Weeks 2 & 3: Roman Religious World; Conversion of Justin Martyr
Week 4: Persecution & Martyrdom
Week 5: The Spread of Christianity Before Constantine
Week 6: Constantine: Conversion & Controversy
Week 7: Church & State: Conversion, Christianization, & Roman Law
Week 8: Christianizing Society: Holy Men, Holy Women, Holy Land!
Week 9: Conversion in Augustine
Week 9:  Individual Meetings with Professor; Paper Topics and Book Review Due!
Week 10: Conversion, Christendom & Pagan Survival

1. What picture do the diverse sources in Macmullen/Lane give us of the religious and philosophical world of the Roman Empire around the second century CE? 

1a. Focus on one source in that particularly surprises, intrigues or disturbs you, and be ready in class to discuss why it strikes you in this way and what the text contributes to our understanding of the Roman religious context.  [You will hand in a one-page response by Sept. 3, but be prepared to discuss your response in class the following Monday, Sept. 9]

Questions for reflection and class discussion (Sept. 9)
For Week 3, please be prepared to discuss the primary-source readings on the Roman religious world as well as your own written response to the sources in MacMullen/Lane (due Week 2).  In addition, please be prepared to discuss the following questions regarding conversion in Justin Martyr and the different approaches to conversion in general in the secondary source literature you have read this week:

1. What information can we glean about Justin from the three primary-source texts you have read?  What does he reveal about his own background and his purposes in these texts?  (Wherever possible note specific passages which illustrate your point.)

2. What do we learn from these texts about Roman government of Justin’s day, common perceptions of Christians and Jews, attitudes of Christians toward the state?  What were Justin’s motives in writing the two Apologies, and how might that influence the way he presents his arguments?

3. How does Justin describe his journey toward Christian belief in the Dialogue with Trypho?  What stages does he go through, and what appeals to him or dissatisfies him in the various philosophies he encounters?

4. How does Justin compare and contrast Christian faith with the philosophies of his day in both the Dialogue and the two Apologies?  Point to specific examples in the texts.

5. In what terms does Justin describe or allude to his “conversion” in both the Dialogue (especially chap. 9) and the Second Apology (chapter 12)?  Based on these passages, how do you think he would define conversion?

6. What is Rebecca Lyman’s main goal in her article “The Politics of Passing”?  In what way’s has Justin’s conversion and career been interpreted in the past, according to this essay?  What is postcolonial theory, and how does Lyman’s use of it help illumine aspects of Justin’s conversion and subsequent career as a Christian teacher?

7. What different perspectives do Kreider and MacMullen bring to bear upon Justin’s conversion in particular or the subject of early Christian conversion in general? 

Week 4:  Sept. 16 - Persecution & Martyrdom

During the first part of our session today we will first discuss the MacMullen article from last week (available electronically).  We will then discuss difficulties & strategies for reading and interpreting primary-source texts from the late ancient world with a focus on the martyrdom accounts you read and wrote about.  So, be prepared to talk about your strategy in analyzing the accounts you read as well as the questions and frustrations that persisted as you worked on the texts.

Questions for reflection and class discussion:
I suggest you read the long chapter from Lane Fox, Pagans and Christians & the Ste. Croix article first this week as it will help to contextualize the primary-source readings.  In class uou should be ready to talk about the second martyrdom account you have read and to compare it to that of Saints Perpetua and Felicity.  (Please print out both martyrdom accounts and bring them to class.)  You should also have read Rodney Stark's chapter on martyrdom (in Rise of Christianity).

1. What does the Passion of Saints. Perpetua and Felicity reveal about the Christian community of 3rd century Carthage?  How does the text confront traditional Roman forms of community--both familial and civic community--with the Christian alternative?

2. From this text, what determines who does what in Christian society?  How do gender and social status seem to function here in comparison with traditional Roman norms?

3. What different reactions to Christian martyrs or to martyrdom in general do we find among non-Christian Romans in this text?  What attitudes or reactions do we find among Christians?

4. From Perpetua's account, why is Christianity threatening the Roman government?  How does this perception of the Christian faith compare with the perspective of Roman authorities in the other martyrdom account you have read?

5. What points of similarity or difference did you find between the second martyrdom account you read and the account of Ss. Perpetua and Felicity?  What might account for the differences?

6. Martyrdom accounts like the ones you have read were preserved and passed down from one small Christian community to another.  What value would these stories have had?  What can the record of a martyrdom do for the communities that preserve and reread it?

7. Do you think these accounts would have turned people toward Christian faith or further away from it?  Why?

8. Compare and contrast the presentation and interpretation of martyrdom in Lane Fox and Ste. Croix with that of Rodney Stark in chapter 8 of The Rise of Christianity.  What do you consider the strengths and/or weaknesses of Stark's argument?

