Fall, 2002
Elizabeth A. Harrison Course Syllabus
This course will study the life of Paul of Tarsus, the cultural milieu of the early Christian movement, and his letters, which comprise the earliest documents of the New Testament. We will examine the scholarly consensus with regard to those documents, and the impact that those letters have had on the development of Christianity.
Text: The primary text will be the Norton Critical Edition St. Paul, which includes both the text and critical essays by scholars.
Office Hours: Room 252 Phone: (703) 845-6575 (during office hours)
Mon. 3:30-4:30 p.m. Or (703) 845-6242 (to leave a message)
Tues. 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Thurs. 2:30-4:30 p.m. E-mail: nvharre@nvcc.edu
Other hours by appointment.
Attendance Policy: This course requires your active and participatory attendance. Please plan to be present for every class, if possible. It is difficult, sometimes impossible, to make up what happens in class. At the end of the first three weeks of class, students who have not attended will be administratively dropped from the class. After that time, if you find that you must drop the course, you are responsible for taking care of the required paperwork. You may drop the course without penalty until October 29. Missing more than three classes will result in your being withdrawn from the course. So, please plan accordingly. It is important that you be here.
Course Requirements:
Journal-----------------------------------------------25%
Oral presentation/Exegesis-----------------------25%
Book review----------------------------------------25%
Final examination----------------------------------25%
Assignments:
8/26/02 Introductory comments. Course requirements. What do we know of the
life and personality of Paul of Tarsus?
9/2/02 Labor Day Holiday. No class.
9/9/02 Scholarly background: the undisputed letters of Paul, those of the Pauline school, and those clearly not Pauline. Read Ch. 6 of Perrin and Duling (handout) Context, geography, and culture.
9/16/02 The testimony of Acts. Read Acts.
9/23/02 I Thessalonians. Background and exegesis.
9/30/02 Galatians. Background and exegesis.
10/7/02 I Corinthians. Background and exegesis.
10/14/02 No class. Non-instructional day.
10/21/02 II Corinthians. Background and exegesis.
10/28/02 Romans 1-5. Background and exegesis.
11/4/02 Romans 6-11. Background and exegesis. Presentations.
11/11/02 Philippians. Background and exegesis. Presentations.
11/18/02 Philemon. Background and exegesis. Presentations.
11/25/02 Views of Paul in the Ancient world. Read Part III, Meeks. Presentations.
12/2/02 Paul’s theology and ethics. Read Parts IV, V, Meeks. Journals due.
12/9/02 Pauline Christianity. Read Parts VI, VII, Meeks.
12/16/02 Final examinations due.