Module THEO43330: The Development of Christian Exegesis 100-500 CE

Department: Theology and Religion

THEO43330: The Development of Christian Exegesis 100-500 CE

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To provide students with awareness of continuities and shifts during the foundational period of development in Christian exegesis, 100-500 CE;
• To provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for exploring the different traditions of classical literary analysis adapted by Christian exegetes;
• To provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for exploring ways in which textual exegesis and commentary shaped Christian thought and culture(s);
• To provide students with a foundation upon which they can interpret current attempts to appropriate these exegetical practices for modern Christian thought.

Content

• This module will explore the development of early Christian exegesis roughly between 100 and 500 CE, between the period when the texts that became part of the canonical “New Testament” were composed, and the exegetes who wrote during the central period of Christian creedal formation. One of the main thematic foci of the course will be exploring how Christian exegetes in different periods adopted and/or adapted Greek and Latin non-Christian traditions of literary analysis (use of Jewish traditions will receive some treatment at the beginning of the course). To enable in-depth study the course will focus on four moments of this development: Irenaeus of Lyons and the shifts that he represents (and this will include discussion of pre-Irenaean exegesis); Origen of Alexandria; Gregory of Nyssa and Diodore of Tarsus (and associates) as representatives of different approaches to the allegorical; Augustine of Hippo.

Learning Outcomes

• An advanced understanding of the foundational period in early Christian exegesis, and of the traditions on which Christians drew.

• An ability to analyse and write about Christian practices of interpretation with intellectual rigor and historical depth.
• A capacity to analyse relationships between Christian texts and ancient non-Christian traditions of literary commentary and analysis.

• An ability to read complex texts with intellectual nuance; research, presentation and writing skills; an ability to ask scholarly questions about sources and adaptation of sources.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Seminars (including seminar presentations) enhance subject-specific knowledge and understanding, promoting a conversation among differing viewpoints.
• Teaching as a short “fat” module in Michaelmas enables immersion in the subject through a long weekly seminar, and provides extensive subsequent time for developing final project.
• Summative essays assess subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student sills in research, analysis and argumentation.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University