Millennium Cometh: Discussion Questions

The Millennium Cometh:
Apocalypse and Utopia in Bible, Sociology and Literature
Profs. John Coleman, S.J. (Sociology), Felix Just, S.J. (Theology), Holli Levitsky (English)
Loyola Marymount University - Spring 2000

Discussion Questions and Written Reflections

* The following hyperlinked web-pages contain questions to guide your reading of each of the assigned texts. *
* They also list the specific questions that you are to address in your written reflections for each block. *
* All of these questions (and others) will form the basis for our Thursday Discussion Groups. *
* Some general guidelines for the writing assignments are at the bottom of this page. *

BLOCK 1: INTRODUCTION AND BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS
(Tues, Jan. 11 - Thurs, Jan. 20)

BLOCK 2: RUPTURE & APOCALYPTIC IMAGINATION

BLOCK 3: UTOPIA & DYSTOPIA, esp. the Holocaust and Feminist Visions
(Tues, Feb. 8 - Thurs, Feb. 24)

BLOCK 4: APOCALYPTIC AESTHETICS: The Sublime and the Grotesque
(Tues, March 7 - Thurs, March 16)

BLOCK 5: MODERN MILLENARIAN MOVEMENTS
(Tues, March 21- Thurs, March 30)

BLOCK 6: LOS ANGELES IN APOCALYPTIC PERSPECTIVE
(Tues, April 4 - Thurs, April 13)

General Guidelines for the Writing Assignments

All short written exercises this semester should be:

only 2-3 pages long (please keep within this limit; 1½ pages are not enough, but 3½ are too many)
in standard essay format (brief introduction with clear thesis statement, structured body, very brief conclusion)
typed (or word-processed), double-spaced, using any easily readable 10 point (12 cpi) to 12 point (10 cpi) type
compactly headed (single-spaced) with your name, the date, the course name, and a brief title for each assignment
bordered by one-inch margins all around (please check your settings; LMU computers often have 1¼ inches)
turned in on time (at the beginning of the discussion sessions on the specified Thursday)
composed in proper written English (please spell-check and proof-read, to check all spelling and grammar!)

For additional guidelines for good writing, see the English Department's "English 110 Grading Standards."

Some of what you write will be based on your personal reflections, but much of it should be based on close and careful readings of the assigned texts.

Thus, it is important that you provide support for your assertions with brief but explicit references to the texts themselves.

See the latest edition of the LMU Style Manual (available in the bookstore) for tips on proper format for notes and references.

For biblical reference format, see also Prof. Just's page of "Writing Tips."

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This page was last updated on 03/31/01