Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Christopher Forbes
Contact via christopher.forbes@mq.edu.au
W6A 536
TBD
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
39cp or (6cp in AHIS or AHST units at 200 level)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit is an examination of early Christian writings both as literary texts and as witnesses to the variety of early Christian life and thought. New Testament and other early Christian texts are studied to determine what sort of literature they are, what ideas they express, and what they reveal about the different Christian groups of the period, down to 150 CE.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
All written assessment tasks (Short Papers and Major Essays) are to be submitted via Turnitin, using the links to be found in the Unit iLearn page.
Late assignments will normally be penalised at the rate of 2% per day, unless prior arrangements have been made with your Tutor. If your assignment is going to be late, please contact your Tutor in advance!
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Tutorial Paper | 20% | Variable (see Description) |
Major Essay | 35% | 07/10/2014 |
Participation | 15% | End of Semester |
Examination | 30% | Examination Period |
Due: Variable (see Description)
Weighting: 20%
The student must write a c. 1,000 word short essay based on the weekly tutorial discussion topic of their choice. It must be handed in within a week of the relevant tutorial. Tutorial Short Papers are to be handed in via Turnitin, using the link in the relevant Week of the Unit iLearn page.
For each week you will find a number of questions on the document(s) set, and an overall interpretative question. All of these ought to be prepared for the weekly Tutorial. When you decide to hand in the short paper based on a particular week's topic, you should write on the overall interpretative question, using the individual questions as a guide as to what ought to be discussed.
The Short Papers are exercises in careful and critical reading of documentary sources. Their aim is to develop skills of analysis and deduction, and the ability to write a lucid short answer to a precise set of questions. They are not primarily exercises in the collection of the opinions of others, even if those others are great scholars. The assignments will be marked primarily on your understanding of the sources themselves.
Please note that essay form is required for all work submitted. Point form or extended notes are not good enough. Footnotes should be given, and should conform to the rules laid out in “Essay Presentation & Conventions: Style Guide”, which is available from the Ancient History Office on the Fifth Floor of W6A (Room 540), and in the Departmental website, at <http://mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download/? id=44149>.
Due: 07/10/2014
Weighting: 35%
Major essay topics are to be chosen from the list of topics, with introductory bibliographies, which will be made available before the fourth week of Semester. Students may also negotiate for an alternative topic with Dr. Forbes. All Major Essays are to be submitted via Turnitin on or before Tuesday October 7th. The submission link will be found on the Unit iLearn page.
Like Short Papers, Major Essays are exercises in careful and critical reading of documentary sources.Wider reading is also required for the essays. Referencing should follow the guidelines in “Essay Presentation & Conventions: Style Guide”, which is (again) available from the Ancient History Office on the Fifth Floor of W6A (Room 540), and on the Departmental website (as above). Footnotes and a full alphabetical Bibliography are required.
Due: End of Semester
Weighting: 15%
Internal students will be assessed on both their attendance at, and their contribution to Tutorials throughout the Unit. External students will be assessed on their participation in the weekly Online Forums (iLearn) and their attendance at, and their contribution to the On Campus Session.
Due: Examination Period
Weighting: 30%
The examination will run for two hours. Students will be asked to answer four questions: two precirculated document-based questions and two unseen questions from a range of approximately six.
The University Examination period in the Second Semester of 2014 is from Monday November 17th to Friday December 5th. You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations at: <http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/exam>.
The only exception to sitting an examination at the designated time is documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for special consideration under the University's Disruption to Study provisions. Information about unavoidable disruption and the special consideration process is available under the Extension and Disruption to Study section of this Unit Guide.
If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Disruption to Study process, the examination will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period.
You are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching semester, that is, the final day of the official examination period.
Technology:
Lectures will be given live and also made available on Echo360. Visual materials used in lectures will be taken from the main Unit Booklet or made available as PDF files on iLearn. Brief bibliographies, lists of people, places and technical terms will be made available for each lecture on iLearn.
A computer and Internet access are required. Basic computer skills (e.g., internet browsing) and skills in word processing are also a requirement. You will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader, as most Unit documents are provided in PDF format. This software is freely available on the Internet. Please consult the Unit Convenor for any further, more specific requirements.
