Prerequisite: Religion 106 (“Exploring the Bible” ) or equivalent
Instructor: Dr. David C. Aune Fall, 2003
Office: 41 Miller Hall Office phone: X5238 E-mail: daune@ashland.edu
Office hours: M,W, F at 10:00AM; M,W at 1:00PM or other times by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course focuses upon selected literature and significant historical events in the development of Christianity from the 2 nd to the 5 th century. We will rely heavily upon primary source material as we seek to understand the social, cultural and theological concerns of prominent persons and movements in this period. One central question will guide our inquiry: how did “orthodox” Christianity overcome various challenges to become the dominant religious tradition in the West? Classes will consist mainly of interactive lectures and serious discussion. This course fulfills both the Tier 2 Historical Reasoning Core requirement and the ‘Christian History” requirement for the Religion major.
COURSE OBJECTIVES AND STUDENT OUTCOMES
Upon completing the course, students should be able to do the following with respect to the history of early Christianity:
• Provide a general account of early Christian responses to Roman persecution and false perceptions, including the development of divergent (“heretical”) belief systems and the formulation of traditional (“orthodox”) creedal statements.
• Articulate concrete reasons for the ultimate triumph of “orthodox” Christianity as the official religion of the Empire in the 4 th century.
• Recognize and differentiate the theological perspectives, arguments and ideological stances of early Christian apologists, theologians and historians (especially Justin, Irenaeus, Eusebius, Athanasius and Augustine.
• Demonstrate, through a written research project, in-depth knowledge of a particular historical figure, movement or theme from this period in the history of the church.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS (Available in the AU Bookstore)
H. Chadwick, The Early Church (“Chadwick”)
Eusebius, The History of the Church (“Eusebius”)
R. Wilken, The Christians as the Romans Saw Them , 2 nd Edition (“Wilken”)
Athanasius, Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellinus (“Antony”)
Augustine, Enchiridion on Faith, Hope and Love (“Enchiridion”)
In addition, you will need to have access to a Bible in contemporary translation. There will be other required readings provided as hand-outs or available on the internet (listed as “TBA”).
1. Careful reading and preparation of all assignments . Follow the syllabus carefully and, whenever possible, do the readings in the order that they are listed. The professor reserves the right to assign additional readings (other than those listed below) when needed.
2. Attendance and class participation (50 points) . You will be expected to attend class regularly and on time! Throughout the semester, you should also participate in class discussions and generate thoughtful comments and questions about the material. Class discussions will be fruitless if you do not keep up with the reading. If, for any reason, you must miss class, you are responsible for getting information that was covered. There is a “no fault” absence policy: a missed class is a missed class, no matter what the reason.
Assessment of your class participation at the end of the semester will be as follows:
Grade A (45-50 points): Nearly perfect attendance (missed three classes or less), frequent substantial comments or questions, demonstrated serious interest in the course material.
Grade B (40-45 points): Regular attendance (missed less than five classes), occasionally raised substantial comments or questions in class, demonstrated some interest in the course readings.
Grade C (35-40 points): Sporadic attendance (missed more than five classes), sometimes raised comments or questions, demonstrated little, if any, interest in the course readings.
Grade D (30-35 points): Infrequent attendance (missed more than eight classes), and demonstrated very little interest in the class.
Grade F (29 points or lower): Infrequent attendance (missed more than nine classes) and demonstrated no serious interest in the course. This failing grade for class participation is usually “achieved” only by working diligently to miss class consistently. The instructor reserves the right to lower your grade even further (to the point of course failure) if you miss an inordinate number of classes.
At any time in the semester, Dr. Aune can inform you of your attendance/participation grade.
2. Five brief written assignments (2-3 pages; approx 1000 words) dealing with specific issues raised by the readings (150 points). Beginning Friday, August 29, students will be given a series of questions that pertain to the readings for the following week(s) (there will be nine assignments throughout the semester). You must submit at least five assignments in which you deal with selected questions and engage the material in a meaningful way. The assignments will be graded on a 30 point scale and the five best scores will form this portion of your grade. In order to receive credit, the assignment must be accepted before class begins on the day it is due (no exceptions). Note: it is unwise to wait until the last half of the semester to begin submitting assignments.
