An und für sich

I have been nursing an incomplete on a directed reading in Medieval Theology almost as long as I’ve been reading for the 20th Century Theology exam, but I think I’ve reached a point where I can see the horizon (on both: I’m taking the exam a week from Monday). One crucial step was to renegotiate the reading list — the major sticking point that among the figures that I had put on the list was Thomas Aquinas. My advisor had apparently always been skeptical about the necessity of including Aquinas in this particular context. After all, it will be impossible for me to make a career in theology without seriously engaging with Aquinas, so that would take care of itself. He also recommended a woman mystic of my choosing, and this morning I made my choice. So the list as of now (with yet-to-be-completed figures in bold) is as follows:

1. Pseudo-Dionysius
2. John of Damascus
3. Symeon the New Theologian
4. Radbertus and Ratramnus (writings on the Eucharist)
5. John Scotus Erigena
6. Anselm
   
7. Hildegard of Bingen

8. Joachim of Fiore
9. Duns Scotus

I think I struck a nice balance between obvious figures and weird shit no one ever reads (and in a couple cases, obvious figures no one ever reads). When I someday teach a course in History of Christian Thought, it’s going to be pretty idiosyncratic.

I have put in a request to our resident Scotist, the commenter formerly known as Mutabilitie, to give me some recommendations for around 500 pages of reading in Scotus that would give me a decent overview. For Hildegard of Bingen, I plan to read Scivias, her major work, which is available unabridged in the invaluable “Classics of Western Spirituality” series — a series about which my only complaint is that it doesn’t often enough go beyond its mandate of “spirituality.” Joachim’s Enchiridion super Apocalypsim mocks me from my bookshelf — I just read something indicating that his Latin is “impenetrable,” so I may end up having to retreat and see if there’s something translated into French, which is intrinsically easier to read than Latin.

All things considered, it now seems possible to complete this thing in the next couple months. And best of all, making these decisions and writing this post feels like actual “work,” so I don’t yet feel bad for putting off my Butler reading (Undoing Gender for this week, then only a couple little essays for the final week, which will be an open discussion of Butler and religion).

Can everyone tell that I’m ready to be done with coursework, and basically with all the stuff that’s been open-ended for the past year or more?