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University of South Carolina Department of Religious Studies Prof. Erin Roberts Office: Rutledge 331 Off. Hrs by Appointment Spring 2013 MW 4:00-5:15pm HU 215 RELG 310: Paul and the Philosophers The course provides an in-depth look at the ways that using various ancient philosophical schools and concepts as comparanda for the writings, social formations, and ideas associated with the Apostle Paul can help create a historically plausible picture of the formation of early Christian groups. During the first part of the course, students will engage in close readings of Paul’s letters with an eye toward identifying themes, concepts, and practices central to the texts. The second part of the course will be a comparative analysis of aspects of Paul’s letters with Greek and Roman philosophy. The third part of the semester provides students with an opportunity to share and discuss their own research projects while also seeing how the course fits within the broader academic fields of Pauline studies, ancient philosophy, and Christian origins. Requirements Participation (25% of the final grade) Several factors contribute to the participation grade. Students should attend class* prepared to discuss the assigned Discussion Questions (DQs), which will be available on Blackboard. It is recommended that students write out answers (or at least notes) to the questions and bring them to class so that the discussion can be informed and constructive. Four times throughout the semester, each student must type up thorough answers to the DQs and submit them to the professor for evaluation. Further details to be distributed and discussed during the first class meeting. * Please make every effort to attend all class meetings. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get any and all relevant notes and/or handouts and to keep up with announcements. Please do not simply ask, “Did I miss anything in class?” because the answer will undoubtedly be, “Yes.” Research Presentation (25% of the final grade) Each student will be responsible for preparing and delivering a brief (10 minutes) presentation of her or his chosen research topic and for helping to facilitate a brief discussion of the paper topic (20 minutes). The presentation and discussion are designed to help students focus their arguments and receive feedback before submitting the paper for evaluation. Specific criteria for the presentation will be distributed and discussed during class. Research Paper (25% of the final grade) Students will submit a 10-12 page paper on the last day of class. Paper topics and research plans must be discussed ahead of time with the professor. Possible topics could include: the passions; moral progress; living according to nature; sin; self-mastery; natural law; bodily resurrection; pneuma (Stoic physics); sex, marriage, divorce, family; divination, magic, miracles; group formation/recruitment; or any number of other topics relating to Paul and philosophy. Specific criteria for preparing the paper will be distributed and discussed during class. Final exam (25% of the final grade) The final examination will be an in-class exam containing questions created through collaboration between students and the professor. Specific details will be distributed and discussed during class. Required Texts Any translation of Paul’s letters (NRSV preferred, but not required; the NRSV version will be available on Blackboard, but you need to have a hard copy of his letters with you at each class meeting) Abraham J. Malherbe. Paul and the Popular Philosophers (Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2006) Magnus Zetterholm. Approaches to Paul: A Student’s Guide the Recent Scholarship (Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2009) All other required readings will either be available on Blackboard or will be distributed in class ahead of time. Schedule of Topics, Readings, and Assignments January 14 Topic: Introduction to the Course; Who was Paul? Part One: The Apostle Paul January 16 Topic: 1-2 Thessalonians Read: 1 & 2 Thessalonians Prepare: DQs January 21 MLK Day, no class January 23 Topic: Galatians Read: Galatians Prepare: DQs January 28 Topic: 1 Corinthians Read: 1 Corinthians Prepare: DQs January 30 Topic: 2 Corinthians Read: 2 Corinthians Prepare: DQs February 4 Topic: Romans Read: Romans Prepare: DQs February 6 Topic: Philippians & Philemon Read: Philippians & Philemon Prepare: DQs Part Two: Paul in the Context of Greek and Roman Philosophy February 11 Topics: (1) Who was Paul? (2) Cynics Read: Stanley K. Stowers, “Paul the Apostle,” in Graham Oppy and Nick Trakakis, eds., The History of Western Philosophy of Religion Volume 1 (Oxford