Undergraduate Course: Jewish Greek Literature (CLTR10039)

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	In this course, we will examine the vibrant and variegated corpus of Greek texts written by Jews - histories, fictions, novels, tragedies, poems and philosophical treatises - and consider what they might reveal about the intersections of Greek and Jewish literature and culture. Moreover, since Jews in the Hellenistic Successor kingdoms and subsequently in the Roman empire often existed in a subordinate and precarious position compared to other ethnic groups, we will also be asking: what it was like to write literature as a minority in Graeco-Roman antiquity?
Course description	At some point in the third century BCE, the Hebrew Torah (or Pentateuch) was translated into Greek in Egypt. This was a pivotal moment, a critical interaction between Mediterranean cultures via the textual medium. Following the birth of the Greek Old Testament (or Septuagint, as it is called), there flourished a whole range of texts written by Hellenistic Jews in Greek. These texts are typically left out of the standard accounts of Hellenistic literature, yet they are fascinating precisely because they have much to reveal to us about the rapidly changing nature of Greek literature in the Hellenistic period. New textual forms and novel topics together came into being as these Greek-speaking Jewish writers grappled with two literary traditions simultaneously: the Greek tradition already half a millennium old and the much more recent Jewish Greek tradition represented, at first, by the Septuagint. In this course, therefore, we will examine the vibrant and variegated corpus of Hellenistic Greek texts written by Jews - histories, fictions, novels, tragedies, poems and philosophical treatises - and consider what they might reveal about the intersections of Greek and Jewish literature and culture. Moreover, Jews in the Hellenistic Successor kingdoms often existed in a subordinate and precarious social, cultural and political position compared to other ethnic groups. So: to be Jewish, but write Greek would not only have been a matter of juggling literary traditions but also of negotiating a social and cultural standing. At its core, then, our investigation into Jewish Greek literature in this course will be an exercise in understanding what it was like to write literature as a minority in Graeco-Roman antiquity.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	A pass in CLTR08009 Classical Literature: Greek and Roman Epic, or equivalent experience at the discretion of the Course Organiser.

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics, History or Archaeology (at least 1 of which should be in Classical Literature at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course
High Demand Course?	Yes

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)		Quota: 0
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 172 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 40 %, Coursework 60 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Exam: 2 hour written exam (40%) Coursework: 3,000-word essay (60%)
Feedback	Students are expected to discuss their coursework with the Course Organiser at least once prior to submission, and are encouraged to do so more often. Meetings can take place with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment. Students will also receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser.
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)			120

Academic year 2026/27, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)		Quota: 2
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 172 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 40 %, Coursework 60 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Exam: 2 hour written exam (40%) Coursework: 3,000-word essay (60%)
Feedback	Students are expected to discuss their coursework with the Course Organiser at least once prior to submission, and are encouraged to do so more often. Meetings can take place with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment. Students will also receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser.
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: analyse a wide range of primary texts, placing them in their proper literary and historical context reflect critically on the set text(s) and the modern debate on the text(s), showing their ability to take an independent and well-argued stance show in research-led, argument-driven coursework their ability to conduct a sustained individual enquiry into a particular aspect of the topic engage in active scholarly debate with their peers and express their arguments in written form

Reading List
Barclay, J.M.G. (1996) Jews in the Mediterranean diaspora: from Alexander to Trajan (323 BCE - 117 CE) (Edinburgh). Collins, J.J. (2000) Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora, 2d ed. (Grand Rapids, MI). Hengel, M. (1981) Judaism and Hellenism: studies in their encounter in Palestine during the early Hellenistic period (London). Hengel, M. (2001) "Judaism and Hellenism Revisited," in Hellenism in the Land of Israel (Notre Dame) 6 - 37. Gruen, E.S. (1998) "Hellenism and the Hasmoneans," in Heritage and Hellenism: The Reinvention of Jewish Tradition (Berkeley, CA). Gruen, E.S. (2002) Diaspora: Jews amidst Greeks and Romans (Cambridge, MA). Gruen, E.S. (2016) The construct of identity in Hellenistic Judaism: essays on early Jewish literature and history (Berlin). Rajak, T. (2001) "Judaism and Hellenism Revisited," in The Jewish Dialogue with Greece and Rome: Studies in Cultural and Social Interaction (Leiden) 3-10.

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills	On completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. demonstrate thorough knowledge of the key Jewish Greek texts; 2. situate the texts in relation to Jewish and Greek literature, culture and history; 3. understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material, from different linguistic cultures and heritages; 4. read, analyse and reflect critically upon diverse modern scholarship on Jewish Greek literature; 5. apply modern critical theories to your study of this material and evaluate the opportunities and limitations of doing so; 6. develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence; 7. demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
Keywords	Not entered