Religious
Studies 440: Jesus
Nicholson Hall, 314 (867-5407)
E-mail: mymacdon@stfx.ca
Course Homepage: http://people.stfx.ca/mymacdon/RELS440.htm
***For questions
concerning course content or assignments contact professor by phone, stop by
during office hours, or make an appointment.
Please do not use e-mail for these purposes.
The course examines the answer, developed over
centuries by the Christian Church, to the question associated with Jesus in the
synoptic Gospels: "Who do you say I am?" The class will study the beginnings of the
answer as found in the letters of Paul and the four canonical Gospels. Particular attention will be paid to recent
writings on the historical Jesus.
Lectures:
Three hours a
week. Attendance to all classes is COMPULSORY. Check the regulations in the 2008-2009
Academic Calendar, p.13, Item 3.7 with respect to class attendance and course
withdrawal. Note that the University has
a strict policy with respect to attendance: “Students are expected to attend
all classes and laboratory periods. Following an absence more than one class,
students should contact each professor or instructor. In the case of sudden
emergencies requiring an absence of more than five days, students should
contact the Dean’s office. Faculty are required to report to the Dean all
unexplained absences in excess of three hours over at least two classes missed
in any term.”
Out of
consideration for your fellow classmates and the instructor, please do not be
late for class. Persistent lateness will be brought to your attention.
Format:
A seminar format will be employed in this senior
course. Students will be expected to
come to class ready to comment upon the assigned readings. The professor will facilitate the discussion,
but interaction between students will play a large part in the class
experience. In addition, students will
be required to make oral presentations and lead discussions.
Assignments:
- Selected readings to be indicated during
class.
- Papers (7-8 double-spaced typed pages).
- Take-Home exams.
- Presentations.
Check the regulations in the 2008-2009 Academic
Calendar, p.13, Item 3.8 with respect to academic integrity.
Method of Evaluation (the same for term 1 and
term 2):
Paper = 40%
Class Participation (includes submission of discussion questions, seminar
leadership, general quality of oral contribution to class discussion) = 20%
Take Home Exam
= 40%
___________________
Term Grade = 100%
Note:
1. Deduction of 2% for every day that a term
paper is late unless a doctor's certificate is provided.
2. Computer failure or error will not be
accepted as an excuse for late papers or assignments. The penalty for late work as described above
will be applied.
3. Students are required to keep copies of all
submitted assignments in case of the unlikely event that an assignment is lost.
4. Seminar leadership must take place on
assigned date. It will only be
rescheduled in the case of severe illness supported by a doctor’s certificate.
5. Discussion questions must be submitted during
class. There will be a deduction of one
point from class participation grade (one out of 20) if discussion questions
are not submitted during the class. Late submissions will not be accepted.
6. Papers will not be accepted after the final
day of classes in each term.
7. Papers and assignments must be submitted to
me in hardcopy. E-mail attachments are
not acceptable even as proof that the work was completed on time. Papers should be submitted during class or handed
in to the secretary for Religious Studies who will date and sign your paper to
indicate time of receipt.
Texts:
Gerd Theissen, The Shadow of the Galilean.
Markus Bockmuehl,
Ben Witherington, The Jesus Quest.
Richard A. Horsley, Jesus and Empire.
The Bible (The New Revised Standard Version).
Note: Other readings will be placed on reserve in
the library or will be available on line.
See course homepage with links to bibliography and additional resources.
Tentative
Schedule:
4 Sept, Fall Term begins.
13 Oct, Thanksgiving
Day
11 Nov,
Remembrance Day.
5 Nov, Paper due
8-17 Dec, Christmas Examinations
5 Jan, Second term classes begin.
23 Feb, Midterm Recess begins
9 Mar, Paper due
13-23 April, Final Examinations
Course Content:
The main focus will be on the "Historical
Jesus". Studies of the Historical
Jesus are playing an increasingly important role in New Testament scholarship.
These studies are interested not so much in how Jesus was understood by believers
who were inspired by the resurrection, as in where Jesus fits among the
religious figures of his time. Using the
tools of the historian, what can be known with some certainty about Jesus? By
studying his words and deeds, we will attempt to discern how Jesus understood
his relationship to God and his place in God's plan. We will compare the
various pictures of the historical Jesus that have emerged in recent years such
as Jesus, the itinerant philosopher, or Jesus, the Jewish eschatological
prophet. We will also consider how
current scholarly constructions of Jesus reflect the preoccupations of the
modern university. What has been the
impact of the Jesus seminar? How have
such theoretical frameworks as the use of social-scientific models and feminist
analysis affected Jesus scholarship?
Building upon a study of the Historical Jesus,
we will also study how the identity of Jesus is presented in the various New
Testament writings. We will be
especially interested in how Jesus stands in relation to God and how he figures
in notions of the divine plan. We will
discuss whether the various New Testament writings are consistent in their
presentations of Jesus and how these presentations relate to the evaluations of
Jesus which are alive in Christianity today and which continue to shape
contemporary culture including film and literature. We will explore the impact
of belief in the resurrection in the construction of the identity of Jesus and
consider beliefs about the fate of the world (including apocalyptic ideas
concerning the end of the world).