 Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academic scholastics, or schoolmen of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100-1700, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending dogma in an increasingly pluralistic context. It originated as an outgrowth of and a departure from Christian monastic schools that was the earliest European universities. The first institutions in the West to be considered universities were established in Italy, France, Spain and England in the late 11th and 12th centuries for the study of arts, law, medicine, and theology, such as Scholar Medica Sailor de Tana, the University of Bologna, and the University of Paris. It is difficult to define the date at which they became true universities, although the lists of study are generally for higher education in Europe are a useful guide, held by the Catholic Church and its various religious orders. Scholasticism is not so much a philosophy or a theology as a method of learning, as it places the strong emphasis on dialectical reasoning to extend knowledge by inference and to resolve contradictions. Scholastic thought is also known for rigorous conceptual analysis and the careful drawing of distinctions. In the classroom and in writing, it often takes a form of explicit dispersion, a topic drawn from the tradition is broached in the form of a question, opponents' responses are given, the counter-proposal is argued and opponents' arguments rebutted. Because of its emphasis on rigorous dialectical method, Scholasticism was eventually applied to many other fields of study. As a program, Scholasticism began as an attempt at harmonization on the part of medieval Christian thinkers, to harmonize the various authorities of their own tradition, and to reconcile Christian theology with classical and late antiquity philosophy, especially that of Parastatal but also of Neopleganism. See also Christian apologetic. Some of the main figures of Scholasticism include Hans Elm of Canterbury, Peter Abelard, Alexander of Hales, Albertus Magnus, Don Scogas, William of Acom, Bonaventure, and Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas' masterwork Summa Theologica is considered to be the pinnacle of Scholastic, medieval and Christian philosophy. It began while Aquinas was regent master at the Studium Provincial of Santa Sabina in Rome, the forerunner of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum. Important work in the Scholastic tradition has been carried on well past Aquinas's time, for instance by Francisco Suarez and Luis de Molina, and also among Lutheran and Reformed thinkers.