Ancient Greek civilization, from second millenium BCE to Roman period. Art/archaeology, philosophy, science, literature, social/political institutions. Focuses on connections with contemporary cultures corresponding to Ancient Near East.

In this course we will ask ourselves: why does ancient Rome refuse to go away? What is it about ancient Rome that has captured the imaginations of Shakespeare and the framers of the U.S. Constitution as well as HBO, Hollywood, and the video game industry? The course examines the world of ancient Rome from early Etruscan and eastern origins to the emergent Christian Rome of later antiquity. We will study the diverse mix of cultures in this vast multi-ethnic empire that spanned from the Near East and Africa to Europe. As we chart the rise of this ancient superpower, we will examine Roman imperialism, colonialism, and the dynamics of cultural identity. Through art, literature, and archeology we will explore politics, religions, slavery and social structures, gender and sexuality, sports and entertainment, economics and trade, as well as the rhythms of daily life.

Introduction to stories/study of Greek/Roman mythology.

Introduction to stories/study of Greek/Roman mythology. prereq: Honors or instr consent

Does time, place, and culture affect our picture of Jesus? We'll start by constructing our own Jesus story and then go backwards in time to examine modern times (film, music, and modern art), pre-Civil War America (views of Jesus from enslaved people and their enslavers), Renaissance and Medieval Europe and North Africa (art and architecture), and finally end with the ancient world (art and writings about Jesus, including the biblical gospels). No background in religious studies required, and students of any, all, or no religious background are welcome.

The Hebrew Bible and Old Testament are literary collections that modern Jewish and Christian traditions maintain as important, but these collections were initially produced by ancient Israelite scribes who composed and/or compiled the biblical texts at particular time periods in the ancient Near East. This course will introduce the academic study of biblical texts, which demands critical analysis of the literature and an openness to reading the literature from the perspective of ancient Israelite writers (who lived in a world far different from today). The course will spend considerable time on the literary (and scribal) composition of biblical prose texts; time will also be spent on the historical circumstances of biblical prophets and other writers of the biblical texts. This course will only address the ancient setting of the biblical texts and not re-interpretations in Jewish or Christian traditions. Given the scope of the course, modern interpretations of the biblical literature will not be discussed; we will only focus on this literature in its ancient setting. prereq: Knowledge of Hebrew not required

Survey of Israelite prophets. Emphasizes Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Second Isaiah. Prophetic contributions to Israelite religion. Personality of prophets. Politics, prophetic reaction. Textual analysis, biblical scholarship. Prophecy viewed cross-culturally. prereq: [RelS 1001] or [CNES 1201 or JWST 1201 or RELS 1201 or CNES 3201 or JWST 3201 or RELS 3201]

Seminar. Historical method/sources for Ancient Near Eastern history. Historical tradition and historiographic texts of Mesopotamia and neighboring regions of Ancient Near East/their relationship to the works of classical historians such as Herodotus. Use of these sources in modern historiography of Ancient Near East. prereq: Previous coursework in Ancient Near Eastern history recommended

Does time, place, and culture affect our picture of Jesus? We'll start by constructing our own Jesus story and then go backwards in time to examine modern times (film, music, and modern art), pre-Civil War America (views of Jesus from enslaved people and their enslavers), Renaissance and Medieval Europe and North Africa (art and architecture), and finally end with the ancient world (art and writings about Jesus, including the biblical gospels). No background in religious studies required, and students of any, all, or no religious background are welcome.

The Hebrew Bible and Old Testament are literary collections that modern Jewish and Christian traditions maintain as important, but these collections were initially produced by ancient Israelite scribes who composed and/or compiled the biblical texts at particular time periods in the ancient Near East. This course will introduce the academic study of biblical texts, which demands critical analysis of the literature and an openness to reading the literature from the perspective of ancient Israelite writers (who lived in a world far different from today). The course will spend considerable time on the literary (and scribal) composition of biblical prose texts; time will also be spent on the historical circumstances of biblical prophets and other writers of the biblical texts. This course will only address the ancient setting of the biblical texts and not re-interpretations in Jewish or Christian traditions. Given the scope of the course, modern interpretations of the biblical literature will not be discussed; we will only focus on this literature in its ancient setting. prereq: Knowledge of Hebrew not required

