demonstrate an understanding of the methodological approaches in theological discourse, and evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches to key problems.
(c) utilise key methodologies in the study of Christian thought and ethics in order to present, evaluate and interpret qualitative information.
(d) - possess study skills for the critical handling of relevant texts, which will equip them for further study/training and employment
ASSESSMENTS
REFERENCES in your Assessments must be formatted in FOOTNOTE format and a
BIBLIOGRAPHY must be included. Instructions for this format can be found in the
Programme Handbook.
The aim of the first semester is to introduce you to key ideas and themes in the Western
theological and philosophical traditions, and to develop your critical thinking, reading and
writing skills. Each week, in class and during your independent study time, we will work on
ideas and skills that will help you when it comes to writing your formative essay, due at the
end of the semester. Please make sure that you read the handbook carefully in order to
understand what is required of you in class and during your independent study time.
Your completed essay is due on Thursday 14th December at 3:30pm (Week 12). It must be
submitted online via Canvas. Please note that this assignment is formative – that is, it does
not count towards your final mark for this – but it is not optional – if you do not submit
anything, you cannot pass the module. This essay will be marked and returned to you at
the beginning of Semester 2. The mark you receive at this point is simply a way of giving
you more feedback: it will not be recorded, nor will it count in any way towards your final
mark for this module.
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Assessment 1
Due: 14/12/16 (Thursday of Semester 1, Week 12)
Assessment Type: Formative Essay
Word Length: 2,500
Percentage: 0
Essay Question:
Why and how does suffering matter in the work of Augustine?
Feedback due back: 18/01/17
NB: YOUR COMPLETED ESSAY SHOULD BE SUBMITTED ONLINE VIA THE MODULE PAGE.
Instructions on how to submit via the Module Page are available on your programme’s
Canvas homepage and in your Programme Handbook.
Marking criteria can also be found, listed by level, in the Programme Handbook.
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CLASS OVERVIEW
WEEK 1: What Matters Most
WEEK 2: Augustine, Theology, and the Problem of Suffering
WEEK 3: God, Evil and the Nature of Suffering
WEEK 4: The Fall
WEEK 5: Free to Suffer?
WEEK 6: The Devil
WEEK 7: ENRICHMENT WEEK
WEEK 8: Suffering Desire, Desiring Suffering
WEEK 9: Suffering and the Ethics of Sacrifice
WEEK 10: Political Suffering: A Tale of Two Cities
WEEK 11: Political Suffering: War
WEEK 12: What Matters Most?
TWO USEFUL BOOKS
These two books are good introductory guides to some of the basic reading, studying and
writing skills you will be developing over the course of this module and throughout your
degree as a whole.
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘They Say / I Say’: The Moves That Matter In Academic
Writing 3rd Edition (, Phyllis and Mary Lea, Writing for University. A Guide for Students, 3rd
Edition (New York: W W Norton, 2014). Available in the library, this book is a helpful guide
to how to make the move from the kind of work that was expected from you during A-
levels to the kind of work you’ll be learning to produce as an undergraduate. I’ve suggested
a different chapter from the book as ‘further reading’ for every class and would strongly
suggest you work your way through the whole book over the course of the semester.
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Cottrell, Stella, The Study Skills Handbook, 4th Edition (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan,
2013). Available in the library, this book is a useful guide to some of the core study skills
you will need during your degree, such as time management, researching and note taking.
TOPIC LIST
WEEK 1: What Matters Most
Pre-class exercise
Read the two required reading excerpts (available on the course Canvas page and via your
Aspire reading list). The first, ‘Introduction: Entering the Conversation’ is an introduction to
what it means to get involved with academic conversations, and how to write at university
level. Start by reading this text. The second, ‘The Matter of Suffering’, is by Philip
Goodchild, a philosopher of religion. In it, he talks about why suffering is important for
both philosophy and theology. The text is difficult, so don’t worry if you don’t understand
everything it says, as we will be going over it together in class. Focus on trying to identify
the major arguments that Goodchild is making.
