Course
Course 10 credits • TRVN06
Through the centuries stories about saints have played - and continue to play - a crucial role in the religious imagination of many cultures. A formative period for the development of Christian traditions about holy men and women was Late Antiquity. In early Christianity, literature about women martyrs, desert monks and pillar saints was created in close alliance with biblical examples and classical rhetorical ideals. Understanding the hagiographic discourse is therefore a key to Christian spirituality and its dialogue with education and learning in the society. This course focuses on hagiographical texts of late antiquity and their literary status. Students will learn how to use critical theory in the interpretation of hagiographical texts, how to analyze the narrative structure of these texts and how to understand them in their historical contexts. Apart from studying scholarly literature and hagiographical texts in translation, the student will read a selection of original texts in either Greek or Syriac. Instruction is provided partially over the internet and partially during intensive seminars. Participation in the course forum on the internet is a requirement, as well as the submission of an essay.
Study period:
spring semester 2013
Study period:
2013-01-21 – 2013-06-09
Language of instruction:
English
Eligibility:
A bachelor's degree with a major in theology, religious studies, classical philology, classical archeology, history or the equivalent, and a minimum of 10 ECTS credits in classical Greek, or alternatively 10 ECTS credits in classical Syriac.
Type of studies:
part time, 33 %,
mixed
Application code:
LU-E8041
Type of studies:
part time, 33 %,
day
Application code:
LU-78961