Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Judaism and Christianity in the Graeco-Roman World
The MPhil in Judaism and Christianity in the Graeco-Roman World is a two year (twenty-one month) course taught course. Teaching, which is provided by members of the Oriental Studies and Theology Faculties, pays equal attention to the two religious traditions.
The course is intended for those who want to learn more about the origins of Christianity by coming to grips with the complex evidence for the state of Judaism in the Graeco-Roman World in the first century. The course involves close encounters with a good deal of the primary evidence for both Judaism and Christianity in the first and early second centuries CE, and a good reading knowledge of both Hebrew and Greek is essential before you embark on the course.
The subjects available in that part of the course concerned with Judaism are: Jewish Literature, History, and Institutions from 200 BCE to 200 CE; Jewish Historiography; Bible Interpretation; Eschatology, and Wisdom Literature. The subjects available in that part of the course concerned with Christianity: Christian Literature, History and Institutions to 180 CE; The Gospels and the Historical Jesus; The Acts and the Pauline Corpus; The Apostolic Fathers, and The Apologists. Two papers and a short thesis are required in one of the two traditions, three papers in the other.
Teachers of the course include an outstanding team of New Testament specialists, including Professor Christopher Rowland, Professor Christopher Tuckett, Professor Markus Bockmuehl and Dr John Muddiman; Dr Mark Edwards to teach the history of the early Church; and Professor Martin Goodman, Dr Joanna Weinberg and Dr Alison Salvesen for the study of Judaism.
Many of those who have taken this course have gone on to specialise in the study of the New Testament having acquired a much greater familiarity with the Jewish background to Christianity than is customary in New Testament scholarship, while others have gone on to research and teach more widely in the history of religions in the early Roman Empire, and yet others have had careers in Jewish Studies.
See here for details of assessment.
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Address: Theology Faculty Centre, 34 St Giles,
Oxford OX1 3LD.
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Enquiries about graduate admissions should
be directed to the Faculty's Graduate Studies Administrator.
Address: Theology Faculty Centre, 34 St Giles,
Oxford OX1 3LD.
Telephone: +44 (0)1865 270714
Fax: +44 (0)1865 270795
E-mail: graduate.enquiries@theology.ox.ac.uk
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Address: Undergraduate Admissions Office, University Offices,
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E-mail: undergraduate.admissions@admin.ox.ac.uk
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Address: Theology Faculty Centre, 34 St Giles,
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