Jewish Christian Relations 50-500 C.E.

Instructor: Eric C. Smith, Ph.D. (he/him/his)

A scene from the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, VA. Zoom in on the sign held by the person at left.

Course Description:

This course considers the “parting of the ways” between Judaism and Christianity, beginning with the tumultuous first century (the Jewish War and the beginnings of the Jesus tradition) and continuing through the synthesis of Christianity and Empire in late antiquity. Along the way, we will consider how Christianity and Judaism emerged from a common matrix, influenced and co-created each other, and Othered each other in their processes of self-definition. We will attend especially to the problems with the “World Religions” model, ancient identity formation, the origins of Christian anti-Semitism, the effects of empire and diaspora, and modern attempts to explain the “parting.”

Becker, Adam H. and Annette Yoshiko Reed, eds. The Ways that Never Parted: Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007.

Berzon, Todd. Classifying Christians: Ethnography, Heresiology, and the Limits of Knowledge in Late Antiquity. Oakland: University of California Press, 2016. (available as an e-book through Iliff library)

Boyarin, Daniel. Border Lines: The Partition of Judaeo-Christianity. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. (Available as an e-book through Iliff library)

Drake, Susanna. Slandering the Jew: Sexuality and Difference in Early Christian Texts. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013. (Available as an e-book through Iliff library)

Fredriksen, Paula. When Christians Were Jews: The First Generation. New Haven and London: Yale, 2018.

Kotrosits, Maia. Rethinking Early Christian Identity: Affect, Violence, and Belonging. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015. 

Lieu, Judith. Neither Jew Nor Greek: Constructing Early Christianity. London and New York: T&T Clark Cornerstones, 2015. (Available as an e-book through Iliff library)

Nongbri, Brent. Before Religion: A History of a Modern Concept. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 2013. (Available as an e-book through Iilff library)

 

Recommended Texts (optional for Masters students, required for Doctoral students):

Dunn, James D.G. Neither Jew Nor Greek: A Contested Identity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015.

Fredriksen, Paula. Augustine and the Jews: A Christian Defense of Jews and Judaism. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 2010.

Course Description/Overview

This course considers the “parting of the ways” between Judaism and Christianity, beginning with the tumultuous first century (the Jewish War and the beginnings of the Jesus tradition) and continuing through the synthesis of Christianity and Empire in late antiquity. Along the way, we will consider how Christianity and Judaism emerged from a common matrix, influenced and co-created each other, and Othered each other in their processes of self-definition. We will attend especially to the problems with the “World Religions” model, ancient identity formation, the origins of Christian anti-Semitism, the effects of empire and diaspora, and modern attempts to explain the “parting.”

 

Course Goals

• To understand the processes by which Christianity and Judaism emerged as distinct but related traditions in antiquity;
• To understand how Christianity and Judaism defined each other, and how they defined themselves by their descriptions of the other (JDP SLO 2;
• To understand the complicated growths and flows of identities within an imperial and colonial context like the Roman Empire, and the way power played across the relations between Judaism and Christianity (JDP SLO 2);
• To trace the history of polemics, especially Christian anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism;
• To account for modern reconstructions of early Jewish-Christian relations, and how those reconstructions attempt to inscribe modern patterns and problems upon the past.

 

Degree Learning Goals

This course fits into the curriculum as a  Historical Development/Expressions of Religious Traditions requirement. As such, it is connected to the master's degree learning goals for that area:

Historical Development/ Expressions of Religious Traditions (HI): demonstrate awareness of religious traditions as historically-situated movements that interacted and changed in relationship to their surrounding cultures and subcultures over time, resulting in various expressions located within and influenced by social structures and institutions, historical events, and ethnic and cultural ideologies.

Weekly Posts (50%): Students will make three weekly posts, including reasonable interaction with the posts of others. Since this is a hybrid class, this is the equivalent of attendance and class participation. In addition, attendance at Gathering Days is mandatory and not negotiable.

Paper Proposal (10%): Due in week 5. Students will write a prospectus on a research question for their final paper.

Final Paper (40%): A final paper of 12-15 pages will investigate some aspect of early Jewish-Christian relations. This is a research paper, representing original inquiry into the research question from the proposal. As such, it will be evaluated based on use of sources, argumentation, and adherence to standards of quality at Iliff (masters students) and the JDP (doctoral students).

 

Other Matters:

A grade of Pass in the course can be attained by completing every weekly post and participating in Gathering Days (foregoing the final paper). Pass/fail is not an option for JDP students.

Instances of academic dishonesty will be pursued in accordance with the Masters Student Handbook for Iliff students. JDP students are bound by the DU Honor Code in this and every course.

Our communities are enriched by individuals of many faiths that have various religious observances, practices and beliefs. In affirming this diversity, it is the policy and practice of the University of Denver to provide religious accommodations for students and employees unless the accommodation would create an undue hardship. Students seeking such an accommodation should discuss this with the professor, and a solution will be reached.