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Year:

RELS587 Earliest Christianity: Social Context and Sacred Text

Updated: 12 March 2012
Credit Points 6
Offering Not offered in 2013
Intensive School(s) None
Supervised Exam There is no UNE Supervised Examination.
Pre-requisites candidature in a postgraduate award
Co-requisites None
Restrictions HIST387 or HIST487 or HIST587 or RELS206 or RELS306 or RELS406 or RELS387
Notes

offered in even numbered years

Combined Units RELS387 - Earliest Christianity: Social Context and Sacred Text
Coordinator(s) Lesley McLean (lmclean4@une.edu.au)
Unit Description

This unit investigates political, social and religious influences which gave rise to the early Christian movement in the first century. Historical perspectives will be advanced along with sociological models in order to assess the Jewish and Graeco-Roman roots of the most influential ideology from antiquity which is still alive today. There will be a focus on primary documents, with particular attention to the texts of the New Testament. A variety of models of interpretation of the New Testament will be studied.

Materials Textbook information will be displayed approximately 8 weeks prior to the commencement of the teaching period. Please note that textbook requirements may vary from one teaching period to the next.
Disclaimer Unit information may be subject to change prior to commencement of the teaching period.
Assessment Assessment information will be published prior to commencement of the teaching period.
Learning Outcomes (LO) Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
  1. illustrate a wide-ranging knowledge of the various settings (political, social, religious) in which the early Christian movement developed and the ability to identify key aspects of, and assess critically, the influence of these settings on the early movement;
  2. exemplify a high level of competence in the use of primary texts as resources for historical and sociological study through a working knowledge of the variety of text critical methods available, and of the major concepts and models presently adopted by historians and sociologists;
  3. transfer competence with primary texts in general to the task of analysing sections of the New Testament;
  4. critically assess early Christianity through the study of its primary texts, including the New Testament;
  5. write clearly and analytically at a Masters level; and
  6. participate in effective discussion with fellow students on LMS at an advanced level of critical enquiry.

Graduate Attributes (GA)
Attribute Taught Assessed Practised
1 Knowledge of a Discipline
Knowledge of the studies in religion discipline is essential as this unit is taught on an off-campus basis only by using the online facility, which provides readings essential for the essay and online assessments. The unit is assessed through two written assignments.
True True
2 Communication Skills
Students will practise communication skills through written feedback on the essay component of the unit. Students will be assessed on the style of writing, clarity of writing, expression and development of ideas, and referencing. Students will practise their communication skills through completing the assessment tasks.
True True True
3 Global Perspectives
This unit concentrates on a comparative perspective on world religions and this means it has an inherently global aspect. Earliest Christianity is a unit that requires students to learn a global perspective through the content of the unit and the models of analysis provided. A global perspective is both practised and assessed in the written work.
True True
4 Information Literacy
Students are encouraged to develop research skills in collecting and evaluating data, including the skills to assess the utility of information, identify the most useful sources of information and critically examine those sources.
True
5 Life-Long Learning
Through completing the assessments, students will be provided with the necessary life-long skills to be able to research, write and discuss social issues. These skills can be transferred to any discipline, and will be useful in any research positions. These attributes will be assessed in all of the assessments.
True True
6 Problem Solving
By completing the written and online assessments, students will be provided with the necessary lifelong skills to be able to research, write and discuss social issues. These skills can be transferred to any discipline, and will be useful in any research positions. Written and analytical skills will be assessed in the written assessment.
True
7 Social Responsibility
Within the unit there are specific discussions concerning ethics in relation to the interpretation of texts, especially texts of other cultures than the student's own. Students are expected to practise such ethical approaches to the study of religions when doing their assignment work and in their online postings.
True True
8 Team Work
Team work applies in general to discussions between students online about problems they encounter or interesting questions for discussion.
True
   

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