A 2001 course by Ann Matter at the University of Pennsylvania "introduces students to the major intellectual issues of Christianity from the period of the formulation of orthodox theology (the third to the fifth centuries), through the early medieval era, to the dawn of scholastic theology around the year 1000. . . . several aspects of social and political history will also be considered, for example, the growth of ascetic movements and the monastic ideal, relationship between Christianity and the Roman Empire, and the role of women in Christian history."