NES 6888 - [Jews, Christians, and Others in Late Antiquity]

(crosslisted) JWST 6888, MEDVL 6888, RELST 6888
(CU-ITL)

Spring. Not offered: 2023-2024. Next offered: 2024-2025. 3 credits. Student option grading.

Co-meets with JWST 3888/MEDVL 3888/NES 3888/RELST 3888.

J. Mokhtarian.

This course explores the interactions between Jews, Christians, and other religious groups in late antiquity, especially in Sasanian Persia circa the first through seventh century C.E. Students pay particular attention to the portrayals of Christians in Jewish rabbinic literature, including Midrash and Talmud, but also draw from early Christian, Zoroastrian, Manichaean, and other sources. There will be an emphasis on the reading of primary texts in translation in their appropriate historical contexts, and in comparison with one another. Students engage such questions as: How did Jews define themselves in relation to Christians, and vice versa? In what ways did Jews and Christians part ways with one another, as scholars often maintain, and what were the factors at play in their separation? And, lastly, what role did other religious and political groups, such as Gnostics, Zoroastrians, Romans, Mandaeans, Manichaeans, and early Muslims play in these developments?