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Information for: 2010-2011
In the MA Christianity you will study various expressions of Christianity in past and present from a wide denominational and geographical perspective (both Western and ‘global’ Christianity). Christianity covers a wide variety of ideas, doctrines, ritual and artistic practices, ethical norms and forms of organisation. Strong areas of research in Leiden include: liberal movements in Protestantism, modernism and anti-modernism in the Roman Catholic world, religion and science, African and Chinese Christianity, as well as Eastern Christianity in historical and modern perspectives, both in the Middle East and in its western diaspora.
The focus of the track is on the interface between Christianity and the modern world. Major topics include conversion, inculturation, interreligious and interdenominational rivalries, ‘church and state’ and globalization, the interplay between fundamentalism, millenarianism, and liberalism, identity and migration. You will study the topics in their historical, cultural, social and theological contexts. Our programme will be tailor made according to your wishes, depending on the focus of your interest.
Programme Structure
This one-year programme consists of 60 ECs (European Credits). The programme structure is printed below. The student’s individual programme is to be put together with one of the supervisors, prof. R.B. ter Haar Romeny or prof. H.L. Murre-van den Berg.
1. Common Course (5 EC)
General Required Course for all master students at the Institute for Religious Studies
*2. Core Courses Christianity in the Modern World (15EC) – choose at least three of the following:
- Liberalism, fundamentalism and Western culture (5EC; VdWall)
- Global Christianity: The Middle East (1800-present) (5EC; MvdB)
- Art, History and Identity of the Communities of the Christian Middle East: (5EC; tHR)
- Comparative Religion: Themes and Topics in the Study of Religion (5EC; Hofstee/dJ)
3. Elective Courses (20 EC)
1. tutorial & reading list, expanding one or two of the first three courses above (5-10EC), focussing on a particular region or theme
2. languages courses (i.e., Arabic, Syriac, Coptic, Swahili, etc.; max. 10EC)
3. electives relevant to region or theme of interest (History of the Middle East, Biblical Studies, European History, American History, Religious Studies, Judaism, Islam, etc.; 5-10EC, Religious Anthropology)
4. MA thesis (20 EC)
All students write a MA thesis of 20 EC, on a subject of choice that is approved by one of the supervisors.
Suggestions for personal programs
Liberal movements in European and American Protestantism
RGC
Core Courses: A1, A4 (10)
Electives: B1: tutorial & reading list: A1 (10EC)
Electives: B2: European History (10EC)
Electives: B2: American History (10EC)
Thesis: C (20 EC)
Modernism and anti-modernism in the Roman Catholic world
RGC
Core Courses: A1, A4 (10)
Electives: B1: tutorial & reading list: A1 (10EC)
Electives: B2: European History (10EC)
Electives: B2: American History (10EC)
Thesis: C (20 EC)
Religion and Science: historical perspectives
RGC
Electives: B1: tutorial & reading list: A1 (10EC)
Electives: B2: European History (10EC)
Electives: B2: American History (10EC)
Thesis: C (20 EC
Syriac Christianity in the Middle East
African Christianity
Chinese Christianity
Eastern Christianity in Historical Perspective
RGC
A2, A3, A4 (15 EC)
B1: tutorial on A3 (5 EC)
B2: Syriac, Arabic, Coptic and/or Ethiopian (10 EC)
B3 one of the following MA courses:
Culture and Society in the Medieval Muslim World
Hebrew Bible and its Reception
Christian and Islamic art and architecture: a heritage of religious interaction in its social and cultural contexts
Pilgrimages and Holy Places
C: thesis
Eastern Christian Diaspora
RGC
A2, A3, A4 (15 EC)
Religion and the Immigrant Experience (5EC)
B2: Syriac, Arabic, Coptic and/or Ethiopian (10 EC)
B3 one of the following MA courses (5EC):
Culture and Society in the Medieval Muslim World
Hebrew Bible and its Reception
Christian and Islamic art and architecture: a heritage of religious interaction in its social and cultural contexts
Pilgrimages and Holy Places
C: thesis
Entry Requirements
BA Religious Studies or Middle Eastern Studies
Supervision
The primary supervisors of the track are prof.dr. E.G.E. van der Wall, prof.dr. H.L. Murre-van den Berg and prof.dr. R.B. ter Haar Romeny, for the specialists see below, under staff.
Staff
prof.dr. E.G.E. van der Wall
prof.dr. H.L. Murre-van den Berg (Christianity in the Middle East)
prof.dr. R.B. ter Haar Romeny (Old Testament and Eastern Christianity)
prof.dr. J. van der Vliet (Coptic)
prof.dr. H.J. Stroomer (Ethiopic)
dr. W.T. van Peursen (Syriac Bible)
dr. M. Immerzeel (Christian Art)