Read over the text and try to complete the following ‘They Say/I Say’ exercise. Bring your
completed exercise to class:
Write a short essay (roughly 500 words) in which you first summarise Goodchild’s
argument about philosophy, suffering, and what matters most and then articulate
your own position in response. If you want, you can use the template below to
organise your paragraphs, expanding and modifying as necessary to fit what you
want to say.
In ‘The Matter of Suffering’, Phillip Goodchild makes an argument about
_____. Specifically, he argues that ______. As the author himself puts it,
‘_______’. Although some people argue that ___________. Goodchild insists
that _______. In sum, then, his view is that ______.
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I [agree/disagree/have mixed feelings]. In my view, Goodchild’s argument
______. For instance, ______. In addition, _______. Some might object, of
course, on the grounds that _____. Yet I would argue that ______. Overall,
then, I believe _______ - an important point to make given _____.
In class
This session will introduce you to the course aims, assessment requirements and help you
understand what is expected of you week-by-week. In the first hour of class we will think
about some big philosophical and theological questions - What is the point of a university
education? What matters most? – and in the second hour we will spend some time with
one of the university’s study skills experts, thinking about what skills you will need to meet
the requirements of your degree without losing sight of the big questions.
Required Reading
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘Introduction: Entering the Conversation’ in They Say /
I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (New York: W W Norton, 2014), 1-15.
Goodchild, Philip, ‘The Matter of Suffering’ in Capitalism and Religion: The Price of Piety
(London: Routledge, 2002), 206-208.
Further Reading
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘Chapter 1. “They Say”: Starting With What Others Are
Saying’ in They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (New York: W W
Norton, 2014), 19-29.
WEEK 2: Augustine, Theology and the Problem of Suffering
Pre-class exercise
Read through the required reading, which is an introduction to some key themes and ideas
in the Christian tradition. Come to class ready to discuss how these different themes and
ideas relate to the question of suffering and what matters most.
In class
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The first half of this session will introduce you to some of the basic themes, ideas and
vocabulary of Christian thought. We will spend some time thinking about which of these
might be of use in thinking about the question of how and why suffering matters, and some
time introducing Augustine, and considering the importance of history and biography for
understanding someone’s thought.
In the second half of class we will discuss how to begin the process of planning an essay.
We will look at how to begin researching for an essay and how to create an initial
bibliography, and will take a tour of the university library to find out how to use it.
Required Reading
Richard J Plantinga, Thomas R Thompson and Matthew D Lundberg, ‘What is Theology?’ in
An Introduction to Christian Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 3-26.
Further Reading
Richard J Plantinga, Thomas R Thompson and Matthew D Lundberg, An Introduction to
Christian Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘Chapter 2. “Her Point Is”: The Art of Summarising’ in
They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (New York: W W Norton,
2014), 30-41.
WEEK 3: God, Evil and the Nature of Suffering
Pre-class exercise
The required reading for this week consists of extracts from Augustine’s Confessions, his
autobiography. Read over these extracts and come to class prepared to discuss what the
different episodes from Augustine’s life tell us about his attitudes towards suffering.
In class
In the first half of class, we will go over the required reading, discussing any questions
which it raises, and exploring in particular about what the extracts tell us about Augustine’s
thinking about suffering.
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We will spend the second half of class exploring some key concepts and ideas from
Christian thinking about God, evil, and the nature of suffering. We will consider the
different types of text that are written about figures like Augustine, and think about how
we should go about reading these different types of text, and what kind of text you will be
writing for your formative essay.
Required Reading
Augustine, Books 1.11, 14-18; 2.1-6, 11-12, 16; 3.1-5; 4.1-2, 7-11, 18-19; 6.25, 8.17-20, 27-
30; 9.17-24 of Confessions, translated by Henry Chadwick (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2009), 8-9, 11-15, 24-27, 30-31, 34-38, 52-53, 56-59, 63-64, 109, 145-147, 151-154, 166-
171.
