This course will introduce the students to the historical development of consecrated life in the Church. Through preparatory readings and class lectures, the students will explore different topics to better understand how women and men have desired to follow Christ more closely by living together and binding themselves to a simpler life. Special attention will be devoted to the transformations of religious life through the ages as well as its faculties of adaptation and renewal. Students will study a particular tradition or institute, and share what they have learned with the class.