Historical Jesus, in Christianity, Judaism and Islam (2017 Boccaccini), course

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An Islamic representation of Maryam and Isa (Mary and Jesus)
File:Crucifixion White Chagall.jpg
A Jewish representation of Yoshua (Jesus) by Marc Chagall (1939)
Portrait of Jesus (Sinai, 6th cent.)
The Light of the World (1854 Hunt), art
Isa (Jesus) bringing down heavenly food for his disciples (Quran 5:111-115 [cf. John, ch. 6])
Yeshua (Jesus) preaching at the synagogue
Robert Henderson-Bland as Jesus in From the Manger to the Cross (1912 Olcott), film
Enrique Irazoqui as Jesus in Il vangelo secondo Matteo (1964 Pasolini), film
Ted Neeley as Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar (1973 Jewison), film
Victor Garber as Jesus in Godspell (1973 Greene), film
Andile Kosi as Jesus in The Son of Man (2005 Dornford-May), film
Ahmad Soleimani Nia as Jesus in Mesih (2007 Talebzadeh), film
Diogo Morgado as Jesus in Son of God (2014 Spencer), film

Historical Jesus, in Christianity, Judaism and Islam is a course offered by Gabriele Boccaccini at the University of Michigan in the Fall 2017.

Overview

The course focuses on the Jewish religious leader and messianic claimant, and founder of the Christian movement, Jesus of Nazareth (Jesus son of Joseph, Joshua bar-Yosef, Isa), as an historical character. By examining all extant historical sources (Jewish, Christian, and Islamic), the course offers a critical reconstruction of the major stages of the life and deeds of the prophet from Nazareth, from his birth under Herod the Great to his death and crucifixion under Pontius Pilate, within the diverse world of Second Temple Judaism. In particular, the course explores the ever-changing interpretation of Jesus in modern and contemporary Christianity, Judaism and Islam, to the present. The format of the course consists of three lectures per week by the instructor and a weekly discussion session conducted by a GSI. The course grade will be based upon daily assignments and attendance; two midterms, a paper and a final exam.

Lectures:

Office: 4145 Thayer, Department of Near Eastern Studies

e-mail: gbocca@umich.edu; tel 763.1595; fax 936.2679

Office Hours: WF 4-4:30pm (classroom); 4:30-5:30 (office), or by appointment

History

Gabriele Boccaccini is Professor of Second Temple Judaism and Christian Origins at the University of Michigan since the Fall 1992. He has been offering courses on Jesus & the Gospels since the mid-1990s.

Syllabus (Fall 2017)

[Note: The syllabus may be subjected to some minor changes]

PART 1 - Ancient Christian, Jewish and Islamic sources on Jesus

(1) Wed Sept 6 -- Introduction. Shared facts and (not-shared) beliefs. Do we have any evidence from Jesus himself or from 1st century historians?

(2) Fri Sept 8 -- Jesus in Christianity (I): Paul & the synoptic tradition

(3) Mon Sept 11 -- Jesus in Christianity (II): The tradition of John and the rise of the "orthodox" Church and the conflicts with Gnosticism

(4) Wed Sept 13 -- Jesus in Judaism (I): Flavius Josephus, Gamaliel

(5) Fri Sept 15-- Jesus in Judaism (II): Jesus in the Talmud, the Toledot Jeshu up to Yaqub al-Qirqisani and Maimonides.

(6) Mon Sept 18 -- Jesus in Islam (I): the Qur'an

(7) Wed Sept 20 -- Jesus in Islam (I): An Islamic Gospel? The Gospel of Barnabas

(8) Fri Sept 22 -- The "Historical" Jesus (I): from Reimarius to the Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls

(9) Mon Sept 25 -- The Historical Context--Jews and Romans

(10) Wed Sept 27 -- The "Historical" Jesus (II): Jesus with Judaism; The Rediscovery of the Jewishness of Jesus in the contemporary scholarly debate.

PART 2 (a) – The Historical Jesus: 1. Ministry of Jesus

(11) Fri Sept 29 - Evil, Last Judgment

  • The diversity of Jewish views.

(12) Mon Oct 2 -- The Precursor, John the Baptist: His Life and Death.

