
All
written assignments will be turned in (and returned) through Drop Box
on Sakai. Due dates and times are noted below for each assignment. You
may--of course!--turn in any assignments early.
Any written assignment that receives below a B+ can be
revised and turned in for regrading. Students
planning to revise papers should meet with the professor to discuss
editing.
For each
assignment you will have several choices, and you should be keeping
these assignments in mind as you complete the readings each week.
Skip ahead to: Directed Reading; Creative Response; Argument Analysis; Film Analysis; Final
Exam
1. Directed Reading
Due to Sakai by 5pm on Friday,
September 23, 2016
Goal: This goal of this
assignment is for you to analyze the rhetorical effects of a piece of
early Christian writing on its original audience and consider whether
those effects would be the same on a modern audience. You should pay
particular attention to the use of language and tone, and try to
describe how the author(s) of the text is creating connections with an
audience.
Format: Choose one of the
directed reading assignments below. The directed reading should be
500-750 words, double-spaced. The directed reading should begin with an
overall summary of your reading (in 1-2 sentences: "In this text, the
author..."), followed by specific examples from the text that support
your initial summary. Quotations from the text should refer to page
numbers in After the New Testament.
Choose one of the following directed reading assignments:
a. The Letter of the Churches of
Lyons and Vienne (ANT
40-45) has many graphic descriptions of torture. What was it like for
you--a student in the 21st century--to read those graphic descriptions?
Do you think the effects on an ancient audience would have been
different? If so, how? Which one or two descriptions do you think were
most effective, and why?
b. In his Plea Regarding the
Christians (ANT
82-88), Athenagoras compares the Christian view of the divine with the
non-Christian (pagan) view of the divine. What are the main differences
between the Christian and pagan view of (the) God(s)? Which points do
you think Athenagoras believed were most persuasive?
c. The selection from the Acts of
Thomas (ANT
14-19) recounts two stories: the story of the king's brother and the
story of the murdered adulteress. Assume both of these stories were
designed to convince an audience of the superiority of Christianity:
what are the points that would persuade someone? Would these points
also persuade someone in the 21st century?
2. Creative Response
Due to Sakai by 5pm on Friday,
October 21, 2016
Goal: The goal of this
assignment is for you to place yourself in the place of an early
Christian during the first centuries CE. You should draw on the
readings and discussions done in class to imagine the social,
religious, and cultural benefits and obstacles to pursuing a Christian
life: why would someone be Christian? What would being Christian be
like for them?
Format: Choose one of the
creative response scenarios below. You have more freedom in terms of
format for this assignment: you may write a letter, a dialogue, a short
story, an annotated illustration, or choose another format (you may
want to
consult with the professor if you're not sure what format to follow).
You may choose to quote from primary texts from class directly or place
references (footnotes or parenthetical references) to texts from which
you are drawing inspiration. No specific word length applies to this
assignment.
Choose one of the following scenarios for your creative response:
a. The Friendly Bishop. You
are a Christian bishop in a major city in the early 200s and a pagan
has come to you who is curious about Christianity (including what a
"bishop" is!). How would you explain what Christians are, what they do,
and what they are not and
what they don't do? What pros
and cons of Christianity do you focus on?
b. Your Gnostic Friend. You
are a Christian who follows more "gnostic" teachings; how do you
explain to your non-gnostic Christian friends--some of whom may go the
same church as you!--how salvation works?
c. I'm Still Your Daughter.
You are a Christian woman who has decided to embrace a life of
chastity. How do you explain this decision to your (choose one or
more:) fiancé/parents/husband/children?
3. Argument Analysis
Due to Sakai by 5pm on Friday,
November 11, 2016
Goal: The goal of this
assignment is to closely analyze the effectiveness of arguments used in
debates among Christians in the fourth and fifth centuries. You
should pay close attention to the language, tone, and tools employed by
the author of the text you are analyzing.
Format: Choose one of the texts
below. You may also compare two
texts from among those listed below.
The argument analysis should be 750-1000 words, double-spaced, and
should quote frequently from the text(s) in order to demonstrate points
of your analysis. Your analysis should focus clearly on a few points
(for example: angry tone, citation of laws, and threats of violence).
If at all possible, you should determine whether, and for whom, the
arguments in your text(s) would be persuasive. Quotations from texts
should refer to page numbers from Christianity
in Late Antiquity.
a. In his Letter to Alexander of
Constantinople (CLA
159-166), what kinds of arguments does Alexander of Alexandria make
against the followers of Arius? How could a clever opponent respond to
his arguments?
b. In his Letter to Cyril of
Alexandra (CLA
179-83), what kinds of arguments does Nestorius of Constantinople make
against Cyril and his followers? How could a clever opponent respond to
his arguments?
c. In his First Speech Against the
Judaizers (CLA
227-37), what kinds of arguments does John Chrysostom make against
Christians who go to the synagogue? How could a clever opponent respond
to his arguments?
4. Film Analysis.
Due to Sakai by 5pm on Friday, December 9, 2016 (note new day!)
Goal: The goal of
this assignment is to analyze how and why a 21st-century person would
interpret themes and events from the early Christian period, through an
analysis of the 2009 movie Agora
(more information on the film is available from IMDB here;
more information about the historical figure of Hypatia is available here).
Format: After watching the film
Agora,
develop an analysis of the film in which you compare specific themes of
your choice with the ancient sources we have read. You may focus on
specific institutions of early Christianity (e.g., monasticism; the
bishop; the emperor) or on broader modern themes to in the
movie and in our ancient sources (e.g., gender; politics; education).
You
should make specific
connections with primary texts from the course and cite specific scenes and moments from
the film. Quotations from course texts should refer to page numbers
from Christianity in Late Antiquity.
References to the film may refer to general scenes ("the scene in which
Theon finds the cross"). The film analysis should be 750-1000 words,
double-spaced.
5. Final Exam
Due to Sakai by 5pm on Monday,
December, 12, 2016
Goal: The goal of the final
exam is to synthesize various ideas and themes with significant texts,
people, and events in the first five Christian centuries.
Format: The take-home final is now available for download. Click here. (If you are not already logged into Sakai you will be asked to do so when you click.)
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