Write a 2000-word essay (+ notes and bibliography) on one of the listed topics. If you wish to suggest an alternative topic following the same pattern, please discuss it with me. The topics for Essay 1 are drawn from the materials covered in Modules 2-4; those for Essay 2 from Modules 5-7; and those for Essay 3 from Modules 8-10.

*”End of Week X” means by 9pm (local Sydney time) on the Sunday of that week. Essays submitted late will be penalized at 5% per day late for four days. If the essay is five or more days late, it will receive a zero grade.

Modules 2-4

·           Did the Maccabean revolt make any difference?

·           Religiously zealous or politically ambitious – how would you describe the Maccabees?

·           How can ‘hellenisation’ be measured in Palestine before and after the Maccabees?

·           What is the evidence for internal opposition to the Maccabees/Hasmoneans, and how far was such opposition religiously motivated?

·           In what ways could and did the Hasmoneans claim to be in continuity with Israel’s past?

·      What is the site of Qumran?

·      What does the frequency of specific biblical texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls tell us about political, religious, and/or eschatological expectations popular amongst some Jews in the late Second Temple Period?

Write a 2000-word essay (+ notes and bibliography) on one of the listed topics. If you wish to suggest an alternative topic following the same pattern, please discuss it with me.

·           Was Roman rule a relief?

·           What degree of political and military control was exercised by the Roman governors of Judaea?

·           How far were events under Pilate and Caligula exceptional or characteristic of Roman rule of Judaea?

·           Who held the balance of power in Roman Palestine?

·           Is it possible to separate political, social or religious causes of the first Jewish revolt?

·           Was there a "right" response to Rome?

Write a 2000-word essay (+ notes and bibliography) on one of the listed topics. If you wish to suggest an alternative topic following the same pattern, please discuss it with me.

·           Compare / contrast the ideological motives of the first and second Jewish revolts.

·           How have archaeological discoveries confirmed or modified the literary evidence for the first and/or second revolts?

·           How far do 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch offer a practical response to the failure of the first revolt?

·           Discuss the religious and social life in Judaea between the two revolts.

·           Critically analyse the Masada traditions.

·       Compare and Contrast the Jewish reactions to the destruction of the First and Second Temples.

·       How revolutionary was Jesus of Nazareth?

·        Discuss the political and ideological role of the Temple in the first century CE

·        How important was political Messianism in this period?

·        Critically evaluate Josephus as a historian.

·        Do a source critical analysis of a significant incident – i.e. an incident where we have more than one source (e.g. the Maccabean revolt; Caligula’s intervention in Judaea; Johannan ben Zakkai’s settlement in Jamnia; the causes and achievement of the bar Kochba revolt).

·        Discuss Galilee in the first century.

As this unit is offered externally, interaction between your colleagues and myself will consist of posting questions/comments and interacting with the questions/comments of your fellow students on the unit’s iLearn website. This is not meant to be tedious but is to facilitate seminar-style discussion without an actual classroom. Each week multiple questions for consideration will be posted on the unit’s iLearn site. To earn the assessment's points, you must do two things: 1) post an answer to one of the discussion questions in the weekly forum (discussion forums for each week will appear under the appropriate week on the iLearn site and will be labeled as “Forum 1 – Module X Research Questions”). This answer should reflect an interaction with the assigned readings at a minimum, but any insights from additional readings are welcomed and highly encouraged; 2) You can choose either to post an additional research question along with your initial answer/thoughts, or respond to another student’s proposed question. You must do one or the other of this second component. Your posts for part 2 will go under the label “Forum 2 – Additional Questions/Responses” for each week on the iLearn site.

Your answers and questions/comments must be posted by 9pm on the Sunday of every week (counting Sunday as the last day of the week). This allows you the weekend to finish and process any readings.