Religion 314d
Jerusalem: Heavenly City, Earthly City
Religion 214D
J. W. Aageson
Academy 208
Office Hours: 1:15-3:00 M W
10:30-11:50 T. Th
And by appointment
e-mail: aageson@cord.edu
Description:
From the time David made Jerusalem the capital of an emerging Israelite kingdom, its significance in Israelite and Jewish reflection exceeded its position as a national capital. Its importance grew to encompass religious, theological, and spiritual as well as political meaning. This course will examine the biblical literature concerning Jerusalem and the various aspects of its significance for a people. It will include attention to the ways the city has retained its character as a holy place for Judaism and has acquired such a character for Christianity and Islam as well. It will also attend to considerations of the intertwining of religious, political, and social factors in the continuing life of the city of Jerusalem.
Course Objectives:
To gain skill in biblical interpretation through greater understanding
of
• literary genre and interpretive methods appropriate to genre
• historical, political, religious, and cultural contexts contributing
to the production of and shaping of biblical texts
• the role of historical, political, religious, and cultural contexts as
well as ideological interests in the ongoing interpretation of biblical
texts
To gain an understanding of the history, geography, and archaeology of the city of Jerusalem
To gain an understanding of the historical, political, theological, and spiritual significance of the city of Jerusalem
To gain comprehension of religion, through the study of one city,
by reflection upon and articulation of concepts such as:
• the sociological and political consequences of centralizing a national
self-concept
• the meaning and function of sacred places in religious expression, practice,
and experience
• the possibilities and functions of symbolic and literary imagination
in reflection on sacred space
To examine the distinctiveness of the function of Jerusalem in three major religious traditions: Judaism, Christianity. and Islam
Common Course Books:
Bible (The New Revised Standard Version with
Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books
is preferred)
Karen Armstrong--Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths
Wendy Orange--Coming Home to Jerusalem
Other Material:
Other reading material will be suggested from time to time.
Course Evaluation:
Weekly Quizzes (10) 25% (total)
Final Exam 20%
1 Internet Group Report 5%
2 Reports on Current Affairs 15% (7.5% each)
Paper/Presentation 20% (10% each part)
Attendance & Participation 15%
Course Outline:
Week One: January 4
Introduction to the course
Week Two: January 8, 10, 12
Coming to Jerusalem--The Earthly City
Pictures, Maps, CD, Discussion
Read: Orange, pp. 11-73
Quiz
Week Three: January 15, 17, 19
The People and the Conflicted Land--The Earthly City
Pictures, Discussion
Read: Orange, pp. 77-207
Quiz
Week Four: January 22, 24, 26
Jerusalem to the Present--The Earthly City
Discussion
Read: Orange, pp. 211-291
Quiz
Week Five: January 29, 31, February 2
Jerusalem--The Cyber City
Jerusalem on the Internet Reports
Week Six: February 5, 7, 9
From Zion to the City of Judah--The Capital City
Lecture and Discussion
Read: Armstrong, pp. xiii-55; Joshua 10:1-14, 15:1-8, 63; Judges
1:16-21;
1 Samuel 8; 1 Samuel 5:20-24; 1 Kings 1-11
Quiz
Week Seven: February 12, 14, 16
The City to the Time of Jesus--The Lamented City
Lecture, Discussion
Read: Armstrong, pp. 56-78; 1 Kings 12:2; 2 Kings 17:21-25; Isaiah
1-6; 40:1-11, 44:21-45:7; Jeremiah 1, 7:1-15, 26-28;
Psalms 74, 79,
137; Lamentation; Ezra 1, 3; Nehemiah 1-2, 4, 5, 8;
Haggai; 1 Maccabees 1-4; Acts 1-12
Quiz
Week Eight: February 19, 21, 23
Lecture, Discussion
Read: Armstrong, pp. 79-152
Quiz
Week Nine: March 5, 7, 9
The Christian Holy City and the Coming of Islam--The Heavenly City
Lecture, Discussion, Video “Jerusalem, City of Heaven”
Read: Armstrong, pp. 153-216; Mark 13; Matthew 24; Luke 21:5-35;
Revelation
1-22
Quiz
Week Ten: March 12, 14, 16
The Holy City in Contention--The Contested City
Lecture, Discussion
Read: Armstrong, pp. 217-294
Group Presentation Topics Due
Quiz
Week Eleven: March 19, 21, 23
The Ottomans--The Ottoman City
Events Reports
Read: Armstrong, pp. 295-346
Week Twelve: March 26, 28, 30
Jerusalem
to the Present--The Contested City Yet Again
Lecture,
Discussion
Read:
Armstrong, pp. 347-430
Group
Presentation Outlines Due
Quiz
Week Thirteen: April 2, 4, 6
Events
Reports--The Current City
Week Fourteen: April 9, 11
Jerusalem
in the Movies--The Big Screen City
Quiz
Week Fifteen: April 18, 20
Presentations
(to be scheduled)
Week Sixteen: April 23, 25, 27
Presentations
(to be scheduled)
Week Seventeen: April 30 & finals week
Summary
and Review
Final Exam
Reports on Internet Sites Pertaining to Jerusalem:
Working in groups of two or three, identify three serious, interesting, and informative internet sites pertaining to some aspect of Jerusalem. Using the computer, lead the class through the site, giving the site’s web address, its character and site structure, and most importantly describing what we learn about Jerusalem from this site. The groups will be coordinated to avoid duplication. Each member of the group should participate in the preparation and presentation of the report. The reports will not normally exceed 15-20 minutes.
