Patristic and Byzantine Greek Summer Course, University of Notre Dame, June 15–July 24, 2015

The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire holds a crucial place in the history of Greek letters. Not only did Byzantine scribes forge the vital link between antiquity and modernity, but Byzantine mystics, poets, philosophers, and statesmen have left behind a vast and varied corpus of texts expressing the diverse discourses contributing to the formation of Byzantium. In this course, students will engage this corpus through a survey of texts that is broad both in chronology (embracing texts composed from the 4th through the 15th century) and genre (including historiography, hagiography, theological treatises, poetry, literary criticism, and documentary sources). Beginning in the 4th and 5th centuries with Gregory Nazianzos, John Chrysostom, and Pseudo-Dionysios, we shall encounter (among others) the writings of Maximos the Confessor, the nun Kassia, Theophanes the Confessor, Photios, Symeon the New Theologian, Michael Psellos, Anna Komnene, and end in the 14th and 15th centuries with figures such as John Kantakouzenos, Alexios Makrembolites, and Plethon. Students will also receive an introduction to Greek paleography.

University of Notre Dame Summer Session course number: CLGR 60199

Contact Charles Yost with questions.

Source: BSANA listserv