University Press, 2009) 145-157; Malherbe 1-24; Cynic sources TBD Prepare: DQs February 13 Topic: Paul and the Cynics Read: Malherbe 35-48; Dio Chysostom, selections from Discourses 12, 32, 33, 35 Re-read: 1 Thessalonians, with attention to sections discussed by Malherbe Prepare: DQs February 18 Topic: Paul and Moral Exhortation Read: Malherbe 49-77; Abraham J. Malherbe, Moral Exhortation: A GrecoRoman Sourcebook (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1986) 30-47 Re-read: 1 Thessalonians, with attention to sections discussed by Malherbe Prepare: DQs February 20 Topic: Epicureans Read: Epicurus, Letter to Menoecus; Diogenes Laertius, PD Prepare: DQs February 25 Topic: Paul and the Epicureans Read: Graham Tomlin, “Christians and Epicureans in 1 Corinthians” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 68 (1997) 51-72 Re-read: 1 Corinthians, with attention to sections discussed by Tomlin Prepare: DQs February 27 Topic: Stoics Read: TBD Prepare: DQs March 1 Julia Annas Lecture (details TBD) March 4 Topic: Paul and the Stoics Read: Stanley K. Stowers, “Matter and Spirit, or What is Pauline Participation in Christ?” in Eugene F. Rogers, Jr., ed., The Holy Spirit: Classic and Contemporary Readings (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) 92-105 Re-read: sections of Paul’s letters discussed by Stowers Prepare: DQs March 6 Topic: Paul and the Stoics Read: James Ware, “Moral Progress and Divine Power in Seneca and Paul,” in John T. Fitzgerald, ed., Passions and Moral Progress in Greco-Roman Thought (London; New York: Routledge, 2008) 267-283; Seneca Ep. 41 Re-read: sections of Paul’s letters discussed by Ware Prepare: DQs March 11 March 13 Spring recess, no class Spring recess, no class March 15-17 SECSOR Annual Meeting, Greenville, SC March 18 Topic: Paul, the Passions, and Self-Mastery Read: David Charles Aune, “Passions in the Pauline Epistles: The Current State of Research,” in John T. Fitzgerald, ed., Passions and Moral Progress in GrecoRoman Thought (London; New York: Routledge, 2008) 221-237; Dale B. Martin, “Paul Without Passion: On Paul’s Rejection of Sex and Desire in Marriage,” in idem., Sex and the Single Savior: Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006) 65-76 Re-read: 1 Corinthians 7 Prepare: DQs March 20 Topic: Paul and “Sin” part 1 Read: Stowers, Discourses of Sin; philosophical stuff TBD Re-read: Selections from Romans 1 Prepare: DQs March 25 Topic: Paul and “Sin” part 2 Read: Roberts; philosophical stuff TBD Re-read: Sections from 1 Corinthians discussed by Roberts Prepare: DQs March 27 Topic: Paul and “Sin” Part 3 Read: Stowers, “Romans 7.7-25 as a Speech-in-Character (prosōpopoiia)” in Troels Engberg-Pedersen, ed., Paul in his Hellenistic Context (Fortress Press, 1995) 180-202; Emma Wasserman, “Paul Among the Philosophers: The Case of Sin in Romans 6-8” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 30.4 (2008) 387415; idem., “The Death of the Soul in Romans 7,” Journal of Biblical Literature 7 (2007) 793-816 Re-read: Romans 6-8 Prepare: DQs Part Three: The Field of Pauline Studies; Student Research Projects April 1 Topic: The Traditional Western Paul Read: Zetterholm 33-67 Prepare: DQs Student presentation and discussion April 3 Topic: The Traditional Western Paul Read: Zetterholm 69-93 Prepare: DQs Student presentation and discussion April 8 Topic: Critiquing the Tradition Read: Zetterholm 95-126; Krister Stendahl, “The Apostle Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West” in Wayne A. Meeks and John T. Fitzgerald, eds., The Writings of St. Paul Second Edition (New York; London: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2007) 501-510 Prepare: DQs Student presentation and discussion April 10 Topic: Critiquing the Tradition Read: Zetterholm 127-163 Prepare: DQs Student presentation and discussion David Konstan lecture in the evening (details TBD) April 15 Topic: Resent Research Read: Zetterholm 195-240 Prepare: DQs Student presentation and discussion April 17 Judaism and Hellenism Read: Paul Beyond the Judaism /Hellenism Divide, 1-27 Prepare: DQs Student presentation and discussion April 18/19 Annual Religious Studies Lecture & Workshop (details TBD) April 22 Topic: Judaism and Hellenism Read: Paul Beyond the Divide, 29-61 Prepare: DQs Student presentation and discussion April 24 Topic: Pauline Christianity and Hellenistic Philosophy Read: Stanley K. Stowers, “Does Pauline Christianity Resemble a Hellenistic Philosophy?” in Ron Cameron and Merrill P. Miller, eds., Redescribing Paul and the Corinthians (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2011) 219-243 Prepare: DQs Student presentation and discussion April 29 Course Wrap-up April 30 Reading Day Final exam, date TBD