Maria Hatjigeorgiou
Senior Lecturer, Religion & Classics
- Office
- Munroe Hall 203
- Tel
- (802) 443-3029
- mhatjige@middlebury.edu
- Office Hours
- Spring 2025: Monday and Wednesday, 4pm-5pm; Thursday, 2pm-4pm; or by appointment
Professor Hatjigeorgiou, whose research focuses on Eastern Christian theology and Byzantine iconography and literature, has published articles on Byzantine art and poetry, Orthodox theology, and Medieval and Modern Greek literature.She teaches courses on Eastern Orthodox Christianity and the Female Experience of the Divine in Late Antiquity as well as the iconography and the mystical tradition of Byzantium. She is also affiliated with the Women and Gender Studies Program and the Literature Program. Her enthusiasm for contemplative pedagogies and for the study of myth and the spiritual in literature has shaped her First-Year Seminar “The Journey Within.”
Professor Hatjigeorgiou is the 2009-2010 recipient of the Marjorie Lamberti Teaching Award. She is also the recipient of the 2012 Middlebury College Faculty Feminist Award.
Courses Taught
FYSE 1184
The Journey Within
Course Description
The Journey Within: The Spiritual Pursuit in Literary and Mystical Traditions
A fundamental teaching of the world’s religious and mystical traditions is that the source of love, the fulfillment of life, and the treasure of heaven are found within. With mystical and literary texts from antiquity to the present day as our guides, we shall explore themes such as the concept of the soul, the discovery of a deeper self, the spiritual awakening, and the nature of the mystical experience. Using both intellectual and experiential tools of inquiry, we shall consider questions related to religious and psychological experience such as: Where does the self reside? Why is it important to “know thyself”? What is the state of consciousness described as enlightenment? How does one rise above the sorrows and struggles of the world? Finally, we shall try to understand how ‘turning within’ may not mean fleeing away from the world; rather we shall explore the possibility that this direction might even mean engaging in the world around us in a more profound and meaningful way. Readings will include Plato, Marcus Aurelius, excerpts from the New Testament, Tolstoy, Emily Dickinson, Herman Hesse, J.D. Salinger, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mary Oliver. 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements
LITS 0510
Upcoming
Independent Essay Project
Course Description
Independent Essay Project
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught
LITS 0700
Upcoming
Senior Comprehensive Exam
Course Description
Senior Comprehensive Exam
Intended for majors in literary studies preparing for the written section of the senior comprehensive examinations.
Terms Taught
LITS 0705
Upcoming
Senior Colloquium
Course Description
Senior Colloquium in Literary Studies
Although it is required of all Literary Studies seniors, this course is intended for students working in any discipline who seek a close encounter with some of the greatest achievements of the literary imagination. In addition to being understood as distinctive artistic and philosophical accomplishments, the major works which constitute the reading list will also be seen as engaged in a vital, overarching cultural conversation across temporal and geographical boundaries that might otherwise seem insurmountable. The texts for this semester include Homer’s Odyssey, Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Dostoevsky’ Crime and Punishment, Pirandello’ Six Characters in Search of an Author, and Borges’ Ficciones. (Open to non-majors with the approval of the instructor.) 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
LITS 0710
Current
Upcoming
Senior Honors Essay
Course Description
Senior Honors Essay
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught
RELI 0231
Upcoming
The Way of the Ascetics
Course Description
The Way of the Ascetics: The Making of the Self in Christian Monasticism
The practice of asceticism appeared in ancient Christianity as a movement striving for a deeper spiritual life and connection with the Divine. Men and women withdrew into the wilderness to become fully attuned to God, while engaging more empathetically with their human communities and the natural environment, and serving the poor and socially marginalized. We shall examine how their new model of living challenged the traditional formations of identity and power through cultivating a watchful mind and deepening awareness. We shall also consider its possible relevance for our postmodern world. Readings will include Desert Wisdom anthologies such as “The Philokalia,” and works of American mystic Thomas Merton and novelist Annie Dillard.
