T/Th 11:30-1:05PM
TRS 135
Christian Liturgy and Sacrament / Instructor: Dr. Anne M. Carpenter
E-Mail:
Overview
This course is dedicated to exploring the history and thought of Christian liturgy and sacrament. Within that history and as a part of Christian reflection on worship, we will explore the meaning of symbols in the past and the present. How do we express ourselves, how do we come to know God, and what would it mean to worship God with one another?Requirements
This class consists in a mixture of lecture, class discussion, and online discussion.Before every class, I will post discussion questions online. Be prepared to respond to the questions in a small group and share them with the class. These responses will be included in exams and quizzes, so be sure to take notes.
Evaluation
Your grade will consist in the following:(1) Attendance
(2) Participation
(3) Exams
(4) Essay /
Materials
Alexander Schmemann, Introduction to the LiturgyRomano Guardini, Spirit of the Liturgy
Robert Sokolowski, Eucharistic Presence
William Cavanaugh, Being Consumed
Milestones
Department Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate an understanding of the Christian theological tradition through an exploration of specific topics in theology;
- Demonstrate an ability to employ contemporary theories and methods of theology in analyzing religious beliefs, texts, and/or practices;
- Demonstrate an ability to explain, analyze, and evaluate multiple informed perspectives in debates about theological issues;
Theological Explorations Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate an understanding of one or more aspects of Christian tradition and/or another religious tradition or traditions, acquired through focused study in a sub-field of theology or religious studies; and
- Demonstrate an ability to explore religious questions from a believer s point of reference and from the critical perspective of the academy.
Course Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to…
- Summarize the early influences on and major development of ancient Christian liturgy, especially its Jewish origins and its development during early Christianity.
- Review the critical aspects of a Catholic theology of liturgy and sacrament as they contrast with other Christian traditions.
- Compare and assess the shift away from ancient liturgy during the Protestant Reformation with Catholic liturgy, and similarly compare and assess reforms to liturgy in the contemporary Catholic Church.
- Articulate the importance of symbol and anamnesis (memory) in Christian worship, both in ancient Christianity and in modern scholarly studies of Christian notions of ritual.
Accommodations
Reasonable and appropriate accommodations for individuals with qualifying disabilities are extended through the office of Student Disability Services. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Services at (925) 631-4358 to set up a confidential appointment to discuss accommodation guidelines and available services.
Additional information regarding the services available may be found - See more at:
Attendance
Daily attendance and engaged class participation are necessary for learning in this class. Attendance will be determined in the first few minutes of class. If you arrive late, check with me after class to make sure I’ve marked you present for at least part of the class. If you miss class entirely, be sure to send me a note. As for what you missed, always check with your classmates.
Beginning with the fourth absence, one third-of a letter grade will be deducted from your final grade from the class, i.e., an “A-“ will be lowered to a “B+,” a “B” to a “B-,” etc. An additional third will be taken off for the fifth absence. Any more than five absences – for any reason – will result in automatic failure for the semester regardless of academic performance on tests and papers. (These deductions are automatic and only taken after your grade for the semester is calculated.) If you need to miss this many classes for medical reasons, you should consult the college’s guidelines for medical withdrawal.
If, on the other hand, you achieve perfect attendance, your participation score will be boosted by a third of its total at the end of the semester.
Participation
Class participation will be based on your involvement in classroom discussion, and your completion of small assignments designed to facilitate classroom discussion (see below). If you achieve perfect attendance, your participation score will be boosted by a third of its total at the end of the semester.
Online Discussions and Assignments
The online portions of the course will be run partly through Moodle and partly through Lore, a simpler version of Moodle. This will help boost your participation score, facilitate discussion in the classroom, and let you start thinking about your larger writing assignments. I love technology and culture, and I always want to learn more about it. Four times in the semester, I will require you (on a rotating basis) to post on our discussion boards on Lore. What you will post is the following: something that is meaningful to you that you think relates to the class, and why. It could be a favorite book, movie, song; it could be about someone in your life; it could be something from another class that has you thinking. Include a link and/or a summary, and explain how you think it is related to our discussions in the class. Every week as part of participation, you will be required to respond to someone else’s post (no hurtful speech) to show that you have been reading. A grading rubric for these mini assignments is online.
