I'm getting very religious this year, as you will see. I've also decided to give myself a lighter workload in Semester 1, as I want to go to China at some point. So in S1 I decided to take only one study unit, which is:
The New Testament in its Times
This unit is a study of the New Testament within the political, social and cultural context of the Jewish and Graeco-Roman world of the first century CE. The unit is based on New Testament documents and other contemporary evidence, and investigates: the historical contours of the period and career of Jesus and the early Christian communities; and the literary genres and ideas of the New Testament in their Jewish and Graeco-Roman context.
And, I'm studying the unit off-campus, for maximum flexibility in my travel plans, which will also allow me to find a refresher course in computer aided drafting - I feel the need to update in this field and seek some part-time work.
In S2 I've enrolled in a follow-up to the above study unit:
Early Christian Literature and Thought
This unit is an examination of early Christian writings both as literary texts and as witnesses to the variety of early Christian life and thought. New Testament and other early Christian texts are studied to determine what sort of literature they are, what ideas they express, and what they reveal about the different Christian groups of the period, down to 150 CE.
And a second unit at Sydney University:
ASNS2627 India, China, Tibet: Cultural Relations
While India and China emerge as present-day superpowers, their historical inter-relations are not well known. This unit provides an overview of cultural interactions between Indian and Chinese civilisations, especially as these have shaped Tibetan cultural identity. A key focus is upon how pre-modern cultural interactions with India and China provide ideological contexts within which Tibetan religious and cultural traditions and political institutions developed. This is undertaken in order to understand interactions between all three cultures on the current global stage.
2x1-hr lectures/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Assessment: 1x2500wd major essay (35%), 1xtutorial paper and presentation (equivalent to 1000wds) (30%), media file (equivalent to 1000wds) (30%), class participation (5%)
Not mentioned in the focus of that unit is the possible influence of Bactrian Buddhism on Tibetan thought (Bactria was an ancient area in what is now northern Afghanistan) Bactrian Buddhism was strongly influenced by Hellenism. If permitted I'd like to investigate that possibility.
My home University has told me I can just keep studying for another 3 years, if I want to. But I think I'll graduate in 2015 (if (smirk) the big A doesn't interfere) and do that Master of Research postgrad course of which I've spoken before.