3. Three in-class examinations (100 points each), consisting mainly of identifications and integrative essay questions. You will receive a review sheet to help you prepare for the exams and there will be an opportunity for review prior to each exam. Although the exams are not comprehensive, the third exam may include one or two questions that will require you to review the entire semester's work.
4. Research project (8-9 pp; approx 2500 words) on a topic of your choice (200 pts). Early in the semester you should consider a person, movement, theological issue or theme that is of interest to you (a list of suggestions and guidelines for this project will be provided). The only criterion for this assignment is that you must do original research on a manageable topic pertaining to some aspect of early Christianity. Since this is a research project, plan to use at least four or five different resources (in most cases, at least one of these should be a primary source). Begin thinking about a paper topic soon; refinements will almost certainly be necessary!
By Monday, November 3, you must hand in a brief (1 page) paper précis (25 points). The précis should include a descriptive title, a clear statement of your topic, a series of issues that you plan to pursue and at least four bibliographical sources. This précis will be returned to you with comments and suggestions for ways to develop your final project. Late précis, for whatever reason, will be penalized 5 points for every day they are late.
If desired, you may set up an individual writing conference with Dr. Aune in November or early December. The final draft of your paper (175 points) is due no later than 5:00 PM on Monday, December 8. You must submit your original paper précis with the final paper (if it not included, 25 points will be automatically deducted). Late papers, for whatever reason, will be penalized by 10 points for every day they are late. There is no final examination in this course.
Assessment of final grade will be determined as follows: 655-700 points A
Class participation 50 points 630-654 points A-
Exam #1 100 points 613-629 points B+
Exam #2 100 points 585-612 points B
Exam #3 100 points 560-584 points B-
Five brief assignments 150 points 543-559 points C+
Paper précis 25 points 515-542 points C
Final written project 175 points 490-514 points C-
Total 700 points Etc. 413 or lower F
Reasonable accommodations shall be made for students with physical disabilities or documented learning disabilities. It is the student's responsibility to contact the “Classroom Support” office and inform the instructor of his/her needs.
All students are bound by the academic integrity policy in the most recent AU student handbook. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to plagiarism (the intentional or unintentional presentation of someone else's words or ideas as one's own without proper documentation), fabrication (the intentional falsification or invention of research, citations or other information) and cheating (an act of deception in which a student represents mastery of information that s/he has not mastered). The process for dealing with violations and the appeals process are detailed in the Student Handbook.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Weeks #1-2: Introduction and Beginnings of Early Christianity in Roman Empire
Mon 8/25 Approaches to early Christianity and focus on our central question
Wed 8/27 Beginnings of the Christian Movement in the Roman Empire [Map assignment in class] Chadwick, pp. 9-23
Fri 8/29 Eusebius' Perspectives on Origins of Christianity Eusebius, pp. 1-2; 35-64
[Skim introduction and other sections]
Mon 9/1 (No Class: Happy Labor Day!)
