Undergraduate Course: Judaea in the Hellenistic World: A Clash of Cultures? (ANHI10087)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will introduce students to the entanglement of Hellenistic and Jewish history. |
| Course description |
The history of Judaea between 323 and 63 BCE offers a unique vantage point from which central topics of Hellenistic history can be approached: How did Hellenistic empires work? How did local inhabitants react, and how did Greek and local cultures interact? What changed with the coming of Rome? Judaean interaction with imperial powers varied, from rather laid-back approaches (the Ptolemies) to the purported attempt to do away with Judaean ancestral customs (Antiochus IV). The latter event triggers the Maccabean revolt, which has dramatic and long-lasting implications. The course will introduce students to basic problems of Hellenistic history (with a focus on the Seleucid empire) by way of a particularly well-documented regional example.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics or Divinity related subject matter (at least 2 of which should be in Ancient History/Divinity) at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
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Reading List
B. Chrubasik, Kings and Usurpers in the Seleukid Empire. The Men Who Would Be King, Oxford 2016.
S. J. D. Cohen, The Beginnings of Jewishness. Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties, Berkeley 1999.
E. S. Gruen, Heritage and Hellenism. The Reinvention of Jewish Tradition, Berkeley 1998.
M. Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism. Studies in Their Encounter in Palestine During the Early Hellenistic Period, Philadelphia 1974.
S. Honigman, Tales of High Priests and Taxes. The Books of the Maccabees and the Judean Rebellion against Antiochos IV, Oakland 2014.
V. Tcherikover, Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews, Philadelphia 1959.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Benedikt Eckhardt
Tel: (0131 6)50 9110
Email: B.Eckhardt@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Alexandra Adam
Tel: (0131 6)50 3767
Email: alex.adam@ed.ac.uk |
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