REL 326 Apocalypse: Now and Then
This course focuses on apocalyptic texts and apocalyptic religious movements throughout history. The first part of the course will consider the origins of the apocalypse within early Judaism and Christianity—both biblical texts (Daniel, Revelation) and extra-biblical texts (e.g. 1 Enoch, Dead Sea Scrolls)—and the variegated representations of the end of the world found in the literature called "apocalypses." The second half of the course will focus on modern interest in the apocalypse, both as a secular (e.g. zombies) and religious (e.g. Heaven’s Gate Community) construct.