Exams
There will be two exams in this course, a midterm and a final. Each exam will consist in a set of objective questions (True/False, Fill-In, Matching) and short essays. Before every exam, you will be given a review sheet for your studying. We will also set aside a day of class to review together. It is your responsibility to study the sheet and come up with questions/concerns about it. If you do not ask the question, I will not comment about the topic. All exams will take place online through Moodle. The exams are not cumulative, though some concepts will directly relate to what we learned earlier in the semester. Because of the amount of work that will occupy us in creating our course website (see below), these exams will not be as long as typical midterms and finals. This does not mean they will be easy; it does mean you are expected to have enough time to dedicate to the website.
Central Assignment: Two-Part Essay
For this class, you will complete a long essay as part of your final grade. We will break down the essay into two parts, each due during one part of the semester: the first half, and the whole (completed) essay. THIS IS NOT A DRAFT. Each essay will be graded in full (though you will get one chance to rewrite the first half if you are not satisfied with your grade). The first half of the essay will be historical: you will choose an era of liturgical development or controversy, or a sacrament’s development/controversy. The goal here is to summarize the past using scholarly literature to give an accurate sense of history. The second half of the essay will be more modern and theoretical, and it will allow you to interact with the ideas with your own voice. Taking the same theme of the first half (the development, controversy, sacrament), you will use a modern theologian to comment on it and interpret it. The goal here is to reveal your ability to critically think and evaluate the theological content of the liturgy and the sacraments. For each assignment, I will always give you a rubric and guide to help you.
Classroom Rules
The cardinal rule is simple: respect. I don’t mean respect for myself. If I don’t earn it, I don’t deserve it. What I mean is respect for your classmates, for the educational process, and for the environment. This calls for a fundamental sensitivity and a basic respect for politeness and civility, crucial components to an environment which will allow us to have robust and challenging discussions without offending each other. Here are a few tangible examples:
-Don’t pack up early. Let me state this simply but directly: it is rude. This rule matters greatly to me. Please don’t create a situation where I think that I should remind you about it.
-No food in the classroom. You may bring a drink, and make sure to clean up when you are leaving the classroom.
-Show up on time.
-Be prepared for the class.
No Cell Phones, Laptops, iPads, and Other Electronic Devices
Since cell phones and other electronic devices not directly related to classroom learning are distracting to everyone, they are not to be used during class sessions unless explicit permission has been granted. Period. Please turn off cell phones and put them away rather than leave them on the desk. I never want to see a cell phone during class. Never. If you can’t live with these restrictions, let me try to help you find another class. If you do use a cell phone in class without permission, I will send you a warning note via email. If it happens again, I’ll simply send a note to the Registrar asking them to drop you from the class.
Assignment Weights
Participation/Attendance (+ quizzes) / 200 points (20%)Exams (2) / 400 (40%)
…Exam 1 / …150
…Exam 2 / …250
Essays (2) / 400 (40%)
…Essay 1 / …180
…Essay 2 / …220
TOTAL / 1000
Grading Scale
A / 100-93% / B- / 82-80 / D+ / 69-67A- / 92-90 / C+ / 79-77 / D / 66-63
B+ / 89-87 / C / 76-73 / D- / 62-60
B / 86-83 / C- / 72-70 / F / 59-0
Assignment/Reading List
09.03 / Introduction/Syllabus09.05 / Human Meaning, (Sushi?!) and Ritual
Schmemann, “The Task and Method of Liturgical Theology”
Vatican II, “Sacrosanctum Concilium”
09.10 / Schmemann, “The Problem of the Ordo”
Guardini, “The Prayer of the Liturgy”
09.12 / Schmemann, “The Problem of the Origin of the Ordo: The First Centuries”
Guardini, “The Prayer of the Liturgy” (cont’d)
09.17 / Sokolowski, “The Time of the Eucharist”
Mk 14:22-26; Lk 22:14-23, 1 Cor 11:23-34
09.19 / Guardini, “The Fellowship of the Liturgy”
09.24 / Library Visit
09.26 / Early Liturgy, Early Roman Liturgy
Justin Martyr, Didache, Augustine (online handout)
10.1 / Schmemann, “Byzantine Synthesis” (Part I)
Handout: early monasticism and prayer
Guardini, “Playfulness of the Liturgy,” “Seriousness of the Liturgy.”
