Syriac Christianity Past and Present

Catalog description

This course surveys the long and diverse history of Syriac-speaking Christianity, from the 4th century CE to the modern era. Syriac Christianity refers to the individuals and groups that identify with the linguistic, liturgical, and cultural traditions of the Syriac language, a dialect of Aramaic that has been spoken in Mesopotamia, Syria and beyond in late antiquity, through the Middle Ages until today. We will study the literature, material culture, ritual practice, theology, and other aspects of the Syriac Church, as well as its encounters with other religious communities. While we will explore the key figures and formative events that are remembered as foundational, we will incorporate the understudied elements of Syriac Christianity, such as gender, non-elite forms of piety and devotion, and music and aesthetics. Through the lens of Syriac Christianity, we will analyze the relationships between religion and language, scripture, myth-making, human body, race, state, geography, and movement. Knowledge of the Syriac language is not required for this course.