Università Roma Tre

First module (prof. A. D'Anna).
Monographic part: "Paul and Thecla: the first Christian novel" .
Adventures of the Apostle Paul and his disciple Thecla in Asia Minor are the subject of the most famous section of the Acts of Paul, section which, autonomously, enjoyed wide circulation. The two protagonists of the typical Hellenistic novel become here two tireless evangelists, and the love affair turns into a persistent desire of Paul imitation by Thecla, which undermines all social conventions and comes to shape one of the great literary heroines of antiquity.
The course aims to analyze the Acts of Paul and Thecla from historico-critical, semantic, ideological and literary perspectives, making use of the most recent scientific literature on the subject.
The course is a workshop and provides for the active participation of the students; the knowledge of the Greek language is demanded. Students who don’t know Greek or cannot attend the lessons are requested to contact the teacher.
General part: in-depth study of Christian literary production in the first three centuries.

First module:
Materials for the seminars (critical editions, scientific literature) will be furnished by the teacher.

Two bishops of the Late antiquity through their letters: Augustine of Hippo and Synesius of Cyrene

Through the analysis of some letters of Augustine and Synesius we will study the action of the two bishops which have to face the problems that trouble their community.
Special attention will be paid to the literary aspects and of textual criticism.

Texts
Augustine
Selected letters
Synesius
Selected letters


Bibliography
Agostino, Lettere, Nuova Biblioteca Agostiniana (NBA) Città Nuova Editrice, vol. XXI,1-2, introd. M. Pellegrino, trad. T.Alimonti-L. Carrozzi, note L. Carrozzi, Roma 1969; vol. XXII, trad. e note L. Carrozzi, Roma 1971; vol. XXIII, trad. e note e indici L. Carrozzi, Roma 1974; vol. XXIIIA, trad. e note e indici L. Carrozzi, Roma 1992.
Le Lettere di Agostino in Nuova Biblioteca Agostiniana (NBA) si trovano online al seguente link:
http://www.augustinus.it/italiano/lettere.htm
http://www.augustinus.it/latino/lettere/index.htm
M. Pellegrino, Introduzione a Agostino, Lettere, Nuova Biblioteca Agostiniana (NBA) Città Nuova Editrice, vol. XXI,1, Roma 1969
P. Brown, Agostino d’Ippona, Einaudi Editore, Torino 20133
Sinesio di Cirene, Opere, a c. di Antonio Garzya, Torino, UTET, 1989
A. Garzya, Introduzione a Sinesio di Cirene, Opere, a c. di A. G., Torino, UTET, 1989
Ulteriore bibliografia sarà indicata a lezione.
GENERAL SYLLABUS: (for student that have never teken any ancient Christian literature exam): M. Simonetti-Emanuela Prinzivalli, Storia della letteratura cristiana antica, Edizioni Dehoniane, Bologna 2010.
The students which non attend lectures must agree upon the syllabus with the teacher.