Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (October/November 2022). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas This degree is offered jointly by the Faculty of Theology and Religion and the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. The course is ideal for students wishing 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. An emphasis is placed on the detailed study of primary evidence for both Judaism and Christianity in the first and early second centuries CE. You will therefore require a good existing knowledge of both Hebrew and Greek. The structure and content of the course ensures that you have the opportunity to pay equal attention to the history and primary texts of both religious traditions. Core modules examine the literature, history, and institutions of each tradition and you may choose to specialise in one further theme within each tradition. You may choose a dissertation research topic which explores a facet of one or other tradition or inter-relating aspects of the two traditions in the period. The Oxford Faculties of Theology and Religion and of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, together with Oxford’s wider library resources and collections, provide an unmatched research environment for the study of Judaism and Christianity in the Graeco-Roman World. Many graduates of this course have found their in-depth engagement with the Jewish background to early Christianity an excellent preparation for doctoral study in New Testament, in the history of religions in the early Roman Empire and in Jewish studies. Supervision The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Faculty of Theology and Religion, in conjunction with the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Faculty of Theology and Religion and Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.