Program | Degree Requirements | Admissions | Courses | Contact

The Department of New Testament & Early Christian Literature brings together faculty from the Divinity School and the Classics Department to engage cooperatively in critical inquiry on: (1) the interpretation of the range of documents produced by Christians in roughly the first four centuries of the Common Era, and (2) the religious, cultural and social make-up of the communities and persons within the Roman Empire during this period who were identified (by themselves and by others) as Christian. This interdisciplinary study requires the acquisition of a thorough knowledge of the ancient Mediterranean world—its history, literature, languages, philosophies, religions and social forms—as well as the development of capacities for analyzing ancient texts as literary documents with their own genres and characteristic forms of expression. Students are expected to gain competence not only in the twenty-seven documents that were later designated as the canonical New Testament, but also in the broad stream of patristic literature up through Augustine of Hippo (d. 430). The dual contexts of an emerging Christian literary culture and an existing Greco-Roman world circumscribe the department’s approach to this literature. The New Testament can also be studied in the Divinity School’s Bible area, in which the documents of the New Testament are examined in relation to the interpretive nexus of the biblical canon (including the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament), as well their contextualization in the wider Mediterranean world, and the history of biblical interpretation up to the present.

Graduates of the NT/ECL Department have taught in such areas as New Testament studies, early church history, early history of Western civilization, history of religions (Hellenistic and Roman periods), and religious studies generally. Students develop areas of specialized research, but carry out those investigations within the framework of a broad competence in the world of antiquity and the issues involved in tracing and comprehending the emergence of distinct Christian communities and documents. The culmination of doctoral study is a dissertation which makes an original contribution to the field of early Christian studies.

This program allows students to work with a team of scholars in the department, yet also gives them ample opportunity to study throughout the University, in such areas and divisions as the Divinity School, Classics, History, Social Sciences, and the Oriental Institute, as they design their course of study in conversation with an advisor. Students meet with advisors at least once a quarter to discuss their ideas and research interests, and plan an individualized curriculum which includes formal coursework, comprehensive and language examinations, and the dissertation

Degree Requirements

The Degree of Master of Arts

The department expects students to engage in at least two years of full time study before taking the masters level comprehensive exams. Major goals of that study include 1. the development of a compelling research agenda for advanced study in early Christianity, 2. the cultivation of superior linguistic, literary and historical skills, and 3. the attainment of expert capacities for developing and presenting (in oral and written form) original scholarly arguments.

Language Examinations: The achievement of linguistic skills is demonstrated in the following way. By the end of their first year in the program, one should high pass the University reading test in either French or German. By the end of the second year, one must pass (grade of B or better) the departmental test in one ancient language (Greek, Latin or Hebrew), and one of the other two ancient languages by the end of the third year. The examination in ancient Greek consists of two parts: Part I is a two hour sight-reading test on passages chosen from anywhere in the New Testament; Part II is a two hour translation test on a collection of Greek texts (at least 50 Oxford pages in total) covering a range of periods, genres and dialects (as chosen by the student and approved by the faculty member in charge of the exam that year). The Latin and Hebrew examinations test the student’s knowledge of a prepared set of readings representing a diverse range of literature, chosen in consultation with the examiner, consisting of at least 50 pages of Latin texts, and at least 30 chapters of Biblical Hebrew.

Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination may be taken in Autumn, Winter or Spring quarter. It consists of five written examinations (taken in one week, one exam per day), followed by an oral examination with the faculty (normally the following week). The written exams, individualized for each student, are as follows:

Part 1: Literature

Part 1A: passages from two New Testament books selected by the student in consultation with the faculty, with translation, commentary, and interpretation (4 hours)

Part 1B: passages from one major ancient book or collection of materials (Christian or non-Christian), selected by the student in consultation with the faculty (2 hours)

Part 2: Context

Part 2A: the religious and cultural history of the Mediterranean world from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine age (2 hours)

Part 2B: the political and social history of the Roman Empire (2 hours)

Part 3: Special Topic

The student will choose one of the following, depending upon her or his research interests:

A: the history of Greek literature

B: the history of Latin literature

C: the history of Greek and Latin philosophy

D: the history of Greek and Latin theology

E: the history of Greek, Roman and early Christian art.

Part 4: Oral Examination, covering the written exams, and a research paper distributed in advance by the student which will be the basis for a conversation about future research (1.5 hours).

Bibliographies and focal questions for each examination are developed by the student in consultation with the faculty member whom they request to administer the exam to them. The oral examination may be a course paper or a research paper completed expressly for this purpose. It should represent the direction of the student’s interests, and demonstrate her/his skills for advanced research.

If the student passes the comprehensive examination at a high level, he or she will ordinarily be permitted to proceed to the doctoral degree. If the student does not pass at a high level, or if the student's vocational plans have changed, a terminal master's degree may be awarded.

The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

The department requires the student to meet its requirements for the degree of Master of Arts and, in addition, to pass its tests in Latin and Hebrew (see above).

Dissertation Proposal

Two quarters before taking the examination for candidacy, the student must obtain the department's approval of a dissertation proposal at an oral colloquium (1.5 hours) on the written document. Students will solicit a faculty advisor and two readers as the evaluative committee. Dissertation proposals must show a clear line of argument, and demonstrate promise for making an original contribution to early Christian studies.

Doctoral Examinations

The dissertation proposal will serve as a point of departure for the three parts of the doctoral candidacy examination. The two written examinations will deal with the general areas and background related to the literary texts upon which the proposal focuses. Part 1 will deal with religious and cultural matters (2 hours), Part 2 with political and social aspects (2 hours). These examinations resemble part 2 of the master's examination but are focused specifically on the questions, issues and sources involved in the dissertation research. The purpose of these examinations is to ensure students are well in control of the primary source material and essential secondary readings as they move forward toward the execution of the dissertation project. Part 3 will be an oral examination concerned primarily with the dissertation proposal and topics related to it.

