Radical Christianities

Today’s Christianities have evolved through a series of radical departures from the life and teachings of a person remembered as Jesus Christ but perhaps first known as Yeshua. Our course grounds what can be known about this “historical Jesus” in the contexts of Roman, Greek, and Jewish antiquity, then progresses through developments of Christian and para-Christian communities to key engagements of Christianity and the world today. The focus is on landmark readings that illuminate moments of change, situating those readings in proper historical contexts, and linking them into the wider narratives the human story. Students will interrogate readings to understand what Christianity was to their authors and first audiences,  supported by lectures that outline key historical contexts and significant scholarly debates, a series of exams that guide students to articulate stories of change, and a complementary thread of assignments that focus on pilgrimage to reflect on how Christianity has historically been a religion inflected by both time and place.