Terms Taught
Requirements
RELI 0238
Literature Mystical Experience
Course Description
Literature and the Mystical Experience
In this course we will explore how narrative art articulates spiritual perception by examining selected works of 20th century writers such as Miguel De Unamuno, Nikos Kazantzakis, J. D. Salinger, Charles Williams, Flannery O'Connor, Thomas Merton, Alice Munroe, Marilynne Robinson, and Annie Dillard. Drawing on theology and philosophy as an interpretative mode, we will consider the following questions: How does literature illuminate selfhood and interiority? How do contemplation and ascetic practice guide the self to divine knowledge and cosmic unification? How do language, imagery and symbols shape the unitive experience as a tool for empathy and understanding of the other? 3 hrs. lect./1 hr. disc.
Terms Taught
Requirements
RELI 0282
New Testament Narrative Art
Course Description
The New Testament in Narrative and Art: Considering the Aesthetics of the Christian Story
For two millennia, the figure of Jesus has captivated the imagination of spiritual seekers around the world. In this course we will explore literary and theological dimensions of the New Testament with special attention to the Gospel as stories, while considering works of art inspired by its themes and characters across time. Paintings, cinematography, and literary narratives from The Protevangelium of James and Maximus the Confessor, to Dostoevsky, Kazantzakis, Sholem Asch, Saramago, Flannery O'Connor, and Marilynne Robinson, will invite the question: how have word and image shaped the understanding of the sacred stories and Christian imagination? Through close readings of the New Testament and exegetical discussion combining systematic with narrative theology, we will analyze style and composition, situate the texts in their historical context, and explore various readers’ perspectives, ancient and modern. 3 hrs. lect./1 hr. disc.
Terms Taught
Requirements
RELI 0290
Women and the Sacred
Course Description
Women and the Sacred in Late Antiquity and Byzantium
This course will explore the female religious experience in Greco-Roman antiquity and Early Christianity. We shall trace the transition from the mystery religions of Demeter and Isis in the Eastern Mediterranean to the cult of Mary the Mother of God (Theotokos) and the worship of female saints. Drawing on a wide range of sources (hymns, saints' Lives, Apocryphal Gospels, Patristic texts, and icons), we shall study the varieties of female devotion and examine the roles available to women in the early Church: deaconesses and desert mothers, monastics and martyrs, poets and rulers. Different theoretical approaches will enable us to ask a series of questions: were women in the early Church considered capable of holiness? To what extent did the female 'gifts of the spirit' challenge church authority? What is distinct about the feminine experience of the divine? Finally, we shall consider the vision and poetics of female spirituality in select modern poets. 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
RELI 0337
Current
Mary the Mother of God
Course Description
Mary the Mother of God: History, Theology, and Art
In this course we will explore the emergence and development of the Marian cult from the early Christian centuries in Byzantium and the Middle East, throughout Christian history East and West. Why has Mary’s prominence been overlooked despite her centrality in Christian devotion? Through historical, archaeological, and textual research we will attempt to retrace the fragments of Mary’s life as it was remembered in the ritual experience of the faithful and reimagined in visual art. Drawing on often neglected sources, including early liturgical texts, hymnography, iconography and sacred sites, we will examine the importance of Mary’s role in the formation of early Christian belief and later Christian spiritual leadership, including female ministry and agency within the church. Finally, we will consider the paradox of the “Global Mary” apparitions: how do those sensory experiences of miracles and visions point to a contemplative theological mode that shapes the “inner” life of prayer and provides a model of holiness? (RELI 0130 or RELI 0180 or RELI 0236 or RELI 0282 or RELI 0285 or RELI 0290 or permission by the instructor). 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements
RELI 0500
Current
Upcoming
Independent Research
Course Description
Independent Research
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught
RELI 0700
Current
Upcoming
Senior Project in Religion
Course Description
Senior Project
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught
RELI 0701
Current
Upcoming
Senior Thesis in Religion
Course Description
Senior Research for Honors Candidates
Approval required
Terms Taught