Scriptures and Eastern Christianity, distance
The course is offered as a standalone course. It is an elective course in the one-year Master's Program in Eastern Christian Studies.
The primary purpose of the course is to study various forms through which the Bible was received in Eastern Christian communities. Such forms include classical patristic commentaries and theological treatises, but also liturgy, icons, and rewritings of biblical material in hagiographies, historiographies, and poetry. During the course, students discuss the Eastern Christian reception of the Bible in relation to findings and methods used in modern biblical criticism and reception theory. Certain traditions of interpretation, for example, began within the biblical texts themselves (such as intertextuality and rewritings).
In addition to the Bible's use by Christians in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, students are given a broader overview of the history of interpretation. The latter includes examples from the Dead Sea Scrolls, rabbinic and medieval Jewish material, as well as an insight into how the Bible was interpreted in Muslim communities, and the interaction that sometimes took place between different religious groups as they wrestled to understand the same biblical sources.
Learning objectives
By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:
Knowledge and understanding
- describe the place of Eastern Christian writings, their interpretations and use in relation to the broader field of reception history
- identify common positions in the current scientific discourse on Eastern Christian writings
- explain the methodological and theoretical differences and similarities in studying a text in its original context and in its later reception
Competence and skills
- independently compare divergent and convergent traditions in Jewish, Christian and Muslim interpretations, and draw general conclusions even with limited material
- identify and analyse interpretation strategies in source material using appropriate critical methods within a given time frame
- illustrate divergent and convergent traditions in Jewish, Christian and Muslim interpretations
Judgement and approach
- independently assess an interpretation in light of its many contexts
- evaluate ethical and social consequences of a given interpretation in both modern and ancient material
Requirements
Courses equivalent to 90 credits from the First Cycle, including 60 credits in Religious Studies/Theology, or Eastern Christian Studies, or equivalent competence. Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.
Course Literature
See course literature for a list of mandatory reading.
Syllabus
See the syllabus for further information.