FF:RLB251 Gnosticism - Course Information

RLB251 Gnosticism

Extent and Intensity

1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).

Teacher(s)

Mgr. Aleš Chalupa, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

Mgr. Jana Valtrová, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Ivona Vrzalová
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts

Timetable of Seminar Groups

RLB251/Kombi01: Fri 19. 3. 14:00–15:40 G03, Fri 16. 4. 14:00–15:40 G03, Fri 14. 5. 14:00–15:40 G03, A. Chalupa
RLB251/Prez01: Tue 12:00–13:40 K21, A. Chalupa

Prerequisites (in Czech)

RLA06 Christianity I || RLKA06 Christianity I

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/50, only registered: 0/50, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/50

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

• Study of Religions (programme FF, B-HS)
• Study of Religions (programme FF, B-PH) (2)

Course objectives

The course deals with one of the most important religious and philosophical movement of the late antique world which also deeply influenced the emerging Christianity. Lectures discuss philosophical and religious sources on which Gnosticism was based and try to localize communities, where gnostic motives could have originated and evolved. The course also provides a typology of gnostic movements and introduces their most important literary texts (some of them are the topic of seminar readings). Last but not least, the course tackle the problem of theoretical and methodological fundaments of the scholarly study of Gnosticism during the 19th and 20th century, which contributes to the discussion on what grounds and motivations the construction of a category of "gnosticism", seemingly "objective" and "scientific", is very often based.
At the end of the course students will:

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will:
- have an enhanced knowledge of elementary facts about Gnosticism
- be familiar with the history of the study of Gnosticism during the 19th and the 20th century
- be able to critically interpret our most important literary sources and archeological discoveries concerning ancient Gnosticism
- be able to analyze various problems connected with the scientific construction of the category of Gnosticism

Syllabus

• 1. Introduction to the course; 1. Gnosticism and Its Place in the History of Religions: Sources, Texts and Approaches to Its Study; 2. Gnosticism: Typical Thoughts and Motives; 3. Seminar I. Reading of Gnostic Texts (Poimandres) 4. Gnosticism: Origin and Inspirations I.; 5. Gnosticism: Origin and Inspirations II.; 6. Most Important Gnostic Systems I.(Sethian Gnosis) 7. Seminar II. Reading of Gnostic Texts (The Nature of Archons, NHC II.4); 8. Most Important Gnostic Systems II. (Valentian Gnosis); 9. Seminar III. Reading of Gnostic texts (Gospel of Philip, NHC II.3); 10. Gnosticism: Its Heirs (Manicheism, Mandaeans);11. Gnosticism: Deconstruction of One Scientific Category; 12. End-of-term test.

Literature

required literature
• RUDOLPH, Kurt. Gnóze : podstata a dějiny náboženského směru pozdní antiky. Translated by Jiří Gebelt. Vydání první. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2010, 450 stran. ISBN 9788070219478. info
• POKORNÝ, Petr. Píseň o perle : tajné knihy starověkých gnostiků. 2. rozš. vyd. Praha: Vyšehrad, 1998, 326 s. ISBN 8070212462. info
• Rukopisy z Nag Hammádí. Edited by Wolf B. Oerter - Petr Pokorný - Matyáš Havrda - Lucie Kopecká - Pa. Vydání první. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2008, 356 stran. ISBN 9788070218754. info

recommended literature
• Gnosis and hermeticism from antiquity to modern times. Edited by Roelof van den Broek - W. J. Hanegraaff. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998, x, 402. ISBN 0791436128. info
• PEARSON, Birger Albert. Ancient gnosticism : traditions and literature. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007, xiii, 362. ISBN 9780800632588. info

Teaching methods

Lectures, seminars and class discussions. Reading of texts concerning themes of individual lectures and seminars is required.

Assessment methods

Conditions for successful completion of the course:
(a) Successful completion of a written test (the condition is to obtain at least 60 points out from 100 possible ), which is the entry condition for the oral colloquium. The test verifies factual knowledge from lectures and obligatory literature and sources (50%)
(b) Successful completion of the oral colloquium that verifies the understanding of the facts in a broader historical context (50%).

Language of instruction

Czech

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.

Information about innovation of course.

This course has been innovated under the project "Faculty of Arts as Centre of Excellence in Education: Complex Innovation of Study Programmes and Fields at FF MU with Regard to the Requirements of the Knowledge Economy“ – Reg. No. CZ.1.07/2.2.00/28.0228, which is cofinanced by the European Social Fond and the national budget of the Czech Republic.

• Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  
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