92935 - Syrian Christian Literature (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

Upon a successful completion of this course, students will achieve basic skills in reading Syriac writing systems and translating simple sentences. They will also acquire first-hand knowledge of the history and development of ancient Christian Syriac literature, between re-readings and re-writings of the Bible and the reception of the Greek Christian tradition, on the one side, and the transmission and re-interpretation of the classical legacy (from Plato to alchemic texts) in Late Antique Near East, on the other.

Course contents

From Jerusalem to Edessa: Seeing God, Rome and the Doom of The Temple in Three Contemporary Apocalypses

The emergence and historical development of a Christian literature in the Late Eastern Aramaic dialect that we term Syriac is closely connected with the translation and dissemination of Jewish texts in the Syriac speaking area. Possibly written in Hebrew or Aramaic between 70 and 135 AD, the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch (also known as 2 Baruch) stands out as «the most important early Jewish composition preserved in Syriac» (S. Minov), perhaps second only to the Old Testament itself. In a first step, the course will provide students with the basic knowledge of what was probably the most widespread writing system of the Syriac language: the serto (20 hours). The last 10 hours of the course will be then devoted to read and investigate 2 Baruch in close parallel to two other, roughly contemporary visionary texts: the Apocalypse of John, traditionally labelled as ‘Christian’, and 4 Ezra, a further Jewish apocalypse of great popularity among western and eastern Christians.

Readings/Bibliography

a) Grammar:

T.H. Robinson, Paradigms and Exercises in Syriac Grammar, Oxford University Press 1915 (5th ed. thoroughly revised by J.F. Oakley, 2003).

b) Translation of 2 Baruch with Introduction and Notes:

Apocalisse siriaca di Baruc, a cura di P. Bettiolo, in Apocrifi dell’Antico Testamento, a cura di P. Sacchi, vol. 2, UTET 2013, 147-233.

c) Studies

1. Literary Outlines

P. Bettiolo, Lineamenti di patrologia siriaca, in Complementi interdisciplinari di patrologia, a cura di A. Quacquarelli, Città Nuova 1969, 503-603;

— Syriac Literature, in Patrology: The Eastern Fathers from the Council of Chalcedon (451) to John of Damascus (750), ed. by A. Di Berardino, A. Walford, and J. Quasten, vol. 5, James Clarke 2006, 407-490;

S.P. Brock, A Brief Outline of Syriac Literature, St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute 1987.

2. Short Essays

M. Bar-Asher Siegal, Judaism and Syriac Christianity, in The Syriac World, ed. by. D. King, Routledge 2019, 146-156;

M. Belcastro, L’Apocalisse siriaca di Baruc e la Lettera ai Romani: un confronto possibile?, Henoch 35/1 (2013), 70-89;

S. Minov, Syriac, in A Guide to Early Jewish Texts and Traditions in Christian Transmission, ed. by A. Kulik et al., Oxford University Press 2019, 95-137;

U. Possekel, The Emergence of Syriac Literature to AD 400, in The Syriac World, cit., 309-326;

D.G.K. Taylor, The Coming of Christianity to Mesopotamia, in The Syriac World, cit., 68-87;

J.E. Wright, The Social Setting of the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha 16 (1997), 81-96.

Teaching methods

Lectures; analysis of literary texts in Syriac, Greek and Latin; use of bibliographic and electronic databases; audio- and video resources.

Assessment methods

Oral exam. Students will have to prove their abilities

• to fluently read simple sentences in Syriac;
• to interpret 2 Baruch as a complex cultural, historical and literary artifact, supplementing and integrating class notes with the commentary quoted supra in Bibliography under the entry Translation of 2 Baruch with Introduction and Notes;
• to rapidly sketch the main trajectories and debates as well as to discuss the most relevant works and authors in the development of ancient Christian literature in Syriac, with the help of one critical introduction of their choice selected among those enlisted supra in Bibliography, under the entry Studies, section 1. Literary Outlines;

Additionally, students who cannot attend the lessons will substitute class notes with one article of their choice from those listed supra in Bibliography under the entry Studies, section 2. Short Essays.

 Skills will be assessed according to the following guidelines:

- failing grade (< 18): inability to read continuously simple phrases in Syriac; inability to provide correct interpretation of texts; lack of knowledge of literary history.

- passing grade (between 18 and 24): elementary ability to read continuously simple phrases in Syriac; interpretation of texts is partially correct, but lacks accuracy and autonomy; schematic knowledge of literary history.

- positive grade (between 24 and 30): fluent reading of simple phrases in Syriac; interpretation of texts is correct, but mostly superficial and not entirely autonomous; average knowledge of literary history.

- excellent grade (30L): fluent reading of simple phrases in Syriac; ability to interpret, contextualize, critically compare texts in detail and in full autonomy; in-depth knowledge of literary history.

Teaching tools

Computer and projector; bibliographic and electronic databases; fotocopies; texts and segments of texts in PDF format uploaded by the teacher as teaching materials (downloadable from https://iol.unibo.it).

Office hours

See the website of Daniele Tripaldi