Religion 222a, Haverford College

Gnosticism

Prof. Anne McGuire, Fall 2006 

 

This is the entry page for Religion 222a, Gnosticism, available at www.haverford.edu/relg/courses/222a/Relg222a.html. The full course syllabus for this course is available only through Blackboard and within the Tri-College network at www.haverford.edu:8080/relg/relg222a/06gnsyll.html. This class has a limited enrollment of 20. Lottery results will be posted in Chase (first floor) and on the Registrar's web page.

Course Description

This course offers a critical examination of "Gnosticism" and the texts of the Nag Hammadi library. While the meaning and usefulness of the category "Gnosticism" are currently under debate among scholars, we'll use the term "Gnosticism" in this course to designate a religious movement that flourished in the ancient Mediterranean world of the second to fourth centuries C.E, and has reappeared in various forms and found expression in many sources. Crucial to these sources is an emphasis on the saving power of "gnosis," a particular kind of esoteric or secret knowledge, grounded in spiritual experience and/or in revelations of the divine. Readings in the course will focus on the ancient evidence for Gnosticism, especially the writings of the Nag Hammadi library, discovered in 1945, as well as recent scholarly studies. The primary goals of the course are to develop the skills of reading and analysing Gnostic texts critically and to become familiar with the varieties of Gnostic thought, especially those of the Valentinian school, the Thomas traditions, Sethianism, and contemporary forms of Gnosis. We will also consider efforts to relate the evidence for "Gnosticism" to other varieties of religious thought, including Platonism, Christianity, and Judaism. Throughout the course, we will explore the literary form of the texts, their uses of gender imagery, and their varying conceptions of gnosis, salvation, and union with the divine.

Required Readings

Required Readings, available for purchase in Haverford College Bookstore:

• Bentley Layton, ed. The Gnostic Scriptures.
• The Nag Hammadi Library in English, ed. James M. Robinson.
• Richard Valantasis, The Beliefnet Guide to Gnosticism and Other Vanished Christianities
• Michael A. Williams, Rethinking Gnosticism: An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category
• Plato, Timaeus and Critias. Penguin Books.
• D. Unger, ed. St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Book I: Against the Heresies.
• Philip K. Dick, Valis.
• Additional readings available on Reserve in Magill Library, at the course web site, and in class handouts.
  
  
• Recommended Readings:
• Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha
• The Gnostic Society Library (Nag Hammadi Library in English translations online
• Karen King, What is Gnosticism? and Other Readings on Reserve

  

  Course Requirements

• Preparation of all reading assignments before class; regular attendance; class presentations and responses; active participation in discussion (10%).
• 2 short papers (4-6 pages) of textual analysis and interpretation (20% each); class presentation and discussion of one or more of these papers (40%).
• 2 research papers (20% & 30%)
  • a 5-6 page research paper (20%) on a contemporary issue in Gnostic studies (20%).
  • a final research paper of 12-15 pages (30%).
  Fuller description of Course Requirements [Internal link]

Course Outline

1. Introduction to the Course: What is Gnosticism?
2. Knowledge of the Self and Salvation in the Thomas Traditions
3. The Creation of the 'Gnostic' World: Plato, Genesis, and the Myth of Sophia in Sethian Gnosis
4. Creation and Redemption in the Thought of Valentinus and his School
5. Gnosticism and Gnosis in the Contemporary World; Topics in the Study of Gnosticism

Syllabus

T 9/5 Introduction to the Course: What is Gnosticism? Definitions, Origins, Approaches

• Handout: "Gnosis": Excerpts from various sources

Th 9/7 "Gnosticism" as System of Thought, Religious Movement, Modern Construct; Major Varieties of "Gnosticism"

• Selected Definitions of "Gnosticism"
• Richard Valantasis, Gnosticism and other Vanished Christianities, xvii-xxix; 1-34
• Begin to familiarize yourself with The Nag Hammadi Library in English (NHL) and Layton's Gnostic Scriptures
  • Look over one example of each "type" of Gnostic literature we'll be studying:
    • Thomasine: The Gospel of Thomas [NHL II.2 (Codex II, tractate 2)]
    • Sethian: The Hypostasis of the Archons [NHL II.4]
    • Valentinian: The Gospel of Truth [NHL I.3]
  Recommended for further reading: C. Markschies, "Gnosis: An Introduction", 1-27 (pdf file)
• Online Resource on The Nag Hammadi Library (from Gnostic Society Library [GSL])

II. Knowledge of the Self and Salvation in the Thomas Traditions (9/12-19)

T 9/12 Self and Salvation in the Thomas Traditions: The Gospel of Thomas and The Hymn of the Pearl

• Layton, "Historical Introduction," in B. Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures (GS), 359-365
• The Gospel according to Thomas [NHC II,2], in The Nag Hammadi Library in English (NHLE) and in GS, 380-399
• The Gospel of Thomas HomePage, by Stevan Davies
• The Hymn of the Pearl, in Layton, Gnostic Scriptures, 359-375
  • Allegory of the Hymn of the Pearl
• Some Themes of the Gospel of Thomas
• Recommended: Hans Jonas, on The Hymn of the Pearl, The Gnostic Religion, 91-129 (no link, but this book is in Magill; email me if you'd like me to put it on reserve]

Th 9/14 Creation and Redemption in the Gospel of Thomas

• Reread The Gospel according to Thomas [NHC II,2] and notes to the text
• Genesis 1-3, with particular attention to Genesis 1:1-3; 1:26-27; 2:7
• Recommended for further reading: Richard Valantasis, "Introduction," The Gospel of Thomas, 1-27 in pdf format., 3 parts
  • Valantasis, Part I; Valantasis, Part II; Valantasis, Part III

For further reading assignments, see the full syllabus within the Tri-Co network at: http://www.haverford.edu:8080/relg/relg222a/06gnsyll.html.

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This page maintained by amcguire@haverford.edu, Last updated 9/6/06