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"A collection of essays on principally medieval and early modern culture"--
“Phenomenal . . . A must read for us who desire to topple the dictatorship of relativism and culture of death and replace it with the only alternative” (The Imaginative Conservative). Especially concerned with the public nature of religion, historian Glenn W. Olsen—author of Christian Marriage: A Historical Study and On the Road to Emmaus: The Catholic Dialogue with American and Modernity—sets forth an exhaustively researched and persuasive account of how religion has been reshaped in the modern period. The Turn to Transcendence traces both the loss of transcendence and attempts to recover it while making its own proposals. Neither reactionary nor modernist, it questions how—under ...
In distinctive voice and tone, cultural commentator Glenn W. Olsen presents his latest work on the place of Catholicism in American history. Here he clarifies the meaning of American modernity for Catholics and shows the conflicts and tensions confronting the religious person today.
"This book describes the roots of a set of ideals that effected a radical transformation of eleventh-century European society that led to the confrontation between church and monarchy known as the investiture struggle or Gregorian reform. Ideas cannot be divorced from reality, especially not in the Middle Ages. I present them, therefore, in their contemporary political, social, and cultural context."—from the Preface
A collection of essays exploring the historical development of Christian marriage.
This study demonstrates how narratives by Frederick Douglass and Herman Melville argue that subjugation is an unnatural condition and that left on their own, all men will join together into communities to fully realize theit potential as men.
This book examines the history of sex and gender from a linguistic, artistic, and philosophical perspective, providing a new paradigm with which to analyze this controversial subject. Glenn Olsen's wide-ranging scholarship and his attention to primary sources and contemporary interpretations are enhanced by the inclusion of numerous illustrations of Romanesque sculpture. Part one takes the reader on a journey from the ancient world through the early middle ages, examining literature, art, and sculpture in order to capture the 'sexual imagination' of the period. Olsen emphasizes that all centuries had a varied language of sex, focusing on the means by which 'sex' was put into words, especially in penitentials and canon law. He shows there was no single understanding of gender and power relationships, arguing that the story of gender should encompass more than the history of power. Part two turns to Peter Damian, especially his Epistle 31, the so-called Book of Gomorrah. Olsen explores the themes of nature, sin, demonic incitement, lust, free will, and effeminacy, as well as the question of whether Damian represented the onset of the 'persecuting society.'
*A new edition of Christopher Dawsons classic work on Christian higher education*
"The word "medieval" is often used in a negative way when talking about contemporary issues; Why the Middle Ages Matter refreshes our thinking about this historical era, and our own, by looking at some pressing concerns from today's world, asking how these issues were really handled in the medieval period, and showing why the past matters now. The contributors here cover topics such as torture, animal rights, marriage, sexuality, imprisonment, refugees, poverty and end of life care. They shed light on relations between Christians and Muslims and on political leadership. This collection challenges many negative stereotypes of medieval people, revealing a world from which, for instance, much could be learned about looking after the spiritual needs of the dying, and about integrating prisoners into the wider community with the emphasis on reconciliation between victim and criminal. It represents a new level of engagement with issues of social justice by medievalists and provides a highly engaging way into studying the middle ages for students"--
A comprehensive history of the Catholic Church from its beginnings in Jesus' ministry to its current status in an increasingly secular world.