The Hebrew Bible and Old Testament are literary collections that modern Jewish and Christian traditions maintain as important, but these collections were initially produced by ancient Israelite scribes who composed and/or compiled the biblical texts at particular time periods in the ancient Near East. This course will introduce the academic study of biblical texts, which demands critical analysis of the literature and an openness to reading the literature from the perspective of ancient Israelite writers (who lived in a world far different from today). The course will spend considerable time on the literary (and scribal) composition of biblical prose texts; time will also be spent on the historical circumstances of biblical prophets and other writers of the biblical texts. This course will only address the ancient setting of the biblical texts and not re-interpretations in Jewish or Christian traditions. Given the scope of the course, modern interpretations of the biblical literature will not be discussed; we will only focus on this literature in its ancient setting. prereq: Knowledge of Hebrew not required

Early Jesus movement in cultural/historical setting. Origins in Judaism. Traditions about Jesus. Apostle Paul, controversies/interpreters. Authority, religious practice, structure. Emergence of canon. Contemporary methods of New Testament study. Biblical writings as history/narrative. CNES 3072/CNES 5072/RELS 3072/RELS 5072 meet together.

Early Jesus movement in cultural/historical setting. Origins in Judaism. Traditions about Jesus. Apostle Paul, controversies/interpreters. Authority, religious practice, structure. Emergence of canon. Contemporary methods of New Testament study. Biblical writings as history/narrative. CNES 3072/CNES 5072/RELS 3072/RELS 5072 meet together.

Israel and Judah were not states of great importance in the ancient Near East. Their population and territory were small, and they could not resist conquest by larger, more powerful states like Assyria and Rome. Yet their ancient history matters greatly today, out of proportion to its insignificance during the periods in which it transpired. The historical experiences of the people of Israel and Judah were accorded religious meaning and literary articulation in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), which became a foundational text for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Essential features of Western as well as Islamic civilization are predicated on some element of Israel?s ancient past, as mediated through the Bible; therefore it behooves us to understand that past. But the Bible is a religious work, not a transcript of events, and the history of ancient Israel is not derived merely from reading the biblical accounts of it. Archaeological excavations have revealed the physical remains of the cultures of Israel and neighboring lands, as well as bringing to light inscriptions, documents, and literary works produced by those cultures. These sources, which complement and sometimes contradict the accounts conveyed in the Bible, provide the basis for reconstructing a comprehensive history of ancient Israel. This course covers the history of Israel and Judah from the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550-1200 BCE), by the end of which Israel had emerged as a distinct ethnic entity, to the period of Roman rule (63 BCE-330 CE), which saw the final extinction of ancient Israel, represented by the kingdom of Judea, as a political entity. Knowledge of this history is based on archaeological, epigraphic, and literary sources, including the Hebrew Bible. N.B.: Students should be aware that the study of history, like all the human and natural sciences, is predicated on inquiry, not a priori judgments. Accordingly, the Bible is not privileged as an intrinsically true or authoritative record. No text is presumed inerrant, and all sources are subject to scrutiny, in the context of scholarly discourse. Biblical texts are treated just like all other texts, as the products of human beings embedded in a historical context, and as the subject of analysis and interpretation. Persons of all faiths and of no faith are equally welcome to participate in such scholarly discourse. However, students who feel that their own religious beliefs require an understanding of the Bible that is antithetical to the foregoing statements are cautioned that they may find themselves uncomfortable with this course.

Israel and Judah were not states of great importance in the ancient Near East. Their population and territory were small, and they could not resist conquest by larger, more powerful states like Assyria and Rome. Yet their ancient history matters greatly today, out of proportion to its insignificance during the periods in which it transpired. The historical experiences of the people of Israel and Judah were accorded religious meaning and literary articulation in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), which became a foundational text for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Essential features of Western as well as Islamic civilization are predicated on some element of Israel?s ancient past, as mediated through the Bible; therefore it behooves us to understand that past. But the Bible is a religious work, not a transcript of events, and the history of ancient Israel is not derived merely from reading the biblical accounts of it. Archaeological excavations have revealed the physical remains of the cultures of Israel and neighboring lands, as well as bringing to light inscriptions, documents, and literary works produced by those cultures. These sources, which complement and sometimes contradict the accounts conveyed in the Bible, provide the basis for reconstructing a comprehensive history of ancient Israel. This course covers the history of Israel and Judah from the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550-1200 BCE), by the end of which Israel had emerged as a distinct ethnic entity, to the period of Roman rule (63 BCE-330 CE), which saw the final extinction of ancient Israel, represented by the kingdom of Judea, as a political entity. Knowledge of this history is based on archaeological, epigraphic, and literary sources, including the Hebrew Bible. N.B.: Students should be aware that the study of history, like all the human and natural sciences, is predicated on inquiry, not a priori judgments. Accordingly, the Bible is not privileged as an intrinsically true or authoritative record. No text is presumed inerrant, and all sources are subject to scrutiny, in the context of scholarly discourse. Biblical texts are treated just like all other texts, as the products of human beings embedded in a historical context, and as the subject of analysis and interpretation. Persons of all faiths and of no faith are equally welcome to participate in such scholarly discourse. However, students who feel that their own religious beliefs require an understanding of the Bible that is antithetical to the foregoing statements are cautioned that they may find themselves uncomfortable with this course.

