THEO8203 Texts, Artifacts and Culture

2012

4.5

2 x 10-hour workshops per semester
1 x 2-week field placement once-only

1 Admission into GCTHS-Graduate Certificate in Theological Studies
1a Admission into GDPTHS-Graduate Diploma in Theological Studies
1b Admission into MTHS-Master of Theological Studies
Must Satisfy: ((1 or 1a or 1b))

THEO3214 has been successfully completed

Some prior biblical studies.

In this topic participants will study texts and artifacts relevant to the origin, formation and development of early Christianity within their specific cultural and geographical setting. It will employ inter-disciplinary hermeneutics in collaboration with archaeologists, social scientists and researchers in related fields and will be located geographically in the Middle East in a site where biblical research, local collaboration, archaeological investigation and social science studies can intersect. Participants will gain an appreciation of the religious, political, archaeological, economic and cultural milieu of the Middle East, as they study a sacred site's intersecting meanings, developed throughout history, and evident in texts, oral history, and artifacts.

The aims of this topic are to:

• interpret the theological and social significance of "place" from different cultural perspectives
• appreciate how ancient and early Christian sites can be illuminated through an inter-disciplinary study of texts and artifacts associated with place
• identify the different cultural and disciplinary scripts that shape participant worldviews and research approaches
• learn inter-disciplinary hermeneutical skills in dialogue with the narrative appreciation of people indigenous to place
• work collaboratively with local researchers and other co-learners in describing and understanding the past and ongoing significance of place

On completion of this topic participants should be able to demonstrate:

• cultural and social awareness of people from different backgrounds and monotheistic traditions
• ability to engage and socially respect co-learners in an educational environment removed from the conventional teaching setting
• understanding of the way in which social location influences the formulation of exegetical and hermeneutical questions for research
• skills to interpret early Christian texts in the light of social hermeneutics
• research skills in identifying, accessing and understanding relevant primary and second sources
• hermeneutical sensitivity to the implications of social location