Further Reading
Augustine, Confessions, translated by Henry Chadwick (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2009).
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘Chapter 3. “As He Himself Puts It”: The Art of Quoting’
in They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (New York: W W Norton,
2014), 42-51.
Chadwick, Henry, ‘Augustine’, The Church in Ancient Society: From Galilee to Gregory the
Great (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 473-478.
Rist, John, ‘Augustine of Hippo’ in G. R. Evans (ed), The Medieval Theologians: An
Introduction to Theology in the Medieval Period (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2001), 3-23.
WEEK 4: The Fall
Pre-class exercise
Read the two pieces of required reading on evil in Augustine. Write up a ‘they say / I say’
paragraph of 300-500 words, summarising the arguments of the two texts and making your
own argument about the place of evil in Augustine’s thought.
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In class
In the first half of class we will discuss the two pieces of required reading, and spend some
time going over your ‘they say/I say’ paragraphs about evil in Augustine.
In the second half of class we will explore the idea of sin in the Christian tradition and the
implications of Christian thinking about sin for considering the question of suffering. We
will discuss the technique of close reading, and the sorts of questions that will help you to
understand and critically engage with the texts that you study.
Required Reading
Augustine, Book 7.1-5 of Confessions, translated by Henry Chadwick (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2009), 111-115.
Evans, Gillian R, ‘The Experience of Evil’ in Augustine on Evil (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1990), 1-16.
Further Reading
Augustine, Book 2.1-24, 28-29 of ‘The Catholic Way of Life and the Manichean Way of Life’
in The Manichean Debate, edited by Boniface Ramsey (New York: New City Press, 2006),
69-79, 81.
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘Chapter 4. “Yes / No / OK, But”: Three Ways to
Respond’ in They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (New York: W W
Norton, 2014), 55-67.
WEEK 5: Free to Suffer?
Pre-class exercise
Go over the required reading for this week using the close-reading questions sheet. Come
to class ready to discuss each of the close reading questions in relation to the reading.
In Class
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We will spend the first half of class discussing the required reading in relation to the close
reading questions, and think about which questions were most helpful for understanding
the text and why.
We will spend the second half of class exploring debates about the nature of free will and
how these debates relate to the question of suffering.
Required Reading
Augustine, ‘Nature and Grace’ in Answer to the Pelagians I (New York: New City Press,
1997), 225-238.
Further Reading
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘Chapter 5. “And Yet”: Distinguishing What You Say
From What They Say’ in They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (New
York: W W Norton, 2014), 68-77.
Brown, Peter, ‘Pelagius and Pelagianism’ in Augustine of Hippo: A Biography (London:
Faber and Faber, 1967), 340-353.
Pelagius, ‘Letter to Demetrias’ in Theological Anthropology, translated and edited by J
Patout Burns (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981), 39-55.
Radiolab, ‘The Bad Show’ Season 10, Episode 5, http://www.radiolab.org/story/180092-
the-bad-show/
WEEK 6: The Devil
Pre-class
Read the two pieces of required reading and prepare 300-500 word ‘they say / I say’
paragraphs comparing the two texts and making your own argument about the
relationship between of free will and suffering in Augustine’s thought.
In Class
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In the first half of class we will spend some time in class going over your ‘they say / I say’
paragraphs, and discussing how debates about free will in Augustine can help us to think
about the question of suffering.
We will spend the second half of class exploring the role that the Devil plays for Christian
thought as a personification of evil and a source of suffering. We will look at how academic
texts are made, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of
source you might use when you write your essay.
Required Reading
Eleonore Stump, ‘Augustine on free will’ in David Vincent Meconi, ed, The Cambridge
Companion to Augustine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 166-187.
