Religious Studies: Religion in Late Antiquity (MA)
Background information
Late Antiquity is the period roughly between 100 and 700 C.E. when in the regions and cultures around the Mediterranean the modern ‘western’ world emerged. Religions like Christianity, Judaism, Islam and post-classical (‘Neo’-) Paganism cannot be understood without an in depth understanding of the religious, cultural and political processes at work during that period. This programme allows students to engage critically with that period, focus on one or several religious traditions emerging from it and in the process develop a variety of academic and transferable skills and methodologies (linguistic, historical, archaeological, sociological and anthropological) to address competently some of the most burning issues in the world today.
Suitable for:
Graduates in a wide variety of Humanities disciplines and Social Sciences.
Offers knowledge and expertise:
For further research and/or a role in higher education, RE teaching, or a range of allied professions valuing a humanities postgraduate degree.
Course Description:
Part 1 consists of a skills module and two optional modules which are flexible in order to permit the variability of content from year to year. Current options include:
- Byzantine Christianity
- Byzantine Greek Texts
- Patristic Latin Texts
- Heresy
- Religion and Society in Late Antiquity
- Second Century Christianity
- Syriac Christianity
- Syriac Texts.
Supporting languages are also available: Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Syriac.
Assessment is via written assignments of approximately 5,000 words.
Part 2 consists of a dissertation of approximately 16,000 words on a topic of the student’s choice, to be submitted at the beginning of September.
Special features of this course:
A flexible programme of study geared towards the individual student.
Small student-focussed tutorials rather than formal lectures
Draws on internationally-recognised expertise in religion from Late Antiquity to the contemporary era, across a wide geographical area, and sensitive to issues in the public eye.
Provides a subject-specific introduction to postgraduate study skills.
See this course on the University's Coursefinder website.