This module introduces students to the history and practice of worship and religious ritual in parishes and parish churches from the medieval period to the present day. In particular it will:
Discuss the history and development of ritual and liturgical practice from the late Anglo-Saxon period to the present day
Explore how these practices and the ideology behind them has shaped church buildings and in turn been shaped by them.
Examine the social and cultural drivers and effects of the change and evolution of religious practice and observance.
Study the changing practices of public and private devotion and their interaction with art and architecture
Develop multidisciplinary skills in using literature, art, architecture, music and archaeology to explore this subject from a variety of angles.
Module learning outcomes
Subject content
A broad chronological exploration of the nature of religious observance and practice between c.800 and today
Study the physical expression of liturgical practice in the shape, ornamentation and furnishing of church buildings through time.
Relate the social and cultural drivers and effects at work in parishes to the built heritage.
Study in depth some specific examples of the expression of public and private devotion
Academic and graduate skills
Demonstrate an ability to undertake research into primary sources of varying dates and complexity
Interrogate sources and buildings to extract complex data
Employ interdisciplinary approaches to evidence, its use and interpretation
Demonstrate an ability to articulate a coherent narrative
Other learning outcomes
Students will reflect on their own experience and preferences and have the opportunity to examine how these have been shaped by the environment in which they were formed.
Assessment
Task
Length
% of module mark
Essay/coursework 4000 word study
N/A
100
Special assessment rules
None
Reassessment
Task
Length
% of module mark
Essay/coursework 4000 word study
N/A
100
Module feedback
The tutor will give regular individual feedback throughout the module on work submitted.
The assessment feedback is as per the university’s guidelines with regard to timings.
Indicative reading
D. Dyas & Christianity & Culture “The English Parish Church through the Centuries” York (2010)
S. J Wright “Parish, Church and people: local studies in lay religion 1350-1750 Hutchinson (1988)
T. Cooper S. Brown “Pews benches and chairs: church seating in English parish churches from the fourteenth-century to the present” The Ecclesiological Society (2011)
N. Mears and A. Ryrie “Worship and the Parish Church in early Modern Britain” Ashgate (2013)
A. Doig “Liturgy and Architecture from the Early Church to the Middle Ages” Ashgate (2008)
E. Duffy “The Stripping of the Altars: traditional religion in England 1400-1580” Yale (1992).