10.3 / Schmemann, “Byzantine Synthesis” (Part II)
Handout: Early monasticism and prayer
10.8** / Exam 1: Early Liturgy and Basics of Liturgical Theology
10.10 / Monastic Liturgy in the West
Psalm 1, Psalm 119
Sokolowski, “Identity in Appearances,” “The One Sacrifice in Christ”
Handout: Liturgy of the Hours
10.15 / Monastic Liturgy in the West
Handout: Rule of Benedict
Jean Leclercq, “Lectio” (article)
10.17 / Thomas Aquinas Intro
Thomas Aquinas, Summa, Tertia Pars, 60-63
Sokolowski, “Eucharistic Perspectives”
10.22** / NO CLASS – FIRST PAPER DUE
10.24 / MIDTERM BREAK
10.29 / The Sacraments and the Reformation
Martin Luther, Little Catechism, Eucharist and Baptism
Martin Luther, Treatise on Good Works
(Readings online)
10.31 / The Sacraments and the Reformation
Council of Trent, Decree on Justification
Council of Trent, Decree on the Sacraments
Council of Trent, Decree Concerning the Eucharist
(Readings online)
11.5 / The Sacraments and the Reformation (summary/handout)
Short Assignment Due
11.7 / The Sacraments: Eucharist
John 6; Mk 15:22-16:8
Lutheran-Roman Catholic Ecumenical Dialogue, “Eucharist”
11.12 / The Sacraments: Baptism and Confirmation
1 Cor 10, Mark 1, Mt 28:19; Acts 9:1-17
Thomas Aquinas, Summa, Tertia Pars, 66-69; 72
Martin Luther on Baptism
11.14 / The Sacraments: Penance and Anointing
Lk 10:25-37, 15:11-32; Mk 2:1-12
Sokolowski, “The Place of Choice in the World”
11.19 / The Sacraments: Holy Orders
Gen 15:17-24; Ps 110; Heb 5, 7
Vatican II, “Presbyterorum Ordinis”
US Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Holy Orders”
11.21 / The Sacraments: Matrimony
Sokolowski, “The Christian Understanding of the Person”
US Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Matrimony”
James Martin, SJ, “Pope on Gays: Who Am I To Judge?”, “Respect, Compassion, Sensitivity”
11.26** / Cavanaugh, Being Consumed, Introduction, Chapters 1&2
SECOND/FULL PAPER DUE
11.28 / THANKSGIVING BREAK
12.03 / Cavanaugh, Being Consumed, Chapters 3&4
Guardini, “The Primacy of the Logos Over Ethos”
12.05 / Final Exam Review
12.10** / Final Exam – 10:30AM-12:30PM
Six Reflections on Grading
First, though effort is noted, appreciated, and admired, grades are based on achievement, not effort.
Second, I am opposed to the idea of extra credit.
Third, I view final grades like the financial statements on which CEO’s are required to sign. My signature on the grade sheet is my certification to the world that you have demonstrated a particular level of competency. To give a student a higher or lower grade than what she or he has demonstrated would be an act of fraud on anyone who might ever look at that transcript. As a result, there are no courtesy grades. Your grade in this class serves as my certification that you understand the material and have demonstrated that at a particular level.
Fourth, I view the meaning of letter grades in their traditional sense: “A” reflects exceptional academic performance; “B” reflects very good academic performance; “C” indicates satisfactory academic performance; “D” is marginal academic performance, deficient in several areas; “F” does not merit academic credit.
Fifth, when I grade essay assignments, for example, I begin by presuming your grade is somewhere between a “B-” and a “C+”. To the extent that it is above average, the grade it deserves climbs the scale. I don’t begin by presuming the paper is an “A+” which then needs to have every point deduction accounted for. I will always give you a rubric so that you know what above satisfactory © would look like, and what above average (B or A) work would look like.
Sixth, I strongly support the Academic Honor Code. Sometimes it takes true courage, but academic integrity is what is called for, period. Learn to face the blank page, and encourage your friends to do the same. Take pride in your own words and your own work. That is the best method for true academic growth.
The Honor Code
As a Christian institution committed to the care and education of the whole person, Saint Mary’s has an obligation to embody and foster the values of honesty and integrity. Saint Mary’s College expects every member of its community to show and adhere to the Academic Honor Code. According to the Code, “Academic dishonesty is a serious violation of College policy because, among other things, it undermines the bonds of trust and honesty between members of the community.” For more information, please consult the Student Handbookat
Didache -
Sacrosanctum Concilium -
Apostolic Tradition
Justin Martyr
Christian Liturgy and Sacrament / 1