Instructor -  Dr. Annette Y. Reed
University Hall 110; 905-525-9140 ext. 24597

Teaching Assistant - Susan Wendell

This course will survey the development of early Jewish and early Christian concepts of death and the afterlife. The focus will fall on our ancient sources, and we will read selections from the Hebrew Bible and New Testament as well as other literature from early Judaism (“Apocrypha,” “Pseudepigrapha,” and Dead Sea Scrolls as well as other Second Temple Jewish literature and classical Rabbinic literature) and early Christianity (early Church Fathers, as well as some so-called “New Testament Apocrypha” and “gnostic” texts from the Nag Hammadi Library). Topics to be considered include heaven and hell, eschatology and apocalypticism, persecution and martyrdom, the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body. The course will also consider the cultural contexts of early Jewish and early Christian ideas about the afterlife as well as exploring how concepts of the afterlife evolved in dynamic interaction with socio-historical circumstances that prompted reflection on human suffering and the justice of God. In the process, this course will introduce students to a broad range of literature from this formative period in the history of Judaism, Christianity, and Western culture

Course Requirements

Attendance & participation (10%) – It is imperative that students attend the Lectures and weekly Tutorials. Not only will attendance and participation count for 10% of the final grade, but Lectures will cover material not treated in the textbook, for which students will be responsible in the Midterm Test and on the Final Exam. Tutorial sessions will focus on close readings of key selections from the assigned primary sources; detailed knowledge of these selections will be assumed in the Lectures and on the Exam. Make sure to have read the assigned passages prior to attending Lectures and Tutorials and to bring copies of the primary sources to both!

Mid-term Test (20%) – The Midterm will consist of a series of identification questions plus one essay. It will be geared towards testing knowledge of the primary sources as well as key concepts from the textbook readings (on which see below). MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE

Term Paper (40%) – Due March 28th in the lecture, the paper (6-8 pp.) will be a treatment of the themes of death, afterlife, heaven, and/or hell in one specific primary source covered in the class. Students can choose from any of the primary sources (marked below with *) assigned for the course. A list of commentaries and other secondary sources for each will be circulated in the first few weeks of class, together with more detailed paper guidelines. Late papers will be penalized 1/3 grade per day late. Due to the university’s test and examination ban, no papers will be accepted after March 31st. PAPER INSTRUCTIONS

Final Exam (30%) – The final exam will consist of identification questions spanning all the material covered in the course, together with 3-5 essay questions on broader themes and trajectories.

Required Books

Textbook & Primary Sources – There is one required book for this course, which is available for purchase at Titles and has also been placed on Reserve at Mills:

Alan F. Segal, Life after death: A history of the afterlife in the religions of the West (New York: Doubleday, 2004).

Selections from the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, so-called “OT Apocrypha,” “OT Pseudepigrapha,” and “NT Apocrypha,” and early Patristic and Rabbinic literature are accessible from the course website, from which the assigned passages can be read and printed out. Students should bring copies of the primary sources to lectures and tutorials. Lectures will presume knowledge of the sources, so it is imperative that students read the primary sources assigned for each class!

Students are not required to purchase a bible for this course, since assigned passages can be printed from the course website (see URL above). That said, students who are interested in further studies in biblical traditions, Judaism, and Christianity may wish to purchase a Study Bible; these handy volumes contain non-denominational English translations (i.e., RSV or NRSV) of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, “apocryphal”/deutero-canonical books, and New Testament, together with scholarly commentary and introductory essays. Copies of the HarperCollins Study Bible are available for optional purchase at Titles. The Oxford Study Bible with Apocrypha is also recommended. Multiple copies of both books can be found in the library, as well.

Schedule of Assignments

January 3: Introductory Comments

January 6 to 20: THE HEBREW BIBLE AND ANCIENT ISRAELITE RELIGION - Detailed schedule and links to on-line Sources

January 24 to February 3: FROM THE BABYLONIAN EXILE TO THE MACCABEAN REVOLT- Detailed schedule and links to on-line Sources

February 7 to March 7: FROM THE MACCABEAN REVOLT TO THE FALL OF THE SECOND TEMPLE- Detailed schedule and links to on-line Sources

March 10 to April 4: AFTER THE FALL OF THE SECOND TEMPLE- Detailed schedule and links to on-line Sources

MIDTERM EXAM, February 28 (Study Guide)

PAPER DUE, March 28 (

MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE)

FINAL EXAM, April 19, 9:00am UH COnvocation Hall (FINAL STUDY GUIDE)

**Full, printable syllabus ~ PDF (for viewing with Adobe Reader/Acrobat [download free])

Statement on Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means and can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notion on the transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty”), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university. It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, specifically Appendix 3. The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty: (1) Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one's own or for which other credit has been obtained. (2) Improper collaboration in group work. (3) Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.

Please be aware that Plagiarism includes quoting and paraphrasing other people’s writings or ideas – whether from a book, commentary, website, etc. – without proper citation of the author, book, URL, or so on. I cannot stress this enough: whenever in doubt, always add a reference (whether in a footnote or in parentheses in the body of your paper) making clear the source of your information!

If you have any doubts about what constitutes Plagiarism and/or how, why, and when to cite references (esp. for the paper) – or if you just wish to learn how to use secondary sources more effectively in your own writing and argumentation (esp. if you will have to write a thesis and/or are thinking about pursuing graduate studies) – I strongly encourage you to peruse the following very clear and helpful resource: Gordon Harvey, Writing with Sources: A Guide for Harvard Students (© 1995; The President and Fellows of Harvard University)