The Bible and Its Worlds: The Hebrew Bible-Old Testament in the Ancient and Modern Imagination
RELI 201
Spring 2015
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
MDST 203 |
| Certificates: Jewish and Israel Studies, Middle Eastern Studies |
| Course Cluster: Christianity Studies |
For some three billion people around the globe, the Bible is a source of faith, inspiration, and meaning. For many others, it is a symbol of barbarism and backwardness. What is the Bible? Who wrote it and how did it come to occupy such a central role in Eastern and Western cultures? In this course, we will examine the formative part of the Bible known by some as the Hebrew Bible and by others the Old Testament. The heart of the course will be close readings of the Hebrew Bible--Old Testament in English translation, from the foundational narratives of Genesis to the stories and ceremonies of ancient Israel to the poetry of the prophets and psalms. Throughout the course, we will pay close attention to the context of the ancient Near East, from which the Bible drew important parallels and polemics and that become critical to understanding the biblical texts. At the same time, we will consider how and why the Bible, a text written in a foreign language and cultural idiom thousands of years ago, has been a source of creative inspiration for modern readers through the media of literature, art, music, and film. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RELI |
| Course Format: Lecture | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (CEAS-Phil/Reli)(CJST-MN)(MDST-MN)(MDST)(MDST-Art/Arch)(MDST-History)(MDST-Lang/Lit)(MDST-Phil/Reli)(MEST-MN)(RELI-MN)(RELI)(STS) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 90% or above |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
THE NEW OXFORD ANNOTATED BIBLE
J. Collins, A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO THE HEBREW BIBLE
Marc Brettler, HOW TO READ THE BIBLE
James Pritchard, ed., THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST: AN ANTHOLOGY OF TEXTS AND PICTURES
Martin O'Kane, IMAGING THE BIBLE: AN INTRODUCTION TO BIBLICAL ART
Robert Atwan & Lawrence Wieder, ed., CHAPTERS INTO VERSE: POETRY IN ENGLISH INSPIRED BY THE BIBLE
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Examinations and Assignments:
Midterm exam and research paper. |
| Instructor(s): Russ-Fishbane,Elisha Reuven Times: ...W.F. 11:00AM-12:20PM; Location: FISK302; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 25 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 4 | | |
| Seats Available: 0 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 4 | JR non-major: 4 | SO: 5 | FR: 5 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 1 |
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