Scripture and Biblical Interpretation St. Norbert College Master of Theological Studies THEO 503 Spring 2018 Mulva Library 218 This course meets on the following dates from 8:30a-12:30p: February 3, 10, 24, March 10, 24, April 14, 28 Instructor Dr. Kathleen Gallagher Elkins Phone 920-403-3207 Office E-mail hours Office Boyle 449 My office hours are normally crowded with undergrads, so I encourage you to email me so we can set up a time to meet uninterrupted kathleen.gallagherelkins@snc.edu (I am much quicker to respond by email than by phone, so I encourage you to email rather than call) Required Texts: Borg, Marcus. Reading the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally. Harper San Francisco, 2001. Law, Timothy Michael. When God Spoke Greek: The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian Bible. Oxford, 2013. Levine, Amy Jill. Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi. Harper One, 2014. Throckmorton, Burton H. Gospel Parallels: A Comparison on the Synoptic Gospels (NRSV). Thomas Nelson, 1992. Hayes, John and Holladay, Carl. Biblical Exegesis: A Beginner s Handbook (3 rd edition). Westminster John Knox Press, 2007. Plus, a Bible will be required (I recommend the HarperCollins or New Oxford Annotated study Bibles, which are New Revised Standard Version, but any NRSV, New International Version, New American Bible, or similar would be fine). All of these texts are available in the SNC bookstore and are on reserve in the Mulva Library. Other readings will be posted on Moodle (moodle.snc.edu). Page 1
Description: This is an introduction to contemporary exegetical methods of interpretation through a study of particular biblical texts. The course will also investigate related biblical topics such as inspiration, canonicity and the place of scripture in the Christian community. The course seeks to equip students with the background and conceptual framework necessary to understand both historical-critical exegesis of the Bible and the issues surrounding the Bible s role in the Church. You should expect to get a flavor for some of the crucial debates in the field of biblical studies as well as a grounding in some of the most significant texts in the Bible, but you should also still expect to have much to learn at the end of this course. Goals: By the end of the course, students should be able to: Speak knowledgeably about the biblical texts and ask critical historical and literary questions about the texts, their authors, communities, and contexts. Engage in exegetical research, by learning and applying some of the tools of modern biblical scholarship including questions of authorship, translation, transmission, and canonization. Reflect on how a person s social location affects her/his religious perspective. Resources: Academic Support Services: In keeping with the St. Norbert College mission to help students develop their full potential, and in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the College provides supportive services to students with disabilities. For inquiries and further details, please visit the Academic Support Services Office located in Todd Wehr 211 or contact Corey Ciesielczyk, Director of Academic Support Services (403-1326), or visit www.snc.edu/academicsupport/disabilities.html. Please do contact your instructor early in the semester and inform her about what support or accommodations she might provide. Academic Integrity: All students are expected to adhere to the College's academic policies regarding academic integrity (please refer to the St. Norbert College Academic Honor Code listed in The Citizen, or see the Honor Code website for the text of the Honor Code process, procedures and penalties). For further details or if you have any questions, see the link for The Citizen on the judicial affairs website: www.snc.edu/judicialaffairs or contact the Honor Code Facilitator at x3047 or the Associate Academic Dean s Office at x4044. Especially important for our class is the policy on plagiarism and proper citation. We will discuss this in class, but if you have questions or are uncertain about whether something constitutes plagiarism, you should contact me before submitting the assignment. Page 2
Moodle: Resources for this class will be posted on Moodle (moodle.snc.edu), so please check our Moodle page regularly for updates. I will also email the class through your assigned SNC emails, so please check those regularly, too. Evaluation: Participation (35% of course grade): Read the assignments carefully. Think. Come to class prepared to discuss, actively listen, and think some more! I do not penalize shyness, but I do expect you to participate. As a graduate-level, seminar-style class, engaging in active discussion and conversation with your colleagues and professor is a crucial part of our learning together. For this reason (and because numerous recent studies have shown that laptops are distracting in the classroom), I encourage you to take paper notes rather than electronic notes. Your preparation for each class will include bringing at least five discussion starting points: these might be questions for discussion, provocative quotations, or summary statements that are based on our current readings. Please bring copies of these discussion starting points for yourself and for the instructor. We will use these to facilitate our discussions of the readings for that class. Oral exam (20% of course grade): The final exam for this class will be given as individual, oral examinations. Guidelines will be discussed in class, but in general, you should expect a 30- minute conversation about the course learning in late April or early May. Self-evaluations (5% of course grade, each): This course will require you to engage in metacognition, that is, thinking about your own thinking. Brief self-evaluation forms will be distributed on Moodle, which will give you an opportunity to evaluate your learning experience in this course. These are tentatively due on March 3 and May 5. Exegetical paper on a select biblical passage (35% of course grade): Each student will write a graduate level paper which makes use of secondary sources, argues an original thesis, and is characterized by a sophisticated analysis of the subject matter. Begin thinking about which biblical passage you d like to work on. More detailed instructions will be given in class and you will have opportunities to work on your passage with your colleagues. Grading policies: Late assignments will be docked a half-letter grade per day (that is, if the assignment was due on Monday by 6p and it is any time on Monday after 6p or Tuesday before 6p, it will be docked one half-letter grade. After Tuesday at 6p, it will be docked one full letter grade). I do not accept assignments that are more than one week late. Students must complete all assignments in order to pass this class. If you require an extension, please contact me at least a week in advance to request additional time. Page 3
The grading scale for this course is: A = 100-93 AB = 92-88 B = 87-83 BC = 82-78 C = 77-73 CD = 72-68 D = 67-60 F = 59 or below Course Schedule: (Subject to change with advanced notice) Please bring the assigned text with you to class (you do not need to bring all of your books to every class just the one(s) you read for that class). You will need a Bible for each class. February 3 Course introduction, syllabus and expectations, starting points Before doing any reading (including the Bible!), please take some time to articulate your starting points, in approximately 2-3 pages: what is the Bible? What is it for? Who reads it? Who values it? Why do YOU read it? And what are your guidelines/principles for reading the Bible (i.e. how do you read it?)? This should be posted to Moodle by 12p on February 2; please bring a copy with you to class the next day, too. Marcus Borg, Reading the Bible Again For the First Time (entire) February 10 What are we reading? Genesis 1-23 Amos Ecclesiastes Krister Stendahl, Why I Love The Bible. Harvard Divinity Bulletin 35 no 1 (2007). (Moodle) And we will continue discussing Borg in class, too. February 24 Jewish texts in the Christian Bible Choose a text for final exegetical paper Timothy Michael Law, When God Spoke Greek (entire) Page 4
March 10 The Gospel and the Gospels Annotated version of chosen text AJ Levine, Short Stories by Jesus. We will divide up her chapters so each person is assigned a certain parable. Come ready to present on your parable. March 24 The Gospel and the Gospels Paper proposal Synoptic parallels, select paragraphs. April 14 Exegetical methods Full draft Hayes and Holladay, Biblical Exegesis: A Beginners Handbook April 28 Showing our work Student presentations on exegetical papers Final draft uploaded to Moodle by May 5 Page 5