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Reception of Christian and Jewish Traditions

Module description

In this module you will encounter different elements of the Jewish and Christian religious traditions – beliefs, practices, and reflection upon them, both ancient and modern. 

The module will have three taught segments, each lasting for three weeks. Each segment will be on a different topic. Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

Reason and emotion in early Christian preaching

In this segment you will learn how Christian preachers applied both theological and rhetorical skills to specific preaching situations. The module will cover the first few centuries of the church, with a particular focus on Latin and Greek sermons of the 4^th and 5^th centuries. All texts will be studied in English (although the convenor can advise about accessing texts in the original languages). You will analyse examples of Christian sermons with regard to their historical context, theological content and use of classical rhetorical and literary devices. You will use ancient and modern theories about public discourse to assess this material.

The first tourists? Helena, Egeria and the rise of Christian pilgrimage

This segment looks at the origins of Christian pilgrimage from the finding of the True Cross by St. Helena in the early fourth century through to the establishment of a wholly Christian topography overlaying the Eastern Mediterranean by the end of the sixth century as Christians ‘discovered’ such pivotal sites as the Oak at Mamre and the burning bush of Moses. We will look at how early Christians evolved an itinerary of sacred sites that appropriated earlier religious observances and locations and brought them entirely within the parameters of this new faith.

Heaven and philosophy

In recent years, analytic philosophers have sought to understand and articulate the Christian doctrine of heaven with greater precision, to assess its plausibility. In this sigment you will grapple with some of the key questions they have been asking. We will consider what heaven is supposed to be like; how it relates to earthly bodies and time; what the blessed might do there; and, above all, whether you would actually want to go there at all.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to:

• provide you with a methodology for research into the reception of Christian and Jewish traditions initially focused around an extended case study example chosen by the convenor
• facilitate an individual in-depth project supervised by a member of staff working on the reception of Christian and/or Jewish traditions
• enable you to develop in-depth work with supervision by a leading expert in the field

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Engage with recent scholarship concerned with the reception of Christian and Jewish traditions
• 2. Critically assess, in depth, one case study example related to the reception of Christian and Jewish traditions

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Appreciate the role of historical context in shaping the reception of religious ideas and/or practice
• 4. Critically evaluate the evolution of religious traditions in response to changing conditions

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Develop a project that engages with contemporary scholarship
• 6. Shape detailed information into a clear written account
• 7. Show significant originality and rigour in argument
• 8. Demonstrate independent and critical research skills
• 9. Convey ideas to your peers through oral discussion
• 10. Demonstrate an awareness of the module as a learning community by listening to the viewpoints of others, contributing sensitively to discussion, and critically reflecting on the learning process

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• introduction
• extended analysis of a case study example chosen by the convenor (i.e. the reception history of a particular Jewish and Christian tradition over varied contexts)
• discussion of project proposals
• oral presentation of project focus
• directed research with supervisor

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Morwenna Ludlow and Scott Douglass (eds.), Reading the Church Fathers (T & T Clark, 2011)
• Emma Loosley and Anthony Mahony (eds.), Eastern Christianity in the Modern Middle East (Routledge, 2013)
• Jonathan Hill and Anna Marmodoro, The Metaphysics of Incarnation (Oxford University Press, 2011)
• Siam Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells (Magical and Religious Literature of Late Antiquity) (Brill, 2013)
• David Tollerton, The Book of Job in Post-Holocaust Thought (Sheffield Phoenix, 2012)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11386

Key words search

Jewish, Christian, Reception