Letters, Diaries & the Christian Life (Seminar)

Course Description

Throughout history, individual Christians have written letters and diaries as a form of spiritual practice, to unite religious communities, to exhort others to greater devotion, and to debate theological points. In this course we will explore the nature and function of historical letters and diaries written during the period 1600–1900. The last few decades have seen a dramatic increase in scholarly interest in such life-writings, by both historians and literary scholars. Building on this scholarship, we will extend our inquiry to the religious life. How did letters and diaries function individually, in spiritual friendships, and in religious communities? Were there gendered patterns to letter- and diary-writing? What do such genres reveal about the church throughout history that more “official” accounts, written by theologians and preachers, cannot tell us? Finally, we will consider modern forms of such writings and what we might gain by recovering letter- and diary-writing as spiritual practices today.

NOTE: This course has a maximum enrollment of 12 students.

To get into a priority enrollment course, you must register by the early registration deadline (see Important Dates ); during the registration process, REGIS will prompt you to fill out a Priority Enrollment Course Request form online. Class lists will be determined within a week after the early registration deadline, and you will be notified by email shortly thereafter. First priority will be given to students who need a course for the program to which they have been admitted, and who have registered by the early registration deadline.