Christianity · Religion
- 2 quizzes: ID one of two quotes and write about the passage's significance for the development of Christianity. The quotes are from the primary sources listed on the syllabus. I crammed them the night before and did very well, but there was one quiz with obscure quotes that students seemed to find difficult. Most of the primary sources are only a few pages long though, so it really isn't that hard to just look over them. - Mandatory recitation (bimonthly): Just attend them. I found them pretty interesting; they actually forced me to read the texts I was procrastinating on, and the TA gives a lot of helpful information for the quizzes. It's only an hour, so not much commitment. Yanchen Liu was a pretty solid and funny TA this semester, so definitely recommend him if he's still there. - Cathedral visit and one page "journal entry." Pretty self-explanatory and relaxed. Had been to St. John the Divine for ArtHum before, but actually learned a few cool things about the role of social class in shaping New York's religious institutions. - Final Exam: Choose two IDs out of four (like the quizzes), choose two essay questions out of four (list of questions given a week before the test), and short answer questions asking simple questions about who our guest speakers were, etc. Just make sure to attend the classes that have guest speakers: super cool material from solid academics that y…
Lives up to the silver nugget. I very much disagree with reviewers who found the subject matter/delivery boring or irrelevant; on the contrary, this class taught me a lot about how key events and people in history employ various precedents to organize and advance their agendas. I am not a history major, nor did I come into the class familiar with/drawn to the Christian tradition. If anything, take the class for Somerville–he's been teaching at Columbia for decades and recites his wealth of knowledge each class in a way that is both humble and remarkable.
Somerville is a fucking pimp; that's all you need to know.
There are two midterms, both of which do require scrupulous study. Again, take notes and review them more than once. There is one final, which is not agonizingly hard if you prepare well for it. Look at your notes and (re)read the material that Professor Somerville assigns (yes, do your best to read all of it. There are a lot of books he insists upon, and I don't believe you will have to read every last paragraph in order to succeed, but you should try your best to do so.) My class received a study guide before the final, and I found it invaluable. Make sure to show up to class on that day! As indicated above, there is a great deal of reading. The reviews before mine don't lie about the enormous amount of literature to which the class is exposed. This is, naturally, both a blessing and a curse; it is fascinating material but there is a lot of it. Again, don't push yourself too hard, but read as much as you possibly can: it makes a tremendous difference. You'll be solidly prepared for both the lectures and the tests if you keep up with the reading. Finally, make sure to attend the (mandatory) tour at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine when the time comes to study religious art and architecture. Our class was led by the Reverend Dr. Andrew C. Blume, who was dynamic, witty, and articulate when he guided us through the cathedral. Professor Somerville asked students to compose a…
Professor Somerville is extraordinarily knowledgeable. He speaks articulately and strives to answer students' questions as thoroughly as possible. Still, he is honest enough to say "I don't know, but I will try to answer as best I can" when students want to know about something that is not very familiar to him. He is poised and direct but has a very dry sense of humor that can be truly delightful. He isn't cold or unkind, but he rarely smiles, so that, every time I achieved a smile (through hard work and my own rather dry sense of humor) from Professor Somerville, I felt truly rewarded. I don't know what the TA situation is going to look like in coming semesters. One TA was bright, engaged, and kind; the other was cold, rude, and bored. If you meet the TAs and feel strongly about one or the other, even based purely on instinct, try to take a discussion section with the one you like. As in any class, this can really make a difference as the semester moves forward; I dreaded my discussion sections because I did not listen to my instincts. Finally, I would like to say a word about other reviews here, because a lot of them mention that Professor Somerville is boring - or at least that the topic is boring. My earnest advice to anyone thinking of signing up for this course is to take thorough notes, review them comprehensively, and ask Professor Somerville or one of the TAs (again,…
Light. Never did the readings. Two easy midterms and a final. Sections that I have no idea if you have to go to. I did but I don't think I got anything out of them.
Before I delve into this review, let me state that this was one of the most average classes I took while a carefree coed at CU. The class's contents were intrinsically boring, as nothing that has occurred historically prior to 1986 is at all interesting. That said, it's saving grace —its savior, if you will— came in the form of its impressive prof. Ol' Bob Sommerville is commendable for a number of reasons, not least among them his remarkable age. Born before reliable record keeping, it's unknown how old he is, but rest assured, he is a primary source on biblical studies. Every day he walks into class, it's a goddamn miracle. I theorize that he has been dead for some time, but that his synapses still errantly fire, his daily affairs sorted our by dying muscle memory. He knows how to captivate a classroom, only to trail off at the end of his statement, rendering the preceding background information useless. Furthermore, he gets a ton of mileage off self-disparaging regarding his age and death. Like any good biblical scholar, he has ammassed a following of effeminate graduate student followers, and for his class's TA's he selects the meekest members of his intellectual harem. Of course, Bobby S. does toss you the occasional curveball by wearing a backward baseball cap or vomiting up blood in class, and for these reasons I rate the class 4/5 stars. Would take again.
INSANE AMOUNT OF READING, but the only necessary part is the course pack. I look forward to reading the five other textbooks this summer when I have time, but GET REAL. No one can do that much reading during the year. Two quizzes. Know the primary sources. Final is tough, but you just have to study in advance.
It's true that Prof. Somerville's lectures are pretty dry, but the material is definitely interesting if you care about the subject. I personally am a devout Catholic and was fascinated to see how Christianity would be portrayed here differently than in my high school theology classes. There were some clear differences. For one thing, we didn't use the word "heresy" but instead said "form of Christianity prevalent before the formation of a formalized orthodox consensus". It was also a much less streamlined history than I was used to; it wasn't all aimed at "where we are now" because the course obviously doesn't presume its students have any relationship with the Christian faith. That said, Somerville was very fair to the faith, not at all judgmental of believers and not at all "blasphemous" by the believers' standpoint. The class is VERY historical and not very theological. Get Todd French as your TA. If he isn't, change discussion sections. He's awesome. He's laid back but brilliant. Todd Berzon is also awesome but SO INTIMIDATING and seems like a MUCH harder grader. Lots of interesting guest lectures that ARE ON THE FINAL. Study hard for the quizzes. Study in advance for the final and plan your essays well. Read all the packet assignments and read the discussion section works.