| Description |
The course is designed to assess and evaluate parallels between Christian and Jewish festivals (in a heuristic sense; i.e. without presumption regarding the character of parallels: as superficial similarity of actually quite different developments, as more or less conscious and polemical reaction of one side to developments within the other, as pointing to the fact that the two ways [of Judaism and Christianity] did not yet part at a given time, etc.). The main interest will obviously fall on Shavuot/Pentecost and Passover/Easter, although Sukkot and Yom Kippur can also be discussed.
All members of the course are invited to participate in the reading and in the discussion of source texts in translation. Thus, all participants are expected to read certain source texts as well as selected portions of secondary literature in their personal preparation for each session. There will be no presentations of papers by participants. Likewise, students will not be required to organize meetings. Attendance is not required for a successful completion of the course. This implies that any assessment or documentation of attendance or of active participation is illegal and cannot hence be used in the evaluation and grading of students’ progress and achievements. Therefore, students who wish to earn ECTS points in this course will be required to compose a written paper on a subject to be discussed with the professor or to pass an examination dealing with the topics and texts of the whole seminar (see below). All papers must be submitted by the end of the semester (March 31, 2018). The topic of written papers will concern a question of the course as a whole or of one of the texts discussed in the group. All reading requirements will be presented in a syllabus in the first session. The syllabus may be subject to change if student interests demand deviations from the originally planned structure of the course. Students who are able to read texts in the original languages are strongly encouraged to do so and to offer insights based on their expertise to the other members of the group. However, all source texts will be available in translations into modern languages, preferably into English. Regarding primary as well as secondary literature, it cannot be guaranteed that all texts will be available in English. Certain topics may require the reading of a short source text or a scientific paper in German. Discussions in the group will be held in English. Written work may also be submitted in German although all participants are encouraged to attempt writing papers or just parts of papers in English. This course addresses students who follow different curricula. Thus, students may take oral or written examinations covering the whole range of texts and topics of this course. |
eG