(13) Wed Oct 4 - General discussion in preparation to the first mid-term

[Fri Oct 6 - First Mid-term – During discussion sessions]

(14) Fri Oct 6 -- The Beginnings of Jesus’ Ministry as a Miracle-Worker

(15) Mon Oct 9 -- From Healer to Forgiver

(16) Wed Oct 11 -- The Announcer of the Kingdom of God / The Parables of the Kingdom


(17) Fri Oct 13 -- Where does the authority of Jesus come from? / The Heavenly Messiah

(-) < Mon Oct 16 : Fall Study Break, no class >

(18) Wed Oct 18 -- The Disciples and the Family

(19) Fri Oct 20 -- Agreements and Controversies with the Sadducees and the Pharisees

(20) Mon Oct 23 -- Relation with the non-Jews (Gentiles)

(21) Wed Oct 25 -- Teaching of Jesus (I): Forgiveness. Good Works, Moral Integrity

(22) Fri Oct 27 -- Teaching of Jesus (II): Service, Love, Sharing of Goods

PART 2 (b) - The Historical Jesus: 2. Passion of Jesus

(23) Mon Oct 29 -- Arrival at Jerusalem

(24) Wed Nov 1 -- The Plot to Arrest Jesus

(25) Fri Nov 3 -- Last Supper and Arrest of Jesus

(26) Mon Nov 6 -- Jesus and the Jewish Authorities

(27) Wed Nov 8 -- Jesus and the Romans

(28) Fri Nov 10 -- The Death of Jesus [Crucifixion and Burial of Jesus. The Women, the Disciples, Joseph of Arimathea. The Belief in the Resurrection]

(29) Mon Nov 13 -- Appendix:The Infancy of Jesus according to Matthew & Luke

(30) Wed Nov 15 -- Appendix: The Lost Years of Jesus

(31) Fri Nov 17 - -- Second Mid-Term (in class)

PART 3 - Cultural Portraits of Jesus

(32) Mon Nov 20 -- Jesus in Islam (the Sufi Tradition) >

(-) [ Wed Nov 22 & Fri Nov 24 -- Thanksgiving Recess, no classes ]

(33) Mon Nov 27 -- Jesus in Christian Art: From Giotto to Tissot

(34) Wed Nov 29 -- Jesus in Christian Music: From Bach to Beethoven and Listz

(35) Fri Dec 1 -- The Jewish "Reclamation" of Jesus

(36) Mon Dec 4 -- Jesus the Musical: "Godspell" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

(37) Wed Dec 6 -- Muslim Authors on Jesus

(38) Fri Dec 8 -- The Multi-Ethnic Jesus: "Black Jesus" & The Son of Man (2005 Dornford-May), feature film

(39) Mon Dec 11 -- Wrap-Up Session—-Who Was Jesus?

Final Exam [TBA]

  • See [ Final Examination Schedule]

Grading System and Requirements (for students attending the course)

[Read this section of the syllabus very carefully. The syllabus is like a contract between the student and the instructors, which we are all bound to respect.]

ATTENDANCE: The course is based on lectures, weekly discussion session, three written exams, and one paper and final oral presentation. Regular attendance is mandatory. If you happen to miss a session, it is your responsibility to ask the Professor or the GSI or a class-mate for information about what was discussed in class. Students whose attendance is poor (that is, have missed more than 1/3 of total classes, either lectures or discussion sessions, without justification) will see their final grade reduced up to six percentage points. Students who do not attend the class regularly (that is, have missed more than 50% of classes, either lectures or discussion sessions, without justification), or do not fulfill each and all the requirements of the course, will not be graded and will receive a NR report

GRADING SYSTEM: The final grade is based on five elements (of which the last one is optional): (a) Participation: 10% -- (b) First Midterm: 10% -- (c) Second Midterm: 20% -- (d) Paper 20% – (e) Oral presentation: 10% -- (f) Final exam: 30% -- (g) Re-taking of the first & second Exam (optional): possible increase

(a) Quality of participation in class and discussion sessions makes 10% of the final grade. The evaluation will be made conjunctly by the Professor and the GSIs on the basis of the student’s attention, comments, questions, commitment for an enjoyable environment, etc., as follows: Outstanding (100%) / Excellent (95%) / Very good (90%) / Good (85%) / Average (80%) / Poor (75%) / Very poor (70%) / Insufficient (65% or less)

(b-c) The two mid-term exams are a series of multiple-choice questions from the lectures and the textbooks. The results of the test will be discussed in class and in the discussion sessions. The grade is determined proportionally to the amount of questions correctly answered (unanswered questions are counted as incorrect), as follows:

  • A+ (100%-98%) / A (97%-91%) / A- (90%-88%)
  • B+ (87%-85%) / B (84%-80%) / B- (79%-77%)
  • C+ (76%-75%) / C (74%-72%) / C- (71%-70%)
  • D+ (69%) / D (68%-67%) / D- (66%)
  • F (65% or less)

The first midterm exams (10% of the final grade) is a series of 50 questions about the contents of the Introduction to the course. It is aimed to be a sort of preparation to the more important second mid-term and final exams. If your grade is F, you must submit a written petition (by e-mail) to the Professor and receive written permission (by e-mail) to continue the class, provided that your attendance is good. If your grade is C+ or less and you need or want to improve your grade, you may retake your exam, following the instructions below (g).

