The apocalyptic imagination, with its visions of a grand and cosmic reversal of fortune, appears in most religions. In the first part of the course we shall deal with apocalypse in general, and discuss which historical and methodological approaches are relevant to its study. In the second part we will read works belonging to the genre of apocalyptic literature in a comparative perspective, with particular focus on the Jewish, Christian and Zoroastrian apocalypses. We will read apocalyptic texts from the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Jewish literature (including the Dead Sea Scrolls), the New Testament, and Middle Persian literature. Additional emphasis will be placed on the religious and political interactions which manifested themselves in the prophetic movements.

This course does not require any skill in Ancient and Oriental languages and will be given in English