Autumn 2009     Call Number:     Credit/Hours:U G 5
Instructor: Spierling      Location:
Days: Monday, Wednesday
Start Time: 1:30am     Length: 2 Hours

Course Description:

The Protestant and Catholic Reformations were major movements in sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Europe with far-reaching effects still felt today. Religious arguments interacted with political concerns, economic fluctuations, and social turmoil to transform European states and societies. In 1500, religion held a central and relatively unquestioned place in the lives of Europeans, and the idea of a unified European Christendom, though imperfect, could still be defended. By the beginning of the seventeenth century, while Europeans as a group still believed in God, the influence of the Church and of Christianity more generally had begun to change. During the course of the semester, we will examine the religious ideas and arguments that burgeoned in the sixteenth century, the social and political contexts in which they developed, and the transformations in thought, government, and society that resulted.