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History of Christmas R S 373 (43340)

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History of Christmas R S 373 (43340) History of Christmas R S 373 (43340) Semester: Fall 2018 Instructor: Brent Landau Description: This course will explore the evolution of the modern Christmas holiday, beginning with the birth stories of Jesus in the New Testament and concluding with the supposed “War on Christmas” that some recent commentators believe has sought to remove the Christian religious roots of the holiday. Topics to be addressed include: non-Christian antecedents to and influences on Christmas; canonical and apocryphal stories about Jesus’ birth and childhood; the designation of Christmas on Dec. 25th in the fourth century; the raucous and subversive character of early-modern Christmas celebrations and their suppression by the Puritans; the fixing of the current American version of Christmas in the nineteenth and twentieth century; the contemporary debate over the constitutionality of religious Christmas displays in public places. Important UT Policies and Procedures Information: UGS Flags: This course carries the Ethics and Leadership Flag. Ethics and Leadership courses are designed to equip you with skills that are necessary for making ethical decisions in your adult and professional life. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from assignments involving ethical issues and the process of applying ethical reasoning to real-life situations. Notice Regarding Academic Dishonesty: • University of Texas Honor Code: The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community. • Plagiarism is unacceptable; it will have significant repercussions for your grade in my class, and I will report instances of plagiarism to the Office of the Dean of Students. If you are at all uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism, please consult: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/instruction/learningmodules/plagiarism. Use of E-Mail for Official Correspondence to Students: • E-mail is recognized as an official mode of university correspondence; therefore, you are responsible for reading your e-mail for university and course-related information and announcements. You are responsible to keep the university 1 informed about changes to your e-mail address. You should check your e-mail regularly and frequently—I recommend daily, but at minimum every other day—to stay current with university-related communications, some of which may be time- critical. You can find UT Austin’s policies and instructions for updating your e- mail address at http://utmail.utexas.edu/ Documented Disability Statement: • Any student with a documented disability who requires academic accommodations should contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at (512) 471-6259 (voice) or 1-866-329-3986 (video phone) or reference SSD’s website for more disability-related information: http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/for_cstudents.php. Faculty are not required to provide accommodations without an official accommodation letter from SSD. The SSD keeps any and all student information confidential. Resources for Learning & Life at UT Austin: • The University of Texas has numerous resources for students to provide assistance and support for your learning. o Sanger Learning and Career Center: http://lifelearning.utexas.edu/ o Undergraduate Writing Center: http://uwc.utexas.edu/ o Counseling & Mental Health Center: http://cmhc.utexas.edu/ o Career Exploration Center: http://www.utexas.edu/student/careercenter/ o Student Emergency Services: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/emergency/ Religious Holy Days: • By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, I will give you an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence. Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL): • If you are worried about someone who is acting differently, you may use the Behavior Concerns Advice Line to discuss by phone your concerns about another individual’s behavior. This service is provided through a partnership among the Office of the Dean of Students, the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC), the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and The University of Texas Police Department (UTPD). Call 512-232-5050 or visit http://www.utexas.edu/safety/bcal. Information About This Course: 2 Learning Management System: • UT uses a LMS called Canvas. For more information about Canvas, including tutorials for students, please visit http://canvas.utexas.edu. Student Response System: • Squarecap is a web-based classroom tool (grown right here at UT!) that I