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Description: |
This seminar focuses on the problem of religious conflict, competition, hatred, and prejudice among Jews, Pagans, and Christians in the ancient Mediterranean world from c. 300 BCE to c. 400 CE, a period of significant cultural and political change characterized by increased contact among various religious groups which resulted, often, in tension and violence. We study the origins of anti-semitism, the interconnections between religious conflict and political violence, the power of the state to oppress religious groups, etc. Close careful analysis of texts and events from this particular historical-cultural context will provide us with the starting point to address fundamental questions about the nature of religious conflict, religious polemic, and religious oppression in general. |