CC 318: The Rise of Christianity
An introduction to the origins and development of Christianity from the earliest days of the Jesus sect in first century Judea to the middle of the second century, when it emerged as a religion of the Roman empire. The course is designed to acquaint students with the sources, issues, and methods of studying this historical development, primarily as reflected in the New Testament and contemporaneous literature. Special attention will be given to the social, political, and religious backgrounds within the development of early Judaism and in the larger Graeco-Roman environment. The study will focus on reconstruction of the religious beliefs, practices, and social organization of the early Christian movements and on critical examination of the New Testament documents in order to place them in their proper historical context. Lectures will be supplemented with archeological evidence relevant to the historical and cultural setting. Course Syllabus

CC 348: Topic 10 - Jesus In History & Tradition - W
This course will address two basic questions of historical inquiry: What can we know about the historical figure of Jesus? and How did the gospels tradition develop in the first century of the Christian movement? The course is designed to acquaint students with the major critical issues, scholarly debates, and historical methods in studying the development of the Christian tradition regarding the figure of Jesus. Historical backgrounds regarding prevailing religious beliefs and expectations within first century Jewish and Graeco-Roman religious cultures will establish the context for understanding the stories about Jesus. The course will focus on literary- and historical-critical methods of analyzing the Christian gospels and related materials. Special attention will be paid to pathways of literary and theological development from the earliest oral transmission to more elaborated forms of expression in various early Christian communities and traditions in order to understand how they came to present the story of Jesus.
The main focus of the course will be on the canonical gospels found in the New Testament. The course will also introduce students to some of the non-canonical writings-- including the apocryphal gospels -- and their historical implications. Course Syllabus

CC 348 - Jewish Experience in the Greco-Roman World - W
This course will survey the Jewish experience of the Diaspora from time of Alexander the Great to later Roman Empire. During this period the Hebrew Scriptures were completed and the canon finalized, but the literary output of Jewish thought and experience also produced numerous other writings in Greek. They include the translation of the scriptures into Greek, as well as key documents of the so-called Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, and the writings of Philo and Josephus. The course will examine several issues or aspects of the Jewish life and religion as they intersect through these periods of transition: (1) the history and social organization of Jewish communities in the Greco-Roman Diaspora, (2) relationships between Jewish culture to the dominant socio-political forces of each period (Persian, Greek, Roman), (3) attitudes of outsiders to Judaism and the origins of anti-semitism, (4) beliefs and practices among the various religious groups within Judaism, (5) relations with the Jewish Homeland, (6) the origins and development of the synagogue, and (7) the nature and religious texture of the literatue as expressions of Jewish identity. Course Syllabus

GK 328: Christian GK - Pauline Epistles
This course is designed to give intermediate and advance students experience and facility with elements of koine (or Hellenistic) Greek as employed in the earliest Christian literature, the letters of Paul.
For those at the intermediate level (GK 328)the class will focus on reading and translating the Greek of Paul's letters with grammatical and syntactic analysis. Readings will survey the range of Paul's letters from earlier to later periods. Some will be read as a whole; others only in part to sample the flavor of language and composition. In addition students will be introduced to critical issues in Pauline letter formation and the tools for study of Pauline language and context, e.g., concordance and lexical aids. In addition to regular readings and quizzes, students will be expected to complete one essay project analyzing language of Paul's letters.
For those at the advanced level (GK 362) there will be an additioinal written project for comparing Paul's language and style with other Hellenistic Greek writings, especially in Greek Epistolography.

GK 362: Adv. Christian GK - Pauline Epistles
This course is designed to give intermediate and advance students experience and facility with elements of koine (or Hellenistic) Greek as employed in the earliest Christian literature, the letters of Paul.
For those at the intermediate level (GK 328)the class will focus on reading and translating the Greek of Paul's letters with grammatical and syntactic analysis. Readings will survey the range of Paul's letters from earlier to later periods. Some will be read as a whole; others only in part to sample the flavor of language and composition. In addition students will be introduced to critical issues in Pauline letter formation and the tools for study of Pauline language and context, e.g., concordance and lexical aids. In addition to regular readings and quizzes, students will be expected to complete one essay project analyzing language of Paul's letters.
For those at the advanced level (GK 362) there will be an additioinal written project for comparing Paul's language and style with other Hellenistic Greek writings, especially in Greek Epistolography.