Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Synopsis A crisis of authority is characteristic of contemporary Western culture. One symptom of this is the problematic of the authority of the text: a problematic which has its origins in classical and Judaeo-Christian cultures. Texts which were once assumed to have an unquestioned authority can no longer claim such. This is particularly the case with a religion such as Christianity which is so textually based. The aim of the subject is not only to examine the specific claims to authority of fundamental texts like the Bible and its interpreters in the early Christian period but also to explore the way in which the self-understanding of authors in subsequent periods has been determined by the founding agenda.
Assessment Essay (5000 words): 70% + Class paper plus seminar participation: 30%