General
The course is offered as a freestanding course. It is an elective course in the one-year Master’s program in Eastern Christian Studies. The course can be included in a general degree at both basic (first cycle) and advanced level (second cycle).
Course Description
The course elaborates on methods which may be used to study the relationship between text and context. Particular attention is paid to the variety of biblical translations, to liturgical texts, and to Greek and Syriac Church fathers, but other traditions may also be addressed, depending on students’ particular interests. During the course, students also improve their philological competencies and skills by working with unedited manuscript sources, as well as improving their use of an ancient language in an academic manner.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:
Knowledge and understanding
- discuss the complex relation between text, interpretation and historical context informed by current research discourse
- demonstrate in-depth knowledge of common methods used in material philology today
- account for important textual witnesses and editions in a chosen ancient tradition
Competence and skills
- independently analyze and transcribe, with the help of lexica and grammars, short ancient texts in a chosen language
- independently apply text-critical methods on un-edited manuscripts
- analyze manuscripts codicologically, within a given time frame
- categorize and present a manuscript in a popular and scholarly way
Judgement and approach
- argue for the approximate Vorlage of a text in an unedited manuscript, as well as textual alterations
- evaluate the preference in academia for specific biblical traditions and the implications of these preferences for society at large
- judge the interpreter’s responsibility for how texts and interpretations are used, and the need for ongoing individual learning
- assess the role of preserving and developing ancient languages and textual sources from democratic, cultural, and ecological perspectives.