Short course
Pilgrimage Past and Present
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Dates and time:
19/01/2027 - 23/03/202710:30 - 12:30
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£315.00
This course offers a new approach to the study of pilgrimage, combining history and anthropology to examine western pilgrimage practices from the Middle Ages to the modern day.
The first part of the course discusses the historical context for Christian pilgrimage, focusing in particular on three different medieval pilgrimage destinations: the Holy Land, Santiago de Compostela and the healing shrine of a local English saint. The second part of the course introduces students to the anthropology of modern pilgrimage and looks beyond Christianity to secular forms of the practice such as ‘dark’ pilgrimage, ‘roots’ pilgrimage and New-Age pilgrimage. It examines current scholarship debates, such as the interaction between pilgrimage and tourism, and considers recent pilgrimage trends such as the growing popularity of pilgrim trails. The course includes a day's pilgrimage field trip to two sites associated with Oxford's patron saint: Christ Church Cathedral and St Margaret's Well, Binsey.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Course starts Tuesday 19 January 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Tuesdays, 10.30am-12.30pm.
Week 1: Introduction: What is Pilgrimage?
Week 2: Medieval Pilgrimage: Sources, Themes and Approaches
Week 3: Medieval Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Week 4: Medieval Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
Week 5: Local Pilgrimage in Medieval England
Week 6: Modern Pilgrimage: Sources, Themes and Approaches
Week 7: Secular Pilgrimage
Week 8: Tourism, Heritage and Pilgrimage
Week 9: New, Post-Secular Pilgrimage Trends
Week 10: Pilgrimage Field Trip
Course aims
This course aims to enable participants to explore pilgrimage in its historical and modern contexts, focussing in particular on medieval and modern eyewitness accounts.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will have been given the opportunity to:
- develop an understanding of a range of medieval and modern pilgrimage sites, traditions and practices
- explore key themes, concepts and debates within pilgrimage scholarship
- engage critically with medieval and modern eyewitness accounts of pilgrimage
- examine and assess the scholarly approaches taken by historians and anthropologists in the field of pilgrimage studies
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
1. Have gained an understanding of pilgrimage’s historical context
2. Appreciate a range of different approaches to pilgrimage taken by scholars in the fields of history and anthropology
3. Be equipped with a scholarly framework for pilgrimage from which students can develop their own ideas and further research
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
Teaching methods
The course is taught through informal lectures using PowerPoint, group discussion, and small group exercises. A small amount of reading will be set each week. In Week 10 there is also an opportunity for students to participate in a pilgrimage.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words, in the form of an essay proposal, is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome. The feedback you are given will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Dr Anne Bailey
Anne Bailey is a research associate at the History Faculty at Oxford University, specialising in medieval and contemporary pilgrimage. She has taught at the universities of Exeter and Oxford. Since completing her doctorate in 2010 she has published widely on the subjects of saints’ cults, relics, miracles and pilgrimage. Anne is currently writing a book on pilgrimage to be published by Vintage (Penguin Random House).
Academic credit
Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS Points)
Please note, students who do not register for assessment and accreditation during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun. If you wish to gain credit from completing this course you must register to do so before the course starts.
Only those who have registered for assessment and accreditation will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard. Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail.
Learn more about the Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee for assessment and accreditation.
Digital certificate of completion
Students who are registered for assessment and accreditation and pass their final assignment will also be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Information on how to access the digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course attended. You will be able to download the certificate and share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee (with no assessment) | £315.00 |
| Assessment and Accreditation fee | £60.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Concessionary fees for short courses
Recommended reading
Recommended reading is optional and you are not required to purchase these books to study this course.
Library facilities
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Library, part of the Bodleian Libraries, for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are also welcome to use the Library for reference.
- More information about the Library can be found on the Bodleian Libraries website.
- This guide for Weekly Class students also provides further information.
Preparatory reading
- The Pilgrim Journey / Harpur, James
- Medieval Pilgrimage / Jenkins, John
- Pilgrimage: A Very Short Introduction / Reader, Ian
- The Age of Pilgrimage: The Medieval Journey to God / Sumption, Jonathon
Module code: O26P406HIW
How to enrol
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page.
How to register for accreditation and assessment
To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for this course, if you wish to do so, you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.