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Religion History

Augustine and the Disciplines

From Cassiciacum to Confessions

edited by Karla Pollmann & Mark Vessey

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Initial publish date
Sep 2007
Category
History
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780199230044
    Publish Date
    Sep 2007
    List Price
    $64.00
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780199274857
    Publish Date
    Aug 2005
    List Price
    $235.00

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Description

Augustine and the Disciplines takes its cue from Augustine's theory of the liberal arts to explore the larger question of how the Bible became the focus of medieval culture in the West. Augustine himself became increasingly aware that an ambivalent attitude towards knowledge and learning was inherent in Christianity. By facing the intellectual challenge posed by this tension he arrived at a new theory of how to interpret the Bible correctly. The topics investigated here include: Augustine's changing relationship with the 'disciplines', as he moved from an attempt at their Christianization (in the philosophical dialogues of Cassiciacum) to a radical reshaping of them within a Christian world-view (in the De Doctrina Christiana and Confessiones); the factors that prompted and facilitated his change of perspective; and the ways in which Augustine's evolving theory reflected contemporary trends in Christian pedagogy.

About the authors

Karla Pollmann's profile page

Mark Vessey is a professor in the Department of English and Canada Research Chair in Literature / Christianity and Culture at the University of British Columbia.

 

Mark Vessey's profile page