The second midterm exam (20% of the final grade) is a series of 100 questions (80 new questions about the contents of the second part of the course, plus 20 questions from the first midterm). If your grade is F, you must submit a written petition (by e-mail) to your GSI and receive written permission (by e-mail) to continue the class, provided that your attendance is good. If your grade is C+ or less and you need or want to improve your grade, just followed the instructions below (g).

(d) As a written assignment (20% of your final grade), you have to pick up one major scholarly or fictional biography of Jesus (your choice must be pre-approved by your GSI) and write (by Dec 2, 2016) a (2,000/2,500 word) paper dealing with the interpretation given by the (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or secular) author and comparing it with what you have learned in class.

  • A+ = 99% / A = 94% / A- = 89%
  • B+ = 86% / B = 82% / B- = 78%
  • C+ = 76% / C = 73% / C- = 71%
  • D+ = 69% / D = 68% / D- = 66%

The best papers may be used and posted online in “4 Enoch: The Online Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism” <www.4enoch.org> under your name.

(e) For the oral presentation (during discussion sessions) the students are divided in 8 groups; each group will make a (visual & oral) collective presentation of 25m inspired to the contents of their papers.

(f) The final exam (30% of the final grade) is a series of 150 multiple-choice questions aimed at a general review of the entire course: 100 new questions about the contents of all three parts of the course (but with special emphasis on the third and last part), plus 50 questions from the first two exams (15+35, respectively). The grading system will follow the same criteria as the midterm exams. No retake is allowed for the final exam.

(g) [Optional] The Instructor’s goal is to help the deserving students, who may have some initial difficulties, to improve their grade. If your grade is C+ or less and (77% or less), you may choose to retake your first and/or second exam. The questions will be the same, except for 5 new questions (in the first exam) or 10 new questions (in the second exam). Depending on your new grade, you will have an increase up to 9 points (if you get an A+), 7 points (A), 5 points (A-) or 3 points (B+) points (0 if you get B or less) on the grade of your exam. In no case your final percentage can overcame 79%. No retake is allowed for the final exam.


NOTE: The use of personal electronic devices (lap-top, iPad, iPhone, etc.) is allowed in the classroom, ONLY for taking notes or class work, or for the special needs of students with disabilities. Individual students may be directed to turn off personal electronic devices if the devices are not being used for class purposes (and will receive an unexcused absence for the day). If the student does not comply, the student may be asked to leave the classroom (and a sanction of -30 points will be applied to their participation grade).

The College of Literature, Sciences, and the Arts at the University of Michigan is a community in which personal responsibility, honesty, fairness, respect, and mutual trust are maintained. Students must behave honorably and take responsibility for their own actions. In addition, students are expected to take constructive action if they witness or are aware of behavior that violates the standards of academic integrity. Any student determined to have engaged in any form of academic dishonesty—including but not limited to plagiarism, cheating, unauthorized collaboration, and attendance forgery—will receive a zero on the assignment, and in particularly serious cases, a failing grade in the entire course. In accordance with University policy, all cases of misconduct will be reported to the Office of the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education.

VERY IMPORTANT !! If you have any questions or something goes wrong, or you realize that your attendance is going to be poor or insufficient, please do not wait until the very last moment to express yourself. I will be always available to talk to you immediately after class or during my office hours or, if necessary, scheduling a meeting at a different time. We can find together a solution to (almost) every problem. But, please, don’t ask the impossible when there is no more time.


IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG, NEVER BLAME OTHERS. BLAME NO ONE BUT YOURSELF.

IF YOU ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY, YOU ARE IN THE POSITION TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

WHATEVER OTHER PEOPLE’S FAILINGS MIGHT BE, YOU ARE THE ONE TO SHOULDER RESPONSIBILITY.

THERE ARE NO EXCUSES.

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