Brief Description:

This course (the recipient of the 1999-2000 Marymount Institute for Faith, Culture, and the Arts award) tries to weave together into a coherent conversation:

1. biblical texts and traditions (and related non-canonical ancient materials) that provide the foundation for apocalyptic fears, utopian dreams, and other millennial ideas;
2. sociological theory pertaining to millenarian and utopian movements, with the study of several concrete social movements in recent history and the contemporary era; and
3. literary examples of utopian or dystopian visions, with special attention to the aesthetics of the millennium through theories of the sublime and the grotesque in the visual arts.

Required Textbooks (all textbooks and novels available at the LMU bookstore):

1. Meeks, Wayne, ed. The HarperCollins Study Bible. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. [or another translation of the Bible that includes both the Old and New Testaments and the Apocrypha]
2. Reddish, Mitchell G., ed. Apocalyptic Literature: A Reader. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1990.
3. Robbins, Thomas and Susan J. Palmer, eds. Millennium, Messiahs and Mayhem: Contemporary Apocalyptic Movements. London: Routledge, 1997.
4. DeLillo, Don. White Noise. New York: Viking, 1985.
5. Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986.
6. West, Nathanael. Day of the Locust. New York: NAL/Dutton, 1983.
7. Supplemental readings listed on the detailed class schedule (below), available on Regular and Electronic Reserve in the LMU Library or on the course webpage.

1. Anchor Bible Dictionary. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992. - Ref. BS440 A54 1992
2. HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. Rev. ed. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1996. - Ref. BS440 H235 1996
3. The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism. 3 vols. New York: Continuum, 1998. - Reserve BL501 E53 1998
4. Bibloi CD-ROM Program - available on the LMU Library Reference Area Computers
5. Links and Resources for Revelation & Apocalyptic - http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~fjust/Revelation.htm
6. PBS "Frontline: Apocalypse" - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/index.html
7. Other Webpages and Electronic Resources listed on our detailed Course Schedule below.

• Junior or Senior standing and permission from one of the instructors is required.
• This course is also open to graduate students in the English Department for graduate credit.
• It also fulfills the requirement for a critical social theory course in the LMU Honors Program.

• This course has been sub-divided into seven different but inter-related thematic "blocks."
• The first six blocks are thematically arranged, with professors' lectures and student discussions.
• The seventh block will be presentations of the students' group research projects and webpages.
• In addition to the readings and lectures, we will often incorporate film clips and internet resources.
• All three professors and the T.A. will attend each class session throughout the semester
• On most days one professor will give the main lecture, with brief input from the other two profs.
• On a few days, all three profs. will have more equally divided input, as in a "panel discussion."
• We will try to schedule a few guest lecturers, and possibly also one "field trip" to a museum.
• On the last Thursday of each block, we will break up into three smaller groups for "discussion sections."
• You will receive preparatory questions to help guide your readings of all the texts in each block.
• Students will remain in the same discussion groups throughout the semester, but the profs. will rotate.
• We will also rotate the grading of your written reflections, so each prof. will grade two of your papers.
• Our T.A. will mainly assist the profs., but will also be available to help students with the group projects.
• She might be able to recommend resources for your research, but will not do the research for you.
• She will mostly provide help with the technological aspects of the composition of your webpages.
• She will give a few short presentations to the class, and/or you can make individual appointments.

1. Attendance: It should go without saying that on-time attendance at all lectures and discussion sessions is both common courtesy and essential for learning. Please let us know about any unavoidable absences or emergencies. More than two unexcused absences will result in the lowering of your final course grade.
2. Reading: Please read the assigned books, essays, webpages, and other materials before class on the days listed in the detailed schedule below. Readings not found in the main textbooks and novels are on regular and electronic reserve at the LMU library. Your password to access the E-Res system is "Y2K". See http://eres.lmu.edu/cgi-bin/eres/viewcourse.pl?THST398_JUST   [not available after Fall 2000]
3. Writing: You will be asked to write six short (2-3 page) reflection papers, which are due at the beginning of the scheduled Thursday discussions, and will thus provide the basis for our small-group discussions. Specific instructions on the topics for each paper will be handed out at least two weeks in advance.
4. Final Project: In lieu of a final exam, groups of 2-3 students will create and present a set of webpages on a topic related to our course (see the last page of this syllabus for more details). These webpages will be published as a permanent part of the course website and/or at other locations on LMU's website.
5. Graduate Students: English Dept. students taking this course for graduate credit may be required to do some extra written work; please see Prof. Levitsky for details.

This "syllabus" is subject to modifications that might be announced during the course of the semester.