James Wetzel, “Snares of truth: Augustine on free will and predestination” in Robert
Dodaro & George Lawless, eds., Augustine and his Critics (London: Routledge, 2000), 123-
139.
Further Reading
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘Chapter 6. “Skeptics May Object”: Planting a Naysayer
in Your Text’ in They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (New York: W
W Norton, 2014), 78-91.
WEEK 7: ENRICHMENT WEEK: No Lecture
WEEK 8: Suffering Desire, Desiring Suffering
Pre-class exercise
a) Find three sources on the devil in the work of Augustine: one section of a book, one
journal article, and one online source. Without reading them, write a 100 word
assessment of the likely reliability of each source: what is it likely to be useful for?
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What are the probable limits of its usefulness? Bring your list of sources and
assessments to class.
b) Read the required reading extracts from Augustine’s writings on the devil,
considering the questions from the close reading exercise sheet, and come to class
ready to discuss them.
In class
In the first half of the class, we will spend some time discussing your lists of sources and
assessments of their likely usefulness. We will discuss the set reading on the devil and
consider what Augustine’s ideas about the devil can tell us about the question of suffering.
In the second half of class, we will explore the role of sexuality in Christian thought and
consider why sexuality is such a problem (and so tied up with the question of suffering) for
Christianity in general and Augustine in particular. We will end by spending some time
discussing how to start organising ideas into an essay plan.
Required Reading
Augustine, Book 11.9, 11-15, 32-33; 12.1-9 of Concerning the City of God Against the Pagans translated by Henry (London: Penguin, 2003).
Further Reading
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘Chapter 7. “So What? Who Cares?”: Saying Why It
Matters’ in They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (New York: W W
Norton, 2014), 92-101.
Kotsko, Adam, ‘The New Testament and Early Christianity’ in The Prince of This World
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2016), 47-76.
WEEK 9: Suffering and the Ethics of Sacrifice
Pre-class
a) Write up an essay plan, setting out your intended structure for your essay. Consider
the following questions: what questions do you still have about form, content or
argument? Where is the productive discomfort? Bring your essay plan to class.Page 13 of 17
b) Read the required reading extracts, considering the questions from the close
reading exercise sheet, and come to class ready to discuss them.
In class
We will spend the first half of the class time going over your essay plans and discussing the
required reading texts. In the second half of the class, we will talk about suffering and
asceticism in the Christian tradition, considering how the question of suffering relates to
examples from Augustine’s autobiography of suffering inflicted on himself and others out
of a desire to do the right thing. We will end by discussing how to format references, how
to avoid plagiarism, and why (and whether!) proper referencing matters.
Required Reading
Miles, Margaret, ‘Not Nameless But Unnamed: The Woman Torn from Augustine’s Side’ in
Rereading Historical Theology: Before, During and After Augustine (Eugene, Or: Cascade
Books, 2006), 127-149.
Ruether, Rosemary Radford, ‘Augustine: Sexuality, Gender and Women’ in Feminist
Interpretations of Augustine, edited by Judith Chelius Stark (Philadelphia: Pennysylvania
State University, 2007), 47-64.
Further Reading
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘Chapter 8. “As a Result”: Connecting the Parts’ in They
Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (New York: W W Norton, 2014),
105-120.
Brown, Peter, ‘Sexuality and Society: Augustine’ in The Body and Society: Men, Women and
Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity (New York: Columbia University Press, 2008), 387-
427.
Chelius Stark, Judith (ed), Feminist Interpretations of Augustine (Philadelphia:
Pennysylvania State University, 2007).
WEEK 10: Political Suffering: A Tale of Two Cities
Pre-class
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a) Take the list of sources you prepared for class in Week 8 and write them up as
properly formatted footnotes and bibliography entries. Bring them to class.
b) Read the required reading extract and come to class ready to discuss it. How does
the text compare to other secondary sources we have read? How is its approach to
the problem of suffering different from other texts we’ve read?
