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This course will examine the origins and development of Christianity in the first five to six centuries C.E.,* beginning in the period following the time of Jesus and the apostles. We will be reading ancient sources (Christian and non-Christian) in order to explore the social, cultural, political, and theological issues involved in the production of a new religious movement which arguably changed the course of much of the worlds history. We will pay particular attention to the dynamics of how this religion went from minority, persecuted status to become the official religion of a major world empire.
Specific questions addressed will include:
* How did a tiny religious revival movement in the Near East spread across the Mediterranean world? * How did Christians in the second and third centuries understand the religious and political significance of suffering and martyrdom? * How (and why) did Christianity come to distinguish itself from Judaism? * How did theological debates over God, community, and salvation shape social and political identities in the early Christian world? * Did Christianity offer new visions of social structures, including gender, class, and sexuality?
As an upper-division religious studies class, our goal is also to extend our focused study into a broader consideration of themes and issues related to the academic study of religion, such as:
* asceticism and the body * orthodoxy and heresy * power and resistance * worship and ritual * divinity and humanity
The following REQUIRED BOOKS should be available in the UCR Campus Bookstore and on reserve in Rivera Library.
These readers are the two sourcebooks (collections of ancient, Christian texts) we will be using in this course--we will not be reading every text, but we will be reading many of them. Be sure to read the introductions to all of the texts, so that you can follow along. Also, be sure to make use of the map found in the beginning of CLA. Also, you can check the index of Chadwick for more information on topics and authors. On days when we are reading selections from ANT and CLA, you should bring the text to class.
The following RECOMMENDED BOOKS should also be available in the UCR Campus Bookstore and on reserve in Rivera Library.
Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, The Penguin History of the Church (London: Penguin Books, 1993)
This historical survey of early Christianity was originally written in the 1960s, and has since been occasionally revised by Chadwick (a very prominent historian of the period). Consider this textbook your background, from which you can acquire basic information on persons, places, ideas, and situations. Chadwicks writing is usually very clear, although you may find he goes into more detail than in necessary.
Robert L. Wilken, The Christians as the Romans Saw Them, 2nd. ed. (New Haven: Yale Press, 2003)
Surveys the main "opponents" of the developing Christian movement from its origins through its "triumph" in the fourth century. We will be reading a few chapters of this book (available on electronic reserve through Blackboard), but it is inexpensive and highly useful so it might be worth purchasing.
Feel free to acquire these books however you choose: at the UCR bookstore, online, e-Bay, used bookstores, it doesnt matter. But all three of these books are required for this course.
In addition, there are a few readings that may be found online or photocopied on reserve in Rivera Library: any on-line and reserve readings are also required.
Additional study materials (timelines, maps, significant terms for identification, and further resources) will be posted on this course website, as well.
A Blackboard site will be opened for this course for the purposes of making announcements, communications (email), and discussion boards. Go to: [link removed] and login with your userid and password.
All other course information will be located on this website, including:
* announcements related to the class (announcements will also be posted to the Blackboard site) * contact information for the professor * guidelines for all written assignments * study guides for exams * links and resources related to early Christianity * calendar of reading assignments and class topics (syllabus), including links to required online reading assignments
You should be checking this course website frequently: any changes to readings, assignments, or other information will be posted here first, on the home page.
REMINDER: UCR now requires all students to check their UCR email (soandso@student.ucr.edu) on a regular basis in order to receive news and information from the university. The professor will also be using these official email addresses (via the Blackboard site) if he needs to contact you: you must regularly check your UCR email.
ACADEMIC HONESTY: You should be familiar with UCRs regulations on academic honesty and plagiarism (warning: PDF file, requires Adobe Acrobat); any instance of cheating or plagiarism will be punished with a zero grade and will be referred to the University administration (Student Judicial Affairs) for reprimand.
RLST 133 is an upper division course, which means that students will be expected to read, write, and discuss at a more advanced level.
Grades are calculated on the following basis:
1. Participation and attendance: 15%. You are required to attend class lectures; more than four absences may result in a lowering of your participation grade. In addition to mere attendance, you are required to participate actively in class conversations and discussions.
2. Essay papers: 30%. You will write two short essays (5 pages each); topics and guidelines can be found here. The first essay is due on Monday, October 18 and the second essay is due on Monday, November 29. Essays are due at the beginning of class, and must be handed in in person (do not slip them under office doors or email them). Late work will not be accepted except in extraordinary circumstances.
3. Midterm: 25%. An in-class midterm examination covering the first half of the course will be given on Friday, October 29. The midterm will address mainly significant terms, persons, places, and ideas in short-answer format. Specifics about the midterm exam (including study guides) will be posted here.
4. Final exam: 30%. A final exam will be given on Wednesday, December 8 from 3-6pm. The final is cumulative (i.e., it covers all ten weeks) and will address both significant terms, persons, places, and ideas in short-answer format, and broader thematic questions in essay format. Specifics about the final exam will be posted here.
Mark your calendars now! April 23: First essay due at the beginning of class May 7: In-class midterm May 30: Second essay due at the beginning of class June 14: Final exam (11:30am-2:30pm)
* Instead of using B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini, In the Year of Our Lord) to designate years, it is now regular academic practice to use the abbreviations B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era).
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Illustration: Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, "Martyrdom of Saint Laurence" (ca. 450)
