Novels by Hemingway, Salinger, Arthur C. Clarke, Solzhenitsyn, and Tolstoy are considered in these frameworks to explore various responses to the perceived fundamental inadequacies of life. An introduction to the archaeology of Palestine and Syria, with special attention given to the extent and type of contribution field archaeology can make to a more perceptive understanding of the Jewish and Christian scriptures. This course analyzes the prophetic movement in ancient Israel and its effect on the present from a literary, historical, and theological perspective. Although it celebrates the eighth century B.C.E. as the golden age of prophecy in biblical Israel, when Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah of Jerusalem made their substantial contributions, it also considers the role of such prophets as Samuel and Elijah, who were their pioneering predecessors, as well as the role of such prophets as Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who were their worthy successors. Moreover, the course examines the prophet's interaction with society, the forms and style of prophetic discourse, and the diverse insights regarding God, humanity, and the world that issued from both the spoken and written disclosures of biblical prophecy.
Course includes a videotaped introduction to the course by the instructor.
Images of Women in the Bible Focuses on evidence of sexism and disavowals of sexism in the Bible through a comprehensive study of diverse biblical texts and their most recent interpretations. Topics include the portrayal of women in both narrative and nonnarrative Old Testament texts, Jesus as a feminist, the role of women in the early church, and the relevance of the biblical tradition to the contemporary women's movement. This course explores some of the ways in which Hollywood has interpreted biblical stories such as Creation, the Garden of Eden, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, the Binding of Isaac, the Exodus, and the Golden Calf. Students will engage in a close reading of the relevant biblical texts and also view and analyze John Huston's The Bible and Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, comparing and contrasting the ways in which the directors integrate their own visions of reality with their perceptions of the biblical visions. Since videotape viewing is required for the completion of each lesson and written assignment, students must have access to a videotape player to complete this course.