In class
We will spend the first half of class going over your footnotes and bibliographies, and
discussing the required reading. We will discuss the required reading and think about the
different kinds of theoretical frameworks that different secondary texts we have read have
brought to their reading of Augustine. How do different approaches to texts change what
we find in those texts, and how might recognising those different approaches help us to
read texts ourselves?
In the second half of class we will explore some key concepts in Christian thinking about
politics, and think particularly about the ways that ‘political theology’ accounts for
suffering. We will end by thinking about how to write essay introductions and conclusions.
Required Reading
Burrus, Virginia, Mark D Jordan and Karmen MacKendrick, ‘Freedom in Submission’ in
Seducing Augustine: Bodies, Desires, Confessions (New York: Fordham University Press,
2010), 62-84.
Further Reading
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘Chapter 9. “Ain’t So / Is Not”: Academic Writing
Doesn’t Always Mean Setting Aside Your Own Voice’ in They Say / I Say: The Moves That
Matter in Academic Writing (New York: W W Norton, 2014), 19-29.
WEEK 11: Political Suffering: War
Pre-class exercise
Read the two pieces of required reading. Write a 300-500 word ‘they say / I say’ exercise
responding to the two readings and making your own argument. Bring the exercise to
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class.
In class
We will spend the first half of class going over your ‘they say / I say’ exercises. We will
looking over the Marking Criteria from the Programme Handbook and using this to mark
one another’s exercises. We will discuss the required reading more broadly and think
about how the topics it covers help us to think about the question of suffering in
Augustine.
We will spend the second half of class exploring ‘political theology’ and the problem of
inflicting suffering as punishment or in war. We will end by discussing reverse-outlining as a
tool to help you hone the structure of your essay.
Required Reading
Augustine, Book 11.1; 14.26; 15.1-6 of The City of God Against the Pagans, translated
Henry Bettenson (London: Penguin, 2003).
Kaufman, Peter Iver, ‘Augustine’s Dystopia’ in Augustine’s City of God: A Critical Guide,
edited by James Wetzel (Cambridge: Cambridge, University Press, 2012), 55-74.
Further Reading
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘Chapter 10. “But Don’t Get Me Wrong”: The Art of
Metacommentary’ in They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (New
York: W W Norton, 2014), 19-29.
Weithman, Paul, ‘Augustine’s political philosophy’ in David Vincent Meconi, ed, The
Cambridge Companion to Augustine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 231-
250.
WEEK 12: What matters most?
Pre-class exercise
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Although your formative essays are due this week, there is still required reading for this
week’s class, but because your formative essays are due this week, the required reading is
very short. Prepare for class by reading the (very short!) set text, focusing on the close
reading questions and the question of what this passage tells us about Augustine’s attitude
to suffering.
In class
We will spend the first part of the class discussing this week’s required reading and what
Augustine’s discussion of war tells us about his attitudes to suffering. We will spend the
rest of the class doing a range of exercises to help us think through what we have learned
over the course of the semester. What is the purpose of a university education and what
do you want to get out of your time at university? What is the relationship between
theology and philosophy? What different types of suffering are there and (why) do they
matter? What, if anything, is unique to Christian debates about suffering? We will focus on
exploring how what we have learnt and read about Augustine and Christian theology and
will draw these ideas and arguments together into a class discussion about suffering and
what matters most.
Required Reading
Augustine, Book 19.5-8 of The City of God Against the Pagans, The City of God Against the
Pagans, translated Henry Bettenson (London: Penguin, 2003).
Further Reading
Augustine, Letters 189 & 220 to General Boniface in Augustine: Political Writings, edited by
E M Atkins and R J Dodaro (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 214-225.
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald Graff, ‘Chapter 11. “He Says Contends”: Using the Templates
to Revise’ in They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (New York: W W
Norton, 2014), 139-161.
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