***Finally, don't forget to start thinking about areas/topics of interest for your final research paper!  (Click here for a broad list of topics.)  Since not all of our readings were accessible, we will probably spend a bit longer time on Tuesday talking about papers.

Week 5:  Sept. 23 - The Spread of Christianity Before Constantine

This first have of our seminar this week we will discuss Rodney Stark's book chapter by chapter.  Please read the short excerpts from Tertullian's Apology and skim Eusebius.  You should focus your energy however on Stark's book and the response of Keith Hopkins in the Journal of Early Christian Studies.  Then, the second half or seminar we will compare MacMullen, Krieder, Drake, and the first two chapters of Rebillard's book.  Here are a few questions to reflect on:

1.  What is Stark's overall purpose in this book?  What is his  main point or argument in each chapter?  What kind of evidence does he use to support his argument, and how does he use his evidence?  To what degree or in what way is he challenging older scholarship on this topic?  Do you find his argument persuasive, and/or does it seem problematic in some sense?  (Be prepared to discuss two chapters in greater depth.  Write down your comments.  That way we should be able to cover the main issues of the book more easily.)

2. How does Stark's methodology and conclusions compare with those of Macmullen & Kreider?

3. What light does Harold Drake's article shed on recent approaches to the spread of Christianity in the first four centuries?  How does he view the work of social scientists like Stark?

If you have read the response(s) in JECS, think about the following:
4. How does Keith Hopkin's response to Rodney Stark contribute to the discussion of conversion and Christianization in this period?

5. What does Stark's response to the responses suggest about the nature of scholarly debates?

6. What evidence does Eric Rebillard bring to bear on the subject of conversion/Christianization in the 2nd and 3rd centuries?  How do his approach and his perspective differ from that of the other historians we have read so far this semester?

**In addition, please come to class with a fairly clear idea of what broader area you would like to work on for your final paper.  In a few sentences write up a statement of the research project you would like to pursue.   Here again is a list of broad topics to get you started.  If you can possibly send me (via e-mail) your initial thoughts in this regard before Wednesday, it will save some time in breaking you up into groups.  Don't worry, this is not a firm commitment; but I want to get you thinking and talking about your particular interests.  So, I do expect you to submit a proposed topic statement in writing in class today if not earlier.

Do all the primary and secondary source reading for this week.  Though you should read all five of the articles on Constantine's conversion, you should particularly focus on the article or essay assigned to you.  (Each article will be covered by two or three class members.)  Write a one- or two-paragraph discussion of your article simply a) summarizing the author's main argument and b) noting the types of evidence presented to support his particular interpretation of Constantine's conversion.  In class you should be prepared to explain your author's position on Constantine's conversion and critique the strengths and/or weaknesses of his approach or use of evidence. 

Questions for reflection and class discussion:

1. What similarities and/or discrepancies do you notice in the primary-source accounts of Constantine's conversion you have read?  What factors might account for the differences?

2. Critique the different approaches and interpretations represented in the five articles on Constantine's conversion.  Which author's approach did you find most helpful and why?  Which particular argument(s) did you find most helpful or convincing and why?

Please read the primary sources as well as the secondary sources for this week.  Be sure to read the Symmachus-Ambrose debate (and bring this to class), the brief account of the destruction of the Serapeum, and the edicts on religion from the Theodosian Code.  In addition, try to read all four articles listed under secondary sources.  At the very least read three of them thoroughly, print them out or take careful notes, and bring either the texts or your notes on the text to class.

Those of you who are not reporting this week should choose one of these articles and discuss it in a one or two-paragraph response.  Focus on an aspect of the text that particuarly interested you or that you found disturbing, convincing, or surprising in some way.  (For example, you may comment on the author's approach or methodology, presuppositions, argument, use of evidence, or conclusions.)

Those who are reporting on an article this week should be prepared to summarize the argument of the article, the types of evidence used, and the author's basic approach to the subject of conversion/Christianization.  You should also provide some type of critique of the article ("critique" may be positive as much as negative) and raise one question for discussion that arises from the content or methodology of the article.  Your oral report (usually in groups of two) should take 5-10 minute.  You are not required to hand in your notes or outline of this brief presentation (though you may if you wish), but you must hand in the question(s) that you and your partner pose for discussion.

Finally, you must come to class on Wednesday or to my office on Friday with the title of the book you plan to read for your book review!  If you have decided on a book, get it out of the library immediately or, if it is less expensive, purchase it through Amazon.com.  Even if you have already spoken with me in this regard, please be sure to write down the author and title and hand it in to me for approval.   I will also continue to respond to e-mail notes regarding books and paper topics.

