SYLLABUS

Religion 303
Text and Ideology: Old Testament/TANAK
MWF 10:00-10:50 AM
Class: N301A
Office: N321
email: gcaichele@gmail.com
WWW page: http://home.comcast.net/~gcaichele/

Limits of This Course:

This is an advanced course on the scriptures of the Jewish people, which are also the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. We will explore large portions of these writings, in terms of their historical and cultural production and their literary structures and styles. Fundamental problems in understanding the texts will be stressed, and students will be expected to participate actively in forming solutions to these problems. Students should have taken at least one prior course in either Religion or Philosophy.

Note: if you have a documented disability, you may qualify for specific academic services. Speak with Professor Aichele or with any of the Academic Services staff in Jones Hall 205, extension 4413. Documentation of the disability is required.

Books:

Jack Miles, God: a Biography
A.K.M. Adam (ed.), Postmodern Interpretations of the Bible: a Reader
The Bible (Old Testament/Jewish Bible)

**You do not need to buy the Bible sold in the AC bookstore. However, I strongly recommend that you use one of the following translations:

Revised Standard Version
Jerusalem Bible
New English Bible
Jewish Publication Society

(Or "New" versions of any of the above.)

WARNING: extensive (or exclusive) use of paraphrases (such as the Living Bible), summaries, or "simplified" versions (such as The Bible in Simplified English ) of the Bible will probably have a harmful effect on your grade. You should bring a Bible to all class meetings.

The World Wide Web:

A lot of information about the Bible and related matters can be found on the World Wide Web. However, you must be careful in your use of this material, as much of it is of no scholarly value. A  number of WWW links that I have found to be quite helpful can be found at http://home.comcast.net/~gcaichele/other/links.htm. If you discover other WWW pages that you think are helpful, please let me know! If I agree that the page is a good one, you will get extra credit.

Course/Grade Requirements:

Your participation grade is based on the following:

  1. your physical presence in class for each meeting and all questions and comments that you make during the class.
  2. a written question or comment that your bring to each class meeting and hand in to the instructor at the beginning of class. This question or comment must be relevant to any of the readings to be discussed that week.
  3. questions or comments addressed to the instructor outside of class, either through email or verbally.

Each of the 4 short papers requires your own discussion and response to a biblical text that we have discussed in class during the previous few weeks. These papers are described at the end of this syllabus.

The research paper is described at the end of this syllabus.

Schedule of Assignments:

You will be expected to attend each class session, prepared to discuss the readings for that day. Only the instructor may grant excused absences. This is a weekly schedule; a daily schedule is also available.

1/8-12
Introduction.
Miles, 3-24.
Research tools presentation (meet in Adrian College library), 1/12.

1/17-19
Miles, 25-38.
Genesis 1-3.
The Babylonian creation story.

1/22-26
Miles, 39-66.
Adam, 1-15.
Genesis 4-11, 12, 14, 17-22, 24-35
The Babylonian Flood story.

1/29-2/2
Paper #1 due, 1/29.
Miles, 67-109.
 Genesis 37-44, 48-50.
Exodus 1-15.

2/5-9
Miles, 110-149.
Adam, 17-42.
Exodus 19-34.
The Babylonian law code.
Leviticus 1, 15, 18-20, 23, 26
Numbers 13-16, 20-25.
Deuteronomy 1-6, 26-28, 34.

2/12-16
Miles, 150-159.
Adam, 43-54.
Joshua 24.
Judges 1-2, 4-5, 10-13, 19-21.

2/19-23
Paper #2 due, 2/19.
Miles, 160-186.
Adam, 55-66.
I Samuel 1-12, 15-20, 31.
II Samuel 1-3, 6-7, 11-18, 22-23.
I Kings 1-11, 12-13, 16-22.
II Kings 1-2, 4-5, 9-12, 18-22.

§ Mid-Semester Break §
NOTE: midterm grades will not be given in this course! If you want to know how your grade stands at midterm (or at any other time), see the instructor.

3/5-9
Miles, 187-236.
Adam, 105-115, 153-164.
Hosea 1-3, 10-14.
Micah (entire book).
Isaiah 1-9, 11, 24-27, 40-42, 45, 47-49, 52-55.

3/12-16
RESEARCH PAPER TOPICS DUE, 3/12.
Paper #3 due, 3/16.
Miles, 237-271.
Adam, 117-151.
Jeremiah 1-6, 12-14, 18-20, 23, 27-29, 32-33, 36.
Ezekiel 1-6, 8-13, 23, 36-37.

3/19-23
Miles, 272-302.
Adam, 81-92.
Psalms 2, 8, 19, 74, 89, 104, 110, 137.
Proverbs 1-3, 5, 7-10, 31.

3/26-30
Miles, 303-328.
Adam, 93-104.
Job 1-10, 28-42.
The Song of Solomon (entire book).

4/2-4
RESEARCH PAPER BIBLIOGRAPHIES DUE, 4/2.
Miles, 329-353.
Adam, 67-79.
Ruth (entire book).
Ecclesiastes (entire book).

4/9-13
Paper #4 due, 4/13.
Miles, 354-396.
Esther (entire book).
Daniel (entire book).
Ezra (entire book).

4/16-20
Miles, 397-431.
Jonah (entire book).

RESEARCH PAPERS DUE NO LATER THAN SCHEDULED FINAL EXAM TIME.

** Short papers

Each of these 4 short papers will be 4-5 pages long. It will describe your own thoughts and reactions to a short text that we will be reading and discussing in class. There are no wrong answers: be honest! However, take into consideration what others have said during our discussion, as well as any relevant material in the Miles or Adam books. Extra research is no expected but is welcome. Pay close attention to the text! If you want to focus on just part of the assigned text, that is ok, provided that you give a reason to do so. You will be graded on the thoughtfulness and clarity of your response.

**Research paper

Your research paper should be 15 pages or more, printed, double-spaced. The topic is the history, the text, and the ways people have interpreted any one book of the Old Testament/Tanak (apocrypha and pseudepigrapha included). Alternative topics are possible: for example, the role of women in the Tanak, or the appropriation of the Old Testament in the New Testament. This paper should include research beyond the required readings for this course, with bibliography and notes indicating what research was done. All topics for these papers must be approved by the instructor no later than March 12.