F0311 Early Christian Literature
\"Old Testament\" is a discourteous expression: a certain number of people does not consider the Hebrew Bible to be \"old\" at all. On the other hand, \"New Testament\" is a theological term, framed to design a set of writings purportedly inspired by God in the First century. The canon of such books was not established until around 200 A.D. Now, historians have nothing to do with pious legends, instead they deal with writings tout court created by human beings. The writings dated from the first century of Christianity (from 50 to 150) amount roughly to fifty titles. These are the subject matter of the course.
Early Christian literature is a chapter of Greek literature. Its study belongs to philology and history, particularly to the history of religions. Therefore, its methods are the scientific methods of those disciplines, largely improved over the last two centuries.
The procedure of the course rests upon the direct contact with the texts themselves. Philological and historical features will be raised by means of analysis and commentary as well as through correlation with others texts.
Texts will be read in translations. Copies can be downloaded from a myriad of Internet sites. Greek originals will be provided if requested.Students are expected to participate in the form of short communications about subjects of their choice. When written, such papers will account for grading. Otherwise the grading system will consist in a formulary of questions.
Early Christian literature is a chapter of Greek literature. Its study belongs to philology and history, particularly to the history of religions. Therefore, its methods are the scientific methods of those disciplines, largely improved over the last two centuries.
The procedure of the course rests upon the direct contact with the texts themselves. Philological and historical features will be raised by means of analysis and commentary as well as through correlation with others texts.
Texts will be read in translations. Copies can be downloaded from a myriad of Internet sites. Greek originals will be provided if requested.Students are expected to participate in the form of short communications about subjects of their choice. When written, such papers will account for grading. Otherwise the grading system will consist in a formulary of questions.
Readings