        Our discussion this week will focus on the meaning of conversion in Augustine.  Please find any translation of St. Augustine's Confessions and read at least Book 8.  If you cannot find a recent translation quickly, here is a good 19th-century translation on-line: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/jod.html  In addition you should continue reading MacMullen and Kreider, chapter 6; the Morrison and Russell articles on Augustine, and Rebillard, Christians and their Many Identities, chapter 3:  "Being Christian in the Age of Augustine."  A chapter of another book by Karl Morrison is highly recommended as it deals with the idea of  "conversion" from a more theoretical light.  (It is up on webct as Morrison.1)  A short on-line article by Peter Brown on Augustine's later career as a bishop is highly recommended.  (MacMullen can be left until last.  You should focus on the two main articles on conversion in Augustine and the Kreider chapter.)  Please bring these to class.  Reporters for this week should focus on the different approaches of the various essays and what new insights they bring to understanding the meaning of conversion for Augustine in particular and for the late antique world as as a whole.  As in the past, reporters should end their presentation with a question or two for class discussion.  Those of you  who are not reporting should write a 1-page response to one of the latter two articles or a comparison of their two approaches to the question of conversion.

       We will spend a bit more of our time this Monday in small research groups.

1. a brief statement (a few sentences will suffice) of the topic you plan to research
2. the types of questions you plan to address
3. the primary sources or types of primary sources you intend to examine for evidence.
4. A short bibliography of books or articles you have found relevant to your topic (even if you have not read them).  At least 3 items should be listed.

Please be sure to include your name and e-mail address on your topic description as well.

        We have a lot to cover this week in terms of discussion and organization for the coming weeks, so please come to class prepared and ready to participate.  Bring Kreider, Haas, Chuvin, Curran, and all the relevant primary-source texts with you to class.  I  have modified the required readings slightly.  All of you should read all the primary-source texts (including those in the MacMullen/Lane sourcebook).  I have sent around a list of who should focus on which of the short conversion accounts.  Please write a brief response (no more than 1 page) discussing the conversion of your particular nation/people group and how this account of Christianization compares with either one other account on the list or with all of the accounts as a whole.  In addition to these primary sources you should finish Kreider, up to p. 98, MacMullen, CRE, chapter XI (the last chapter), Haas, "Mountain Constantines," Curran's article, "The Conversion of Rome Revisited," and Chuvin, pp. 131-148.  Those readings which are not contained in one of your required books are up on webct.  I would like to talk about some bigger issues regarding "conversion," "Christianitzation" and the the shift from antiquity to the Middle Ages as we conclude our regular discussions of assigned readings this week.
        [I have moved two articles on conversion(s) in Merovingian Gaul--one on the role of women in conversion, and the second (Goffart) on an incident of the conversion of Jews--to the recommended list.  If you are interested or would find these articles useful for your research paper, you are encouraged to read them.]
        We will spend the first part of our seminar period discussing the meaning of the conversion of whole nations and the second part talking about the persistence of paganism and the meaning of conversion/Christianization in an ostensibly Christian Empire, i.e. what Kreider calls Christendom.  We will also spend a brief time on organizational matters.
        To facilitate discussion I have posed some questions below for reflection and discussion .  Please get started on this final set of very intersting readings!

Questions on the primary sources (You may want to focus on one of these questions for your one-page response):
    1. How do these narratives of “conversion” compare/contrast with the accounts of individual conversion that we read earlier this semester, e.g. that of Justin Martyr or Augustine of Hippo?  What is the genre in which this account appears, and what seems to be the author’s purpose in relating the conversion narrative?
    2. Who or what initiates the process of conversion in each case?  What seem to be the motives or goals of those transmitting the faith?
    3. What similar features do you find in these accounts of the conversion or Christianization of whole nations?  What might be the significance of these similarities?
    4. How does the converts’ understanding of the Christian faith compare with the understanding of other converts either to Christianity or paganism?  What is it that attracts these people to Christianity?
    5. What kinds of women are involved in these accounts, and what roles do they play?

Questions on the secondary sources: 
    1.  Although Haas's article focuses on the Christianization of Aksum (Ethiopia) and Iberia (Georgia), he ends with the suggestion that the patterns he found in these two areas may reflect a Christianization process that is more widespread.  To what extent do the primary source accounts of conversion assigned this week reflect or deter from the pattern Haas outlines?
    2. What is Kreider’s main argument in his short book on conversion?  What evidence does he use to substantiate his claims in these final chapters?  Do you find his argument helpful, convincing, or confusing, and why?
    3. How do Kreider’s approach and conclusions compare/contrast with that of MacMullen?
    4. What do we learn from Chuvin’s chapter on the east Roman Empire about the status of paganism after Constantine?  How does this compare with what you know about paganism in the west in this period?
    5. What light does Curran's essay throw on the conversion accounts we have read for today?  What is distinctive to Curran's approach, and in what ways does he contribute to an understanding of the phenomenon of the Roman Empire's "conversion"?