| CODE | HPA1062 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Analysing an Early Christian Text: The Didache | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 2 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Church History, Patrology and Palaeochristian Archaeology | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit will be divided into two parts. The first part will be an in-depth introduction to the historical context of first century Christian communities, given that the text to be analysed was composed around the year 70 CE. The second part will consist of an integral reading of this short text with discussions on the various issues it raises. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims to introduce students to the technique of reading and analysing an early Christian text. The text in question was composed around the year A.D. 70 by a persecuted community and it gives instructions on some proto-sacramental disciplines, how to behave with itinerant missionaries and how to prepare oneself for Christ's 2nd coming. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - compare a first century Christian text with contemporary ecclesial documents; - contrast first century liturgy with contemporary practices; - underline the concerns and issues of early Christian communities; - outline the dependency of the canonical gospels on this text. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - interpret the style and method of a first century Christian text; - define the major characteristics of a text coming from an early period; - appraise the direct connection between the text and everyday life; - maximise the difference between the simple rules of living a Christian life in the first centuries with the more complex demands of later ages. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Text: - Milavec Aaron, The Didache: text, translation, analysis and commentary (Minnesota: Michael Glazier, 2003) Available at BQ1302.M5. Supplementary readings: - Pardee Nancy, The genre and development of the Didache: a text-linguistin analysis (Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012). Available at BS2940.T5 P37. - Draper Jonathan A. (ed.), The Didache in modern research (Leiden: Brill, 1996) Available at BQ1302.D53. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Jonathan Farrugia |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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