Face-to-face Tutorials will be held for Internal students; for External students there will be regular postings on iLearn and discussion on the Online Forum. External students who can come to Internal tutorials are welcome to do so.
Lectures and Tutorials:
Lecture times: Tuesday 3pm, E7BT5, Wednesday 12 midday, W5AT2.
Tutorial times (as at end of June 2014): Tuesday 4pm, W6B 338; Wednesday 10am, Y3A 211, Wednesday 2pm, W6B 325; Wednesday 3pm, W5A 205. With current enrolment numbers it seems unlikely that all of these times will be maintained.
Books you will need:
The required Text Book for the Unit is B.D. Ehrman, After the New Testament: a Reader in Early Christianity (Oxford, 1999).
If you have a copy of P.J. Achtemeier et al., eds., Introducing the New Testament (Grand Rapids, 2000), from having previously studied AHIS 251, The New Testament in its Times, you will find the book very useful for the first half of this Unit.
You will (of course) require a copy of the New Testament. The R.S.V., N.R.S.V., Jerusalem Bible, N.I.V., N.A.S.B. and E.S.V. versions are all acceptable: if you have another version please check with us. The King James (“Authorised Version”) is not recommended; its translation is over 400 years old.
Other Material:
The Main Unit booklet, a PDF file of introductory material, Unit requirements, the Weekly schedule, Tutorial questions and full Bibliographies will be made available on iLearn. There is no need to print it all out; in most cases only 2-3 pages per week will be needed in class.
Week 1 |
Monday August 4th Lecture 1: The First Christian Documents: the early letters of Paul. Form, style, context. Lecture 2: The Pauline letters as witnesses to early Christian ideas. Tutorial: Unit Introduction and Administrative matters |
Week 2 |
Monday August 11th Lecture 3: The Jesus tradition before the known Gospels Lecture 4: How much can we know about “Q” and the people who passed it on? Tutorial: Roman views on the Moral Decline of society. |
Week 3 |
Monday August 18th Lecture 5: Recent Debate on St. Paul. Lecture 6: Paul's Gospel in its Context. The Bad News and the Good News. Tutorial: Various accounts of the conversion of Saul. |
Week 4 |
Monday August 25th Lecture 7: “Sayings Gospels” and “Narrative Gospels” Lecture 8: The Gospel of Mark. Tutorial: The Parable of the Wicked Tenants, in the Synoptic Gospels and “Thomas”. |
Week 5 |
Monday September 1st Lecture 9: Matthew's Gospel Lecture 10: Luke's Gospel Tutorial: The Markan and Lukan crucifixion narratives. |
Week 6 |
Monday September 8th Lecture 11: John's Gospel Lecture 12: Early Christian Wisdom Literature: James Tutorial: Features of John’s Gospel. |
Week 7 |
Monday September 15th Lecture 13: Early Christian Apocalyptic Literature: Revelation. Lecture 14: The “Gospel of Peter” Tutorial: “2 Clement” |
Week 8 |
Tuesday October 7th: Major Essays due. Lecture 15: The Letter of Clement of Rome. Lecture 16: The Letters of Ignatius of Antioch. Tutorial: There is no tutorial discussion this week. |
Week 9 |
Monday October 13th Lecture 17: The “Didache”. Lecture 18: The “Letter of Barnabas” Tutorial: Ignatius’ Letter to the Magnesians. |
Week 10 |
Monday October 20th Lecture 19: The “Shepherd” of Hermas. Lecture 20: Marcion. Tutorial: The Didache and the Shepherd of Hermas on Christian prophecy |
Week 11 |
Monday October 27th Lecture 21: The “Gospel of Thomas” Lecture 22: The “Secret Gospel of Mark”: ancient fake, modern fake or new data? Tutorial: Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians. |
Week 12 |
Monday November 3rd Lecture 23: The Development of Asceticism. Lecture 24: Unity, Diversity and its limits: the beginning of “orthodoxy”? Tutorial: The Martyrdom of Polycarp. |
Week 13 |
Monday October 10th Lecture 25: The development of a concept of “Canon”. Lecture 26: Unit Summary. There is no tutorial this week. |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
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