Reading the Old Testament
Description
This course will introduce you to the world of the Bible, the biblical stories of ancient Israel, and how to interpret the Bible critically within its literary, social, and historical contexts. Emphasis will be placed on interpreting the biblical stories in their original contexts.
Learning Objectives
As with all humanities courses in a liberal arts curriculum, the goal of this course is to teach you to read, think, and write more critically. This goal will be accomplished by carefully reading biblical texts, evaluating the content of the biblical texts, and writing essays.
Specifically, the student will learn the critical thinking skills to interpret the Bible within its literary, social, and historical contexts by accomplishing the following objectives:
- becoming familiar with the world of the Bible by
- learning the essential vocabulary of and about the Bible;
- learning the basic geography of the biblical world;
- learning the literary, social, and historical context of the Bible;
- learning how to read the Bible by:
- practicing critical reading methods;
- constructing and applying literary, social, and historical models;
- comparing the biblical literature to relevant literature of the ancient Near East;
- writing essays through which the student argues an interpretation of a biblical text.
Textbooks
Holy Bible. New Revised Standard Version, with Apocrypha.
Michael D. Coogan, The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
On-Line Readings, found on the Course Materials page.
Requirements
The student must attend class and complete all daily writing assignments during the course of the semester.
A brief daily written assignment (limited to one page) will be required each day. Some of the
daily assignments involve addressing questions, but most are Difficulty Papers. The daily written assignments will not be accepted if the student is absent from class unless arrangements are made with the professor prior to the class period. The daily assignments are listed in brown on the appropriate unit page for each class.
The student will complete between 10-15 quizzes, which combined will represent 40% of the final course grade. The quizzes may consist of (but are not limited to) true/false and multiple choice questions, identification of terms, biblical quote identifications, and short answer questions. Most quizzes will be given on Thursday (a few may be given on Tuesday) and will cover previously assigned material.
The student will write two essays on assigned topics. Each essay will represent 20% of the final course grade. The student will also write a Final Essay exam during the scheduled final period. The final essay will also represent 20% of the final course grade. See the information on the Writing Assignments.
Class Cancellation
In the event that the professor is unable to attend a scheduled class meeting, the professor will notify the Theology Department secretary to cancel class.
Academic Honesty
Academic honesty is expected and required from every student. The exams and written assignments must represent the student's own work. Discussion of the written assignments outside of class is encouraged, but each student is responsible for writing her or his own material. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, plagiarizing or representing another's ideas as one's own. Academic misconduct will result in failure of the assignment, and may result in failure of the course. This course adheres to the University's policy on academic honest which appears in the Bulletin.
