WesMaps - Wesleyan University Catalog 2014-2015       Summer Session       Winter Session       Home       Archive       Search
CS92PROD
The Bible and Its Worlds: The Hebrew Bible-Old Testament in the Ancient and Modern Imagination


RELI 201
Spring 2015
Section: 01  
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.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA RELI
Course Format: LectureGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major 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)
Past Enrollment Probability: 90% or above

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email ? Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459