Sophia Centre Short Course: Medieval Cosmology

A short course with Nick Campion and Chris Mitchell

An Introduction to Medieval Cosmology

With Dr Nicholas Campion and Dr Chris Mitchell

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Sophia Centre

An online short course organised by the Sophia Centre Press in partnership with the Sophia Centre at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, the Harmony Institute and the University’s distance-learning Masters Programme (MA) in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology.
The Medieval Cosmos was full of meaning. It was pervaded with divine will, while the stars and planets were signs of coming events and spread their influence throughout the natural world. This was a world where magic was part of everyday experience and, through knowledge of the powers and forces of the cosmos, one could free one’s self from fate.

This five-week short course explores the cosmology of the mediaeval era, from the eighth century to the 13th century. We will introduce three key features of humanity’s relationship with the stars and planets: one is the relationship with the divine and the care of the soul, the second is astrology, the analysis of planetary movements and patterns in order to identify their significance, meaning or influence; the third is the notion of Harmony, and the idea that human beings should actively strive to maintain harmony between Heaven and Earth. We will spend two weeks looking at the Islamic world and three weeks at the Christian and Jewish European world.

The topics will include the structure of the cosmos, theories of fate and free will, attitudes to the stars and astrology in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, key examples of astrological technique and horoscopes and how astrology was used to look at history.

Delivery
The course is taught live online using Zoom and recorded in order to enable asynchronous learning. Each seminar will have time for Q & A’s. You will be able to access the full course – recordings and handouts – for personal revision until the end of May 2022.

Moodle
All students will be able to log into the course page on Moodle where all the recordings of the lectures will be uploaded after each session. Also in this area are extensive support material plus a weekly discussion forum for additional questions or general comments.

Dates
The seminars will be held on Tuesdays at 16:00 – 18:00 UK time. The first seminar is Tuesday 15 March and then 22 March, 29 March, 5 April and 12 April. Please note that the UK goes on to summer time on 27 March. Book today!

Certificate of Attendance
All students will receive a Certificate of Attendance from the Sophia Centre Press and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

Course Topics
The course will consist of five two-hour seminars consisting of lectures together with discussion and question and answer sessions.