EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE: MATTHEW-REVELATION

RELIGST 302

A comparative, thematic exploration of major Christian theological ideas and their relationships to practices across varieties of Christianity and contexts.

CLASSICS/JEWISH/LITTRANS/RELIGST 227

Introduction to the text, development, history, and social context of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Covers the Torah (Pentateuch), Neviim (Former and Latter Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings), and provides a brief introduction to early Jewish literature (Pseudepigrapha/Apocrypha). Discusses various methods of analysis and theories of composition. Addresses major theological claims made of the text by Jewish and Christian communities. Explores contextualized interpretations in the ancient and modern day.

RELIGST 361

By conventional reckoning, Paul was a major contributor to the development of Christianity. Analyzes both Paul's and other contemporary writings to assess the extent to which he contributed to the development of the early church.

CLASSICS/JEWISH/RELIGST 323

An introduction to the study of the Bible as literature and of biblical reception in the medium of film, from early Hollywood to the present day. Explores the way in which the Bible (including both Hebrew and Greek Testaments), one of the foundational literary corpora of American society, has been interpreted, reinterpreted, and misinterpreted through the medium of film over the past century. We will begin each segment of the course by reading portions of the biblical text that have experienced significant interpretation, in order to understand the literary text that has been received in film. How beholden are filmmakers to the interpretations of communities that view these texts as authoritative, and where are they free to depart from their sources? Is it possible to "translate" biblical narratives into film without losing something in the translation? These questions will focus our study on ways the literature has been interpreted in this new medium.

ILS/RELIGST 234

Explores literary forms through which religions originating in western culture convey ideas. Focuses on Jewish, Christian, Muslim and related religious texts.