The hybrid course addresses a multidisciplinary and, at the same time, neglected topic in the history of Late Antiquity: the complex developments in the theories of legitimacies of power. Key concepts are the Empire and the Church, and their rivalry can be formulated as the struggle between the “kingdom of God” and earthly power, or in modern terms, the sacred and the secular. Various strategies had been evolved concerning this relationship, the Hellenistic, the Jewish, the various Christian ideas, and at the end of the period, the absolute theocracy of Islam. The subject has many subfields worth exploring, from the development of the imperial cult to the early liturgies to the political theology of Byzantine historiography.
Christianity offered a dominant intellectual motivation in the period. The political character of the Church quickly became clear to the representatives of the dominant Hellenistic polity of the period, the Roman Empire. By the second half of the first century CE, the Roman authorities became aware of the threat to the legitimacy of the Empire by this new, then not legitimate religion (religio illicita).
What were the reasons for the conflict, and how did it play out in the “Long Late Antiquity”? The relation of Christianity to the political sphere was by far not simple, as the constant concern about this shows it during the two millennia. The so-called “Constantinian turn”, or rather the development of imperial orthodoxy, emerged as a contrast to the opposing trend of the rejection of the Empire, represented by the City of God by Augustine. What happened before and after the “Christian turn” of the fourth century, when Christianity moved slowly from being a persecuted “sect” to the privileged religion of the Empire? How did it impact the legitimacy of the political order, and how did this change affect Christian conceptions of the secular polity? Again, how did early Islam develop its own emphatically theocratic idea in the context of Judaism and Christianity?
Since early Islam has been long considered as part of the ‘Long Late Antiquity,’ building on the successful first summer school, which covered the interval from the formation of the Church to the times of Justinian, we decided to organize a second edition, with a wider spectrum of topics and a broader chronological span.
This time, the course will take a hybrid format. Students who cannot attend the summer school onsite can connect to the course online for a special fee. Those who wish to attend the summer school in Budapest will have the opportunity to participate in various activities, including visits to the Ancient city Aquincum and the Christian catacombs in Pécs and social events.
Target group
This summer school addresses MA and PhD students with interest in the emerging field of Political Theology in Late Antiquity. Advanced BA students will also be considered.
Pre-requisites
The course requires minimal knowledge of the political and religious context of Late Antiquity. It is desirable, but not mandatory, that students have intermediate knowledge of Latin and Ancient Greek.
Below is the list of the documents you need to prepare or arrange for submission:
- Completed online SUN Application Form (see notes below)
- Full curriculum vitae or resume, including a list of publications, if any
- Please upload your Curriculum Vitae or resume, including a list of publications, if any.
- Statement of Purpose (max. 1,000 words)
In the Statement of Purpose, please describe how the course is relevant to your teaching, research, or professional work, and in what way you expect to benefit from it. Please list relevant courses in the field you have taken previously during your studies.
Please provide a name, contact email, and phone number of a person (a faculty member, job supervisor, etc.) who can be contacted by the course directors to attest to your abilities, qualifications, and academic/professional performance.
In case you cannot attend the course in person, please indicate in your Statement of Purpose that you wish to take part in the sessions online.
In addition to full attendance, online participants will be required to submit a 3,000 thousand word final paper to obtain 2 ECTS credits.
Personal Statement on Financial Aid
Those who are eligible and wish to apply for financial aid should specify their reasons in the “Personal statement on financial aid” section (Funding page of the application form).
Optional attachments
- You can upload further optional documents on the Qualifications page such as
- academic documents that you think may be relevant to support your application in the ‘Other Supporting Documents’ section. All documents should be merged into a single PDF file not exceeding the size 2 MB. No passwords and encryption are allowed.
For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.