have chosen to use in this course. This tool will be used during class to ask you survey questions and to verify your attendance. Squarecap is free until the 12th class day of the semester (Friday, September 14th for Fall 2018) after which a paid subscription is required to continue using it. You can purchase this from the Squarecap website (www.squarecap.com) using a valid credit/debit card or a PayPal account. The available plans are $12 for one semester, $18 for one year and $50 for four years, all for unlimited classes. For instructions on setting it up on your device, please refer to the handout distributed in class and posted on the Canvas site. We will also have personnel from Squarecap present in class on the first day that we use it to ensure that it is working for everyone. Required Textbooks (abbreviations in parentheses): • Bruce David Forbes, Christmas: A Candid History. University of California Press, 2007. (Forbes) • Joseph F. Kelly, The Origins of Christmas. Liturgical Press, 2004. (Kelly) • Brent Landau, Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men’s Journey to Bethlehem. HarperCollins, 2010. (Landau)1 • Stephen Nissenbaum, The Battle for Christmas. Vintage, 1997. (Nissenbaum) • A significant number of assigned readings will be available on Canvas in PDF format, including two books: Geza Vermes, The Nativity: History and Legend. Doubleday, 2006 (Vermes); and Karal Ann Marling, Merry Christmas! Celebrating America’s Greatest Holiday. Harvard University Press, 2001 (Marling). Course Requirements: • Consistent attendance (as measured by Squarecap) and careful reading of (all) assigned texts. • Constructive participation in classroom discussions. • Completion of two take-home exams of approximately 4-5 pages. Exam 1 will be distributed in class on Friday, September 28 and due to Canvas by Monday, October 1 at 11:59PM. Exam 2 will be distributed in class on Friday, November 16 and due to Canvas by Monday, November 19 at 11:59PM. These exams will include material from lectures, discussions, and assigned readings. 1 Since I feel slightly uncomfortable making you buy my book (though, to be honest, it’s really good), you also have the option of reading the translation in PDF format on Canvas. 3 • A final research paper of approximately 8-10 pages that engages an issue of ethical significance (broadly construed) relating to the history and/or celebration of Christmas. The diverse range of media discussed in the course (written texts, motion pictures, music, visual art, material culture, etc.) makes imaginative approaches very welcome. More specific information about the requirements of the project will follow in the next several weeks. Your paper will be due to Canvas by Wednesday, December 19 at 11:59PM. Grade Breakdown: • Class Participation and Attendance: 25% • Take-Home Exam 1: 20% • Take-Home Exam 2: 20% • Final Research Paper: 35% Tentative Schedule of Meetings: Wednesday, August 29: The True Meaning of Christmas Part One: The Beginnings of Christmas Friday, August 31: Syllabus Overview and Introductions Monday, September 3: LABOR DAY, NO CLASS Wednesday, September 5: How Important Was the Birth of Jesus for the First Christians? Readings: Kelly 1-10 Friday, September 7: The Infancy Narrative of the Gospel of Matthew Readings: Matthew 1-2 (excerpt from the Jewish Annotated New Testament Study Bible, PDF); Kelly 10-21 Monday, September 10: The Infancy Narrative of the Gospel of Luke Readings: Luke 1-2 (excerpt from the Jewish Annotated New Testament Study Bible, PDF); Kelly 21-39 Wednesday, September 12: Miraculous Births in the Ancient World Readings: Vermes 39-51 Friday, September 14: When and Where Was Jesus Really Born? Readings: Vermes 76-88 Monday, September 17: The Virgin Birth Readings: Vermes 52-75; selections from Christmas—Philosophy for Everyone (PDF) Wednesday, September 19: The Star of Bethlehem 4 Readings: Vermes 89-118 Friday, September 21: An Origins Story for Mary: The Protevangelium of James Readings: Kelly 40-55; Protevangelium of James (PDF); Origen, Against Celsus (PDF) Monday, September 24: The Very Naughty Child Prodigy: The Infancy Gospel of Thomas Readings: Infancy Gospel of Thomas (PDF) Wednesday, September 26: Later Apocryphal Infancy Gospels Readings: Kelly 56-65; Latin Infancy Gospel (PDF); Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (PDF) Friday, September 28: Making sense of the Magi Readings: Kelly 111-124; Landau (or translation of the Revelation of the Magi from my dissertation, available as PDF) **Take-Home Exam 1 Distributed in Class Monday, October 1: No Class **Take-Home Exam 1 Due to Canvas on Monday, October 1 by 11:59PM Wednesday, October 3:
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