Course details

Name: ENLT - 250

Title: SPECIAL TOPIC:COMPARATIVE LIT - EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE

Section: 01

Semester: Fall - 2011

Credits: 3

Description:
This course will focus on the New Testament and other early Christian writings up to about 450 A.D., works that are essential for an adequate understanding of English literature. The first half of the course will deal with the New Testament, its literary qualities and cultural backgrounds. During this time, we’ll read not only from the New Testament itself but also from its chief influence, the Hebrew Bible. The second half of the course will include readings from non-canonical Christian works, lives of male and female saints, and documents from the early Christian debates about the nature of Christ.

Along the way, we’ll examine such fascinating literary and historical matters as the authorship of the New Testament, the history of its compilation as a text, the Jewishness of Jesus and of early Christianity in general, the extraordinarily diversity of beliefs that were in play in early Christian literature, and the crucial adoption of Christianity as the state religion of the later Roman Empire. The semester will culminate with a reading of Augustine’s great spiritual autobiography, The Confessions. Requirements will include regular journal entries, two papers, and a final exam.

While the course will in part be about religion, it will not be taught from a religious perspective; the approach will be literary, cultural, and historical. It is open to people of all faiths or of no faith whatsoever, and prior knowledge of the Bible or of early Christianity is not expected.

Last updated on 2011-03-09 By Behlman Lee (behlmanl)

Schedule: Monday,Wednesday From 11:30 am To 12:45 pm

Graduation requirements:

• Any Literature (1e)
• ()
• ()
• International Issues (3a)
• Women and Gender Studies (3c)

Teaching Faculty: Behlman Lee (behlmanl)

Is course canceled: No