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GETTING ORIENTED: FOR ENTERING STUDENTS (PDF)

Early Christianity

Below is a condensed description of the program. For further information, consult the Graduate Handbook.

The Ph.D. program in Early Christianity trains scholars in the emergence and development of Christianity from its beginnings in first-century C.E. Galilee through the end of Late Antiquity (6th century). Students focus either on Christianity in the early Roman Empire or Christianity in Late Antiquity, with the other area as their minor. As with the Ancient Judaism program, the program in early Christianity emphasizes the importance and relevance of theoretical and comparative/contextual issues to the study of antiquity.

The Early Christianity program encourages students to draw on the rich resources in ancient Judaism and classical antiquity at Brown University. Students in the program regularly attend seminars with faculty specializing in ancient Judaism, classics, ancient history, Egyptology and The Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World . Students also attend the “Culture and Religion of the Ancient Mediterranean” seminar, in which faculty from different departments who share an interest in the ancient Mediterranean regularly gather to present work-in-progress.

All students in the program are expected to have the ability to read Greek and Latin texts. This ability is demonstrated either through written examinations administered by the Department annually until the student is excused, or through appropriate course work in the Department of Classics. Some areas of specialization may require students to acquire additional languages (especially Syriac, Aramaic or Coptic). Students must also demonstrate competence in French and German. Competence in Italian is highly recommended. All language requirements must be completed prior to taking the Preliminary Examinations.

Qualifying examinations are normally taken at the end of the first or the beginning of the second year and measure a basic knowledge necessary for advanced work in the field. The two areas of examinations are

1. the Greek and Roman cults and philosophies from Alexander through Late Antiquity and
2. Judaism from the Persian period through Late Antiquity.

Preliminary examinations are normally taken before the end of the third year and are designed to demonstrate a general knowledge of the field, areas of specialized knowledge, and an understanding of theoretical and methodological issues in the historical study of religion and ancient religious literature. The precise scope and content of the examination will be determined by consultation between each individual student and faculty. The three areas of examination are

1. Christianity in the early Empire (Augustus through Marcus Aurelius) with an emphasis on New Testament Studies and the beginnings of Christianity
2. Christianity in Late Antiquity (Marcus Aurelius through Justinian); and
3. the area of the dissertation.

Core Faculty

Susan Harvey Professor of Religious Studies Susan_Harvey@brown.edu Ross S. Kraemer Professor of Religious Studies and Judaic Studies Ross_Kraemer@brown.edu

Stanley Stowers Professor of Religious Studies Stanley_Stowers@brown.edu

Affiliated Faculty

Deborah Boedeker Professor of Classics Deborah_Boedeker@brown.edu Katharina Galor Adjunct Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies Katharina_Galor@Brown.EDU Mary Louise Gill Professor of Philosophy and Classics Mary_Louise_Gill@brown.edu David Konstan The John Rowe Workman Distinguished Professor of Classics and the Humanistic Tradition, Departments of Classics and Comparative Literature David_Konstan@brown.edu

Saul Olyan Samuel Ungerleider Jr. Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of Religious Studies Saul_Olyan@Brown.EDU Kurt Raaflaub Professor Emerius of Classics and History Kurt_Raaflaub@brown.edu Kenneth S. Sacks Professor Kenneth_Sacks@Brown.EDU Michael Satlow Professor of Religious Studies and Judaic Studies Michael_Satlow@Brown.EDU

Recent Seminars

• Asceticism
• Psychology and Psychagogy in Hellenistic Philosophy and Early Christianity
• The Christian Family in Late Antiquity
• Early Christian Epistolography
• Early Christian Narrative Traditions (Gospels)
• Early Christian Narrative Traditions (Apocryphal Acts)
• The Christianization of the Syrian Orient
• Jewish and Christian Women in Greco-Roman Period
• The Social Organization of Early Christian Communities
• The Virgin Mary in Late Antiquity
• Luke-Acts
• 1 Corinthians
• Galatians
• The Odes of Solomon
• Ancient "Pseudepigrapha"
• Christianizing Antioch
• The Cappodocians
• Wealth and Poverty in the Early Christian World
• Moral Economy of the Greco-Roman Family

Recent Dissertations

• “If Sons, Then Heirs": A Study of Kinship and Ethnicity in Paul's Letters
• Exorcising the Devil to Silence Christ's Enemies: Ritualized Speech Practices in Late Antiquity
• The Body of the Poor in 4th Century Cappadocia: Seven Sermons on Hunger, Sickness, and Penury
• The Rhetorical Form of the Melchizedek: Christ Comparison in Hebrews 7
• I Have Myself Seen: The Representation of Humanity in the Writings of Apa Shenute of Atripe