ClassInfo - Spring 2021 Religious Studies Classes

Spring 2021 | RELS 3502W Section 001: Ancient Israel: From Conquest to Exile (66297)

Instructor(s): Eva von Dassow
Class Component:: Lecture
Credits:: 3 Credits
Grading Basis:: Student Option
Instructor Consent:: No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:: In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:: UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Meets With:: CNES 3502W Section 001
CNES 5502W Section 001
JWST 3502W Section 001
HIST 3502W Section 001
Times and Locations:: Regular Academic Session

01/19/2021 - 05/03/2021

Tue, Thu 11:15AM - 12:30PM

UMTC, East Bank

Nicholson Hall 125
Enrollment Status:: Closed (0 of 0 seats filled)
Also Offered:: (Tentative) Spring 2023

Course Catalog Description:: Israel and Judah were not states of great importance in the ancient Near East. Their population and territory were small, and they could not resist conquest by larger, more powerful states like Assyria and Rome. Yet their ancient history matters greatly today, out of proportion to its insignificance during the periods in which it transpired. The historical experiences of the people of Israel and Judah were accorded religious meaning and literary articulation in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), which became a foundational text for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Essential features of Western as well as Islamic civilization are predicated on some element of Israel's ancient past, as mediated through the Bible; therefore it behooves us to understand that past. But the Bible is a religious work, not a transcript of events, and the history of ancient Israel is not derived merely from reading the biblical accounts of it. Archaeological excavations have revealed the physical remains of the cultures of Israel and neighboring lands, as well as bringing to light inscriptions, documents, and literary works produced by those cultures. These sources, which complement and sometimes contradict the accounts conveyed in the Bible, provide the basis for reconstructing a comprehensive history of ancient Israel. This course covers the history of Israel and Judah from the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550-1200 BCE), by the end of which Israel had emerged as a distinct ethnic entity, to the period of Roman rule (63 BCE-330 CE), which saw the final extinction of ancient Israel, represented by the kingdom of Judea, as a political entity. Knowledge of this history is based on archaeological, epigraphic, and literary sources, including the Hebrew Bible. N.B.: Students should be aware that the study of history, like all the human and natural sciences, is predicated on inquiry, not a priori judgments. Accordingly, the Bible is not privileged as an intrinsically true or authoritative
Class Description:: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:: https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/66297/1213

ClassInfo Links - Spring 2021 Religious Studies Classes

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