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Introduction to the course
Welcome to the course Jewish-Christian Roots of European Civilisation. We shall trace together the roots of ambiguous European identity. Besides lectures and discussions in the classes, there will be individual reading of texts and some questions to it.
To complete the course, You have to take active part in the classes + to answer the questions in this virtual classroom + to take part in the written examination at the end of the course. The final grade will be the averaged results of the homeworks and the result of this examination.
Recommended literature:
- ASSMANN, Jan, 2011: Cultural Memory and Early Civilization: Writing, Remembrance, and Political Imagination, Cambridge University Press: Cambridg
- BARTON, John, 2020: A History of the Bible: The Book and Its Faiths, Penguin
- FINKELSTEIN, Israel & SILBERMAN, Neil Asher, 2001: The Bible Unearthed: Archeology's New Vision of Israel: and the Origins of Its sacred Texts, Free Press: New York
- HALBWACHS, Maurice, 1992: On Collective Memory, University Of Chicago Press: Chicago
- RÖMER; Thomas, 2015, The Invention of God, Cambridge, Mass
- THEISSEN, Gerd, 1999, A Theory of Primitive Christian Religion, London
1. Are we really a Jewish-Christian Civilisation? 4/10/2021
The Church in / under / above / against the State
The presentation from October 5, 2021
HomeWork (until Oct 11) Read the constitutional document
Read the formulations of four constitutional documents (the USA, France,Israel, the EU). What role do they ascribe to religion? Characterize each document by just ONE sentence. We'll discuss Your answers in the class.
2. Gilles Kepel's lecture at CEVRO Institute 11.10. 2021
So You have expereienced Gilles Kepel live, renown for his book The Revenge of God: The Resurgence of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism in the Modern World, Paris 1991 (in French), UP 1994 (in English). Read about him more at
A chapter from Kepel's 2020 book Away from Chaos
Homework for October 18, 2021
Having read the Wikipedia entry on Gilles Kepel, characterize his position towards Islam and its political ambitions. For those who are especially interrested in the theme: Read the enclosed text from his book "Away from Chaos" (pp. 11--29). What is the thesis of the chapter. Summarize Your answer in a maximum of 50 words.
3. Discussion on islamization of Arab world in last decades of 20th century, its consequences for Europe ... and how it has been reflected in novels
Case study: Should / could Turkey become an EU member state? Why (not)?
4. The concept of cultural memory 25.10. 2021
HW for Nov 1, 2021: Answer the 3 questions to the lecture of Aleida Assmann
1) To what does Aleida Assmann compare collective memory? 2) What does she mean by palimsestic character of cultural memory? 3) What is the difference of cultural memory and national memory?
5. Precursors and Consequences of Cultural Memory (1.11. 2021)
6. The two volumes of Christian Bible 8.11. 2021
Biblical chracteristics of God
Read carefully the following passages from the Old Testament
Week six HW: The features of the God according to the Old Testament
Characterize the person of the God of the Old Testament according to the passages above. Try to do this only on the basis of the texts you have read, and do not use what you know about him from elsewhere (although you know full well that you cannot completely abstract from the European cultural memory of which you yourselves are participants). For each of the four passages, write a characterisation of no more than 20 words.
7. Bible's own account on Israel's past 15.11. 2021
Week seven HW
1) Haveing read the chapter 2 Did Exodus happen (pp. 48-71), describe in Your own (no more than 50) words, how Israel Finkelstein reconstructs the historical events behind the story of Exodus. What century is crucial according to Finkelstein for the final shape of the Exodus narration? 2) Having read the chapter 4 Who were early Israelites (pp. 97-122), summarize in about 50 words the three models of the emergence of Israel according to Finkelstein.
8. The Decalogue, its structure and content. The Old Testament Prophets 22.11. 2021
There are recommended Biblical texts in the presentation from the last week. Read it (if You don not have the Bible available, read the passages at https://www.biblegateway.com/). Also, those who have not yet answered the questions to Israel Finkelstein, do it by next Monday.
9. Where has Israel come from? Combining biblical and external evidence 29.11. 2021
Week nine HW
Having read the passage form the book of Isaiah, try to reconstruct the communication situation by answering following questions: 1) Who is the speaker? 2) Who is being addressed directly in the speech? 3) Who else might be the audience of this speech? 4) What is the characteristics of the God in this text? 5) What is the political context of this text?
10. (Re-)Constituting Israel under Persians after the exile + Hellenized Judaism
Week 10: Jesus from Nazareth and his teaching
1. Read carefully the story on good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. Describe the way Jesus accedes to the question of the lawyer. Does he (or not?) answer the lawyer's question? 2. Read carefully the two passages on Jesus’s attitude to adultery (and possibly sex in general) – one from Matthew 5:27–32, the other from John 8:1–12. Has Jesus changed his mind between the two passages? Try to find and formulate a common denominator between the two passages.
11. New Testament: Jesus from Nazareth as the expected messiah of Israel (13.12. 2021)
12. Jewish Rabbinic literature (20.12. 2021) +instructions to final test
Jewish-Christian Roots: FINAL ESSAY
“Europe can / can not be described as a Jewish-Christian civilization”. Choose one of the two opposite claims and argue for it in about 10 sentences.
The results of the final test on December 22. Your final grade is the sum of the final test and of the final essay (both graded at the scale of 0-50 points), i.e. A = 80-100%, B = 60-79%, C = 50-59%.