Universität Wien

010050 VO Religions of Greek and Roman Antiquity (2019W)

3.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 1 - Katholische Theologie
Moodle

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Details

Language: English

Examination dates

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Exams will take place online (May 8, July 3)

  • Thursday 03.10. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG
  • Thursday 10.10. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG
  • Thursday 17.10. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG
  • Thursday 24.10. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG
  • Thursday 07.11. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG
  • Thursday 14.11. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG
  • Thursday 21.11. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG
  • Thursday 28.11. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG
  • Thursday 05.12. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG
  • Thursday 12.12. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG
  • Thursday 09.01. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG
  • Thursday 16.01. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG
  • Thursday 23.01. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 5 (Kath) Schenkenstraße 1.OG

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Aim:
The aim is to introduce students to the academic study of ancient religions and to the main religious beliefs and practices of the Greek and Roman world.
Students will:
• acquire knowledge of what constitutes ‘religion’ as a category and within Ancient Greek and Roman cultures, as well as the various approaches to the academic study of religion in antiquity;
• acquire knowledge of the different myths, beliefs, and ritual practices of and within the Graeco-Roman world; will identify the different and complex nature of the ancient polytheistic religions of the Graeco-Roman era; will be able to compare these vivid ancient religious traditions to the modern conceptions of religion within the academic study of religion.
Description:
A survey of the religious beliefs, myths, and rituals/practices in the Graeco-Roman world, from the Archaic period to the coming of Christianity. More importantly, the course will also examine whether ‘religion’ in the Graeco-Roman world can be understood in the same manner as modern people conceive ‘religion,’ thus offering an intense comparative aspect to the study of mediterranean antiquity. Given that the term ‘religion’ stems from the Latin language, the course will also focus on the problem of classification and definition in the academic study of religion and whether and how modern people can talk about Greek and Roman religiosity (or religiosities) by overcoming the obvious anachronisms at work.
Method:
Lectures with visual and textual material in translation.

Assessment and permitted materials

Assessment and permitted materials
Oral exam (in English).
Permitted Instruments: None.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Assessment and permitted materials
Oral exam (in English).
Permitted Instruments: None.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
(Beurteilungskriterien) und der Beurteilungsmaßstab (nach Maßgabe von § 59 Abs. 6 UG).
Oral exam (in English).

Examination topics

Lecture content.

Reading list

Reading list
(1) Nongbri, Brent. Before Religion: A History of a Modern Concept. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 2013.
(2) Barton, Carlin A., and Daniel Boyarin. Imagine No Religion: How Modern Abstractions Hide Ancient Realities, New York: Fordham University Press, 2016.
(3)Rüpke, Jörg. Pantheon: a New History of Roman Religion. Translated by David M. B. Richardson, Princeton, NJ and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2018.
(4) Parker, Robert. 2011. On Greek Religion. New York: Cornell University Press.
(5) Barbara Graziosi. 2014. The Gods of Olympus: A History. London: Profile Books.

Association in the course directory

066 800 M1; M15

Last modified: Fr 03.02.2023 00:13