Students will develop reading lists of primary and secondary materials for these examinations through consultation with the faculty involved. All three examinations will be administered by the whole department; an outside examiner with whom the student has done class work will also take part in the oral examination. After the successful completion of the doctoral examinations students will be formally admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree.

Once the dissertation is written and after the student's adviser and dissertation readers have given their approval of the completed dissertation, there will normally be an oral defense of the thesis, as well as a public event at which the candidate will have an opportunity to present the results of his or her research to a wider community of scholars and students.

Admissions

The Department of New Testament and Early Christian Literature does not have a terminal masters program. Students gaining admission are accepted directly into the doctoral program. M.A. degrees may be awarded to students who have passed their comprehension examinations, and fulfilled language requirements in Greek, French, and German, but decide, in consultation with their examining committee, not to continue on to the dissertation stage. Most students enrolled in the program already have a masters degree; only rarely are students admitted who have only a B.A. degree. Prospective applicants who have completed undergraduate studies are encouraged to apply to a masters program, such as the M.A. program in the Divinity School, or the Master of Arts in the Humanities Program at the University of Chicago, to develop their skills toward readiness for doctoral study while working with our faculty.

Applicants for admission to the Department of New Testament and Early Christian Literature are asked to compose an essay which describe:

1. Their research interests, preoccupying questions, and approach to early Christian literature;
2. Their background and current skills for the research they wish to undertake;
3. A tentative course of study plan for how they might optimally make use of the resources of the NT/ECL department.

They should also submit with their application an example of original work, such as a seminar or term paper which demonstrates their ability to work with ancient Christian or classical texts.

Information about how to fill out an application may be found at http://humanities.uchicago.edu/prospective/#admissions

Courses

Up-to-date course listings from NT&ELC are always available from the Registrar's web site. The following is a sample of courses currently or recently offered designed to give you a sense of the committee's curriculum.

30200 Seneca, Phaedra (White)

30400 Roman Comedy (White)

31600 Augustine, Confessions (White)

32200 Pagan and Christian (Martinez)

32500 Intro. to the New Testament: Texts and Contexts (Mitchell)

32900 Economy of Ancient Rome (Saller)

33100 Aristotle (Asmis)

33900 The Book in the Roman World (White)

34000 Lucian of Samosata (Martinez)

35100, 35200, 35300 Introduction to Koine Greek I,II,III (Staff)

35300 Hellenistic Poetry (Asmis)

37800 Aristotle's Politics (Asmis)

39800 German Lecture & Discussion Group (Klauck)

40300 The Gospel According to Luke (Klauck)

40400 Seminar: Homeric Hymns (Faraone and Redfield)

40500 Pilgrimmage: Sacred Steps (Elsner)

40700 Seminar: Dio Chrysostom and the New Testament (Klauck)

40900 Seminar: Roman Stoicism (Asmis)

41000 Seminar: Symbol and Allegory in Greek Literature

41100 From Naturalism to Abstraction: Greek, Roman and Early Christian Art (Elsner)

41500 Roman Satire (White)

41800 The Old Testament in The Gospel According to John (Klauck)

41801 Justin Martyr (Martinez)

42000 The Gospel According to Mark (Mitchell)

42100 The Thessalonian Letters (Mitchell)

42200 The Farewell Discourses of the Gospel of John (Klauck)

42300 The Gospel According to Matthew (Betz)

42400 Pompeii (White)

42500 Revelation: The New Testament Apocalypse (Klauck)

42800 The Book of Acts (Klauck)

43200 Colloquium: Ancient Christianity (Mitchell)

43600 The Pastoral Epistles (Mitchell)

43900 1 Corinthians (Mitchell)

44000 Horace: Epistles (White)

44300 Seminar: The Roman Household (Saller)

44500 Philo of Alexandria (Martinez)

44600 Ekphrasis: Art and its Descriptions in Greco-Roman Antiquity (Elsner)

44900 Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Klauck)

45000 Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius (Asmis)

49200 Hesiod (Faraone)

50100 ECL Seminar: Greco-Roman and Early Christian Magical Texts (Faraone and
Betz)

50400 Seminar: Early Christian Rhetoric (Mitchell)

51000 Papyrology and Early Christian Backgrounds (Martinez)

51200 Paul and Ritual (Betz)

51300 Seminar: Gospels from Nag Hammadi (Klauck)

51700 Dio Chrysostom and the New Testament (Klauck)

51800 Seminar: 2 Corinthians (Mitchell)

52190 Seminar: The Acts of Thomas (Klauck)

52000 Seminar on Hellenistic Religions: The Mithras Liturgy (Betz)

52200 Pseudo-Petrine Writings in Early Christianity (esp. Pseudo-Clementines) (Klauck)

52400 Seminar: The Historical Jesus in Recent Research (Mitchell)

52700 Seminar: The Acts of John and the Acts of Paul (Klauck)

57300 Galatians and James: Traditions in Conflict (Mitchell)

52800 Seminar: Early Christian Epistolography (Mitchell)

53000 Flavius Josephus and Early Christian Literature (Mitchell)

53200 ECL Seminar: Hero Cults and Early Christianity (Mitchell)

53300 ECL Seminar: Plutarch and Early Christianity (Klauck/Martinez)

Contact Information

Further information about the Department's instructional program can by sending an email, including your mailing address, to gmc8@midway.uchicago.edu.

For more information on application procedures and financial aid, please contact the Dean of Students in the Humanities:

Dean of Students
Division of the Humanities
Walker 111
1115 East 58th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637
(773) 702-1552
Email: humanitiesadmissions@uchicago.edu

(revised November 2007)