Individual Reports on Current Events in Jerusalem and Israel:
The Jerusalem Post, Am Aretz, and The Jerusalem Report (all in English) are available on the internet. Each day spend a few minutes perusing these in order to find interesting articles about Jerusalem, its history, life, culture, religious character, and political situation. You are required to write and present orally to the class reports on three articles or sets of articles you read in these three or in another respectable periodical. Each report should summarize the issue in the article(s) and show how a contemporary event or issue reflects some consideration we have studied in class, i.e., claims based on religious history or conviction, concepts concerning Jerusalem reflecting a biblical imagination. Each report should be double-spaced, in 12 point Times New Roman font, and two pages in length. The reports will be given on the days listed in the course outline and scheduled in class.
Presentation/Paper:
Working in groups of 2 or 3, students will choose a topic from the following list for research and class presentation. The research report is to be given by the group in 15 to 20 minutes. Each student will also prepare independently a paper on some aspect of the group research. This paper is to be submitted no later than three days after the group presentation. Evaluation of the Presentation: The presentation should give evidence that group members have thought carefully enough about the topic to have selected significant aspects of the topic for presentation; to have organized a clear approach to it; and to have planned an appropriate division of labor for the presentation itself. Explicit connections to material all students have read is helpful. The presentation should also incorporate some manner of engaging the rest of the class in the topic and follow-up discussion. In terms of content, the presentation should move beyond the presentation of fact to offer some analysis. Evaluation of the Paper: Although several students are researching a single particular topic, the required paper is to be written independently. Several students, therefore, will be preparing papers on the same or similar topic. The individual paper may be an elaboration of a particular aspect of the research topic. Each paper should begin with a clear statement of thesis or question being addressed in the paper. It should make its argument in a clear and organized way and come to an identifiable conclusion. Correct grammar, usage, and spelling will also be considered in evaluation of the paper, as well as the use of inclusive language. Attention to matters of format will also be important. Format of the paper: Your name, date, and the title of the paper should appear on the first page. Number all pages except the first one. A bibliography is to be included and prepared in a standard bibliographic format. The paper should be 6-9 pages long, prepared on a word processor in 12 point font, and double-spaced.
Possible Report/Paper Topics:
1. Egeria in Jerusalem
2. Helena and Constantine and Jerusalem
3. The role of pilgrimage in Islam, and Jerusalem as a pilgrimage site
in Islam
4. Analysis of some Christian hymns which focus on Jerusalem
5. Analysis of the function of the setting for a novel set in Jerusalem
6. Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation
7. The Personification of the City of Jerusalem (e.g.,Ezekiel 16; 23; Lamentations)
8. The Role of Sacred Place in the Contemporary Conflict in Jerusalem
9. Jerusalem in one of the Gospels
10. Compare a modern guidebook to Jerusalem with an account of sites visited
by a medieval pilgrim to Rome
11. Study some of the maps of Jerusalem from ancient or medieval times
and analyze the implicit significance of the city to the map maker
12. Origins and Development of Modern Zionism and Contemporary Jewish Perspectives
on Zionism
13. Early Christian Monasticism in Jerusalem: Paula and Jerome, Rufmus
and Melama
14. Jerusalem of the Crusaders
15. The Dome of the Rock
16. Symbolic Cities in Revelation: Babylon/Rome and Jerusalem
JAMES W. AAGESON
