Unit name | The Bible in the Academy |
---|---|
Unit code | THRS20093 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Gethin |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Religion and Theology |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why does biblical studies exist in universities today, and what does a biblical scholar do? The unit will trace the history of critical approaches to the study of the Bible in the West, exploring key turning points in the life of biblical scholarship, from late antiquity to the long Nineteenth century, concluding with trends in current scholarship in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Trends, challenges, and debates both present and potential will be dissected in seminars. The unit will explore the stories of manuscript discoveries and archaeological trends, as well as the achievements of past biblical scholars, such as the Scottish twin sisters Agnes Lewis and Margaret Gibson, who knew twelve languages between them and discovered the Cairo Genizah in 1896. Examples of each critical method (e.g. midrashic, humanist, historical-critical, reader-oriented, etc.) will be treated side by side with a selected biblical text. Each week there will be a two-hour lecture (the second hour of which will be a group analysis of primary texts, and a one-hour seminar for group work, discussion, and opportunities for presentation.
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
(1) articulate knowledge of the Bible's reception in the academy;
(2) demonstrate an understanding of the different ways in which a given biblical book has been handled by scholars;
(3) analyse and evaluate one particular approach or set of related approaches to that biblical book.
(4) demonstrate skills in critical thinking and in written and oral communication appropriate to level I.
1 x two-hour lecture and 1 x one-hour seminar weekly
1 x 2500 essay (50%) [ILO 1-4]
1 x two-hour exam (50%) [ILO 1-4]