TRS 012 UEPC Proposal
October 1, 2015
I write to propose a quarter-credit course for experimental approval. The course
would be as follows TRS 012: Christian Pilgrimage. I have included in this proposal
every necessary section on the checklist.
Department: Theology and Religious Studies
Title: Christian Pilgrimage
Number: 012, quarter-credit course, once a week, 2.5 hrs in a classroom
Course Description
TRS 012: Christian Pilgrimage is a quarter-credit course designed to give students a
rigorous understanding of the history of pilgrimage in the Christian tradition, how it
was understood, and the forms of practice it takes today. The journey to God in
Christ is not only spiritual, but also physical. The focus is both historical and
theological: the meaning and the practice are bound together. We will explore
various kinds of journeying. The course is meant to conclude with an actual
pilgrimage. For the first year of its run: World Youth Day 2016.
Course Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to…
(1) Engage in knowledgeable historical discussions of Christian pilgrimage in the
past, especially its Medieval developments and popularity.
(2) Grasp and evaluate the theological importance of prayer, holy objects and
sacred spaces in the Christian tradition.
(3) Assess the consistencies and changes in pilgrimage with the arrival of the
Industrial Revolution.
Reading Materials


Bernhard Christensen, The Inward Pilgrimage: An Introduction to Christian
Spiritual Classics
Jonathan Sumpton, The Age of Pilgrimage: The Medieval Journey to God
Explanation of Reading Materials
The two books offer the Christian spiritual understanding of “journeying” to God
and the historical development of pilgrimage respectively. In the first book, Inward
Pilgrimage, students will be reading primary sources of actual Christians living and
thinking about God. We will see how not all Christians speak of these matters in the
same way, but they do share characteristics (outcome 2). The Age of Pilgrimage
takes a long historical view, studying the early roots of pilgrimage and its
developments in time, culminating in the immense popularity of pilgrimage in the
Middle Ages (outcome 1, 3).
Evaluation
(1) Attendance
(2) Participation
(4) Short Reflection Paper
(5) Research Project
The course will be evaluated according to attendance and participation – these
being the most important in order to understand pilgrimage – with one reflection
paper on a specific Catholic saint that we read. Students will also do research on
their own and will be expected to create a presentation in order to teach their
classmates about the topic.
Grades
A
AB+
B
100-93%
92-90
89-87
86-83
BC+
C
C-
82-80
79-77
76-73
72-70
D+
D
DF
69-67
66-63
62-60
59-0
Through the papers, research project, and participation, the student:
A – Shows the ability to recall readings without prompting, is lucid in explanations
and written work, and is able to ask deeper questions of texts.
B – For the most part recalls readings and explains clearly in both written and
verbal work, occasionally asking in-depth questions.
C – Recalls readings and ideas in the form they have been summarized, asking
questions of fact and vocabulary rather than meaning.
D – Is unable to identify major texts and ideas, occasionally offers a rote series of
arguments.
F – Is unable to deal with texts, cannot explain ideas clearly, does not ask questions.
Course Rationale
The course is an opportunity to focus on a specific Christian practice, an ancient and
important one, and to actually partake in it. Because it is so focused, the course is
only a quarter-credit. Many of our Systematic Theology courses – Trinity, Liturgy,
Christ – discuss Christian practices, but cannot explore them in detail. Here is a
practice, pilgrimage, that is a deep part of the Christian tradition and that extends
well beyond the religion.
Prerequisites: None
Students expected: 12-25
Approval from Department Chair