Ancient Greek civilization, from second millenium BCE to Roman period. Art/archaeology, philosophy, science, literature, social/political institutions. Focuses on connections with contemporary cultures corresponding to Ancient Near East.

This course will provide an introduction to the history of Greek art, architecture and archaeology from the formation of the Greek city states in the ninth century BCE, through the expansion of Greek culture across the Mediterranean and Asia in the Hellenistic period, to the coming of Rome in the first century BCE. While this survey concentrates on the main developments of Greek art, an important sub-theme of this course this is the changes Classical visual culture underwent as it served non-Greek peoples, including the role it played for Alexander and his successors in forging multiethnic, globally minded empires in Western, Central and South Asia. No background in the time period or discipline is expected and therefore this class will also serve as an introduction to interdisciplinary study of art history and the classical world. A number of art historical methodologies will be introduced in order to not only give students a useful background in art history but to give them the tools to think as art historians and incorporate related visual and textual evidence meaningfully into their writing.

The Hebrew Bible and Old Testament are literary collections that modern Jewish and Christian traditions maintain as important, but these collections were initially produced by ancient Israelite scribes who composed and/or compiled the biblical texts at particular time periods in the ancient Near East. This course will introduce the academic study of biblical texts, which demands critical analysis of the literature and an openness to reading the literature from the perspective of ancient Israelite writers (who lived in a world far different from today). The course will spend considerable time on the literary (and scribal) composition of biblical prose texts; time will also be spent on the historical circumstances of biblical prophets and other writers of the biblical texts. This course will only address the ancient setting of the biblical texts and not re-interpretations in Jewish or Christian traditions. Given the scope of the course, modern interpretations of the biblical literature will not be discussed; we will only focus on this literature in its ancient setting. prereq: Knowledge of Hebrew not required

Greek religion from the Bronze Age to Hellenistic times. Sources include literature, art, and archaeology. Homer and Olympian deities, ritual performance, prayer/sacrifice, temple architecture, death and the afterlife, mystery cults, philosophical religion. Near Eastern salvation religions.

Greek religion from Bronze Age to Hellenistic times. Literature, art, archaeology. Homer/Olympian deities. Ritual performance, prayer, sacrifice. Temple architecture. Death/afterlife. Mystery cults. Philosophical religion. Near Eastern salvation religions. Meets with 3071.

Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid. Cultural context of epic. Development of the hero. Epic style. Poetics of epic.

In this course we will ask ourselves: why does ancient Rome refuse to go away? What is it about ancient Rome that has captured the imaginations of Shakespeare and the framers of the U.S. Constitution as well as HBO, Hollywood, and the video game industry? The course examines the world of ancient Rome from early Etruscan and eastern origins to the emergent Christian Rome of later antiquity. We will study the diverse mix of cultures in this vast multi-ethnic empire that spanned from the Near East and Africa to Europe. As we chart the rise of this ancient superpower, we will examine Roman imperialism, colonialism, and the dynamics of cultural identity. Through art, literature, and archeology we will explore politics, religions, slavery and social structures, gender and sexuality, sports and entertainment, economics and trade, as well as the rhythms of daily life.

This course explores ancient Rome?s transformation from a democratic republic to an autocratic empire and the considerable implications this crucial shift has had for world history. It examines the fall of the Roman republic and the rise of Rome?s first emperor Augustus along with the vast cultural transformations in this age of revolution. Major issues include: Augustan art, architecture, and literature; political ideologies, propaganda, and resistance; gender, sexuality, and the family; Rome and Egypt, colonialism and cultural identity.

Introduction to art and material culture of Roman world: origin, change, continuity. Progress/decay in later empire, its legacy to modern world.

Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid. Cultural context of epic. Development of the hero. Epic style. Poetics of epic.