Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE HBW3020

 
TITLE Archaeology of the Sacred: Synagogues, Churches, and Mosques in Late Antique Palestine

 
UM LEVEL 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 6

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit provides a historical and archaeological overview of synagogues, churches, and mosques in late antique Palestine (4th-7th centuries). Through this lens on sacred architecture, lectures will explore historical, socio-cultural, theological, and ideological developments within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as well as the relationship between these diverse religious communities. The study-unit will therefore explore one of the most critical junctures in world history and should be of interest to students studying history, archaeology, and theology.

Study-unit Aims:

The aims of the study-unit are:
1. to trace historical, socio-cultural, theological, and ideological developments within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in late antique Palestine through the lens of their respective sacred buildings;
2. to explore Jewish, Christian, and Muslim relations in late antique Palestine;
3. to analyze the archaeological and architectural features of synagogues, churches, and mosques with a view to highlighting their significance for understanding ancient Jewish, Christian, and Muslim worldviews.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. name and describe the major synagogues, churches, and mosques identified in the archaeological record of late antique Palestine;
2. relate and cite salient historical events pertaining to the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities of late antique Palestine;
3. compare and contrast the architecture of synagogues, churches, and mosques, and appraise convergences and divergences;
4. analyze and interpret pertinent textual and archaeological evidence relating to synagogues, churches, and mosques, and evaluate competing interpretations of the data.

2. Skills:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. read secondary literature in a critical manner;
2. examine and interpret historical and archaeological evidence;
3. synthesize and evaluate complex sets of data;
4. reflect critical thinking in a structured and argumentative essay;
5. criticize and evaluate competing interpretations of textual and archaeological data, and determine which readings are more or less probable.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

- Avni, Gideon. The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological Approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
- Hachlili, Rachel. Ancient Synagogues - Archaeology and Art: New Discoveries and Current Research. Leiden: Brill, 2013.
- Insoll, Timothy. The Archaeology of Islam. Oxford: John Wiley and Sons, 1999.
- Levine, Lee I. The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years. 2nd edn. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005.
- Magness, Jodi. The Archaeology of Early Islamic Settlement in Palestine. Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 2003.
- Milson, David. Art and Architecture of the Synagogue in Late Antique Palestine: In the Shadow of the Church. Leiden: Brill, 2006.
- Milwright, Marcus. An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010.
- Nees, Lawrence. Perspectives on Early Islamic Art in Jerusalem. Leiden: Brill, 2015.
- Shoemaker, Stephen J. The Apocalypse of Empire: Imperial Eschatology in Late Antiquity and Early Islam. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018.
- Sivan, Hagith. Palestine in Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
- Stemberger, Gunter. Jews and Christians in the Holy Land: Palestine in the Fourth Century. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000.
- Talgam, Rina. Mosaics of Faith: Floors of Pagans, Jews, Samaritans, Christians, and Muslims in the Holy Land. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2014.
- Taylor, Joan E. Christians and the Holy Places: The Myth of Jewish-Christian Origins. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
- Tsafrir, Yoram, ed. Ancient Churches Revealed. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1993.
- Werlin, Steven H. Ancient Synagogues of Southern Palestine, 300-800 C.E.: Living on the Edge. Leiden: Brill, 2015.
- Yasin, Ann Marie. Saints and Church Spaces in the Late Antique Mediterranean: Architecture, Cult, and Community. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

A more detailed bibliography will be provided in class.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment SEM2 Yes 50%
Assignment SEM2 Yes 50%

 
LECTURER/S

 

 
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It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

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