Wed 9/3 Eusebius' Presentation of Apostolic Teaching in 1 st Century Eusebius, pp. 65-94
Fri 9/5 Selection of Early Christian Documents (“Apostolic Fathers”) Readings TBA
Week #3 Early Heretical Teachers and “Orthodox” Responses
Mon 9/8 Challenges of Marcion and the Gnostics Chadwick, pp. 32-41
Wed 9/10 Apostolic Authority and the development of “Orthodoxy” Chadwick, pp. 41-53
Eusebius, pp. 160-169
Fri 9/12 Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria attack Gnosticism Chadwick, pp. 80-83; 94-99
Readings TBA
Week #4 Roman (Mis)perceptions of Christianity and their Impact
Mon 9/15 Greco-Roman Perceptions of Early Christians, part 1 Chadwick, pp. 23-28
Wilken, intro (xv-xxi); pp. 1-30
Fri 9/19 Justin and other 2 nd Century Apologists Chadwick, pp. 66-79
Eusebius, pp. 114-116; 123-127
Week #5 Success and Growth of Christianity through the Second Century
Mon 9/22 Martyrdom of Polycarp and others as imitation of Christ Chadwick, pp. 29-31
Eusebius, pp. 116-123; 139-149
Wed 9/24 Reasons for Success and Expansion of Christianity Chadwick, pp. 54-66
Review for Exam #1
Fri 9/26 Exam #1
Weeks #6-7 Growing Persecution and Problems in the Third Century
Mon 9/29 Celsus and Serious Challenges to Christianity Wilken, pp. 94-125
Wed 10/1 Origen and his response to Celsus Chadwick, pp. 100-112
Eusebius, pp. 179-83; 186-7; 193-207
Fri 10/3 Tertullian, Christianity in North Africa and the Martyrdom of Perpetua Chadwick, pp. 90-93
Readings TBA
Mon 10/6 Church and State in the Third Century Chadwick, pp. 116-118
Porphyry's Critiques of Christianity Wilken, pp.126-163
Wed 10/8 Diocletian and the Great Persecution Chadwick, pp. 121-124
Eusebius, pp. 256-281
Fri 10/10 Maximin and the End of Persecutions Eusebius, pp. 282-291
Weeks #8-9 End of Persecution and Continued Controversies
Mon 10/13 Constantine's “Conversion” and its Significance Chadwick, pp. 125-129
Eusebius, pp. 291-302
Wed 10/15 Imperial Protection for the Church Eusebius, pp. 303-306; 322-333
Fri 10/17 Arianism and the Council of Nicaea Chadwick, pp. 130-132
Readings TBA
Mon 10/20 Arian Controversy after Nicaea Chadwick, pp. 133-148
Wed 10/22 The Cappadocians Chadwick, pp. 148-151
Review for exam #2 Readings TBA
Fri 10/24 Exam #2
Week #10: Early Monasticism and its Significance
Mon 10/27 Asceticism in the Fourth Century Chadwick, pp. 174-183
Wed 10/29 Athanasius' Life of Antony Antony, intro (pp. 1-17); pp. 29-42
Fri 11/31 Athanasius' Life of Antony Antony, pp. 43-99
Growth of Cenobitic Monasticism Readings TBA
Week #11 Ongoing Challenges to Orthodox Christianity in Fourth Century
Mon 11/3 Resurgence of Paganism in Fourth Century Chadwick, 152-159
Arguments of Julian “the Apostate” Wilken, 164-196
[Paper précis is due]
Wed 11/5 Assessment of Christian Responses to Pagan Opponents Wilken, 197-205
Fri 11/7 John Chrysostom and Exile from Constantinople Chadwick, pp. 184-191
Readings TBA
Weeks #12-13: Augustine as Architect of Western Theology
Mon 11/10 Conversions of Jerome and Augustine Chadwick, pp. 213-219
Readings TBA
Wed 11/12 Augustine's role in the Donatist Schism Chadwick, pp. 219-225
Fri 11/14 Augustine and the Pelagian Controversy Chadwick, pp. 225-236
Enchiridion, Introduction (v-xvii)
Mon 11/17 Augustine's Theological Contributions Enchiridion pp. 1-66
Wed 11/19 No Class: Thanksgiving Convocation
Fri 11/21 Augustine's Theological Contributions Enchiridion, pp. 66-141
Weeks #14-15 Concluding Reflections on Early Christianity
Mon 11/24 Significance of Early Christian Worship and Art Chadwick, pp. 258-284
Wed 11/26-Fri 11/28 Thanksgiving break
Mon 12/1 The End of Ancient Christianity Chadwick, pp. 247-257; 284-289
Review for Exam #3
Wed 12/3 Exam #3
Fri 12/5 Writing conference with Dr. Aune (optional)
Final paper due Monday, December 8 th (no later than 5PM)
* Please note: This course (Religion 230) replaces the previously offered Religion 211.