PAR 235-001 and 002
Department of Philosophy and Religion
Spring 2008
Phone: 910-962-7660
Class Meetings: T-Th Section One 8:00-9:15; Section Two 9:30-10:45 AM 103 Bear Hall
Office: 275 Bear Hall Office Hours T 11:00-12:00 PM; W 11:00-12:00 PM; by appointment
HBOT CREATION ASSIGNMENT DUE FEBRUARY 7, 2008 (BEGINNING OF CLASS!)
IMPORTANT NOTES!
**Please note that a copy of the syllabus is online at my webpage. If there are changes with the syllabus during the semester I will post them on the online syllabus and do my best to announce them in class. Understand that you are responsible for keeping up with the online syllabus. Also, be sure to keep up with checking your email, as the instructor may communicate information in this manner.
This is a PAR Basic Studies Course, which explores a range of issues and inquiries related to the Bible regarding its nature, origin, composition, history, culture, setting, people, and their stories, and its teachings. Students analyze and analyze approaches to interpreting the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, how it impacts people’s lives, how the study of the text developed, and the reasons for its enduring presence. Students will examine the range of literary genre, symbolic metaphors, figures of speech and religious and theological themes.
A SIGNED COPY OF THE LAST PAGE OF THE SYLLABUS IS DUE THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2008
The Bible permeates nearly every aspect of Western culture. Legal systems, politics, moral issues, and philosophy are some of the areas in which this text has and continues to influence. No book in the history of human civilization has functioned in such a unique and powerful way in western culture. For this reason, the study of the Bible as a document is essential in the study of the American culture.
By the end of the course, you will:
1) gain knowledge about the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and its formation and history, from an interdisciplinary perspective, which includes geography, history, archaeology, language, literature, and religious studies;
2) understand the literary genre and the phenomenal survival of the HB/OT as a religious text or scripture and an important collection of literary works worthy of study in the University curriculum irrespective of one’s religious faith or confession;
3) gain an overview of the history, cultures, and peoples mentioned in the HB/OT; what might be learned from the Hebrews’ ideas of the sacred and the secular, ancient peoples’ communities, law and morality, pain and suffering, war and peace, honesty and deception, gender and sexuality, and better understand how family dynamics are approached in the biblical text.
-Exam Schedule for this course:
-Section 001 (8:00-9:15 AM): Final Exam is Thursday, May 1, 2008, 8:00-11:00
-Section 002 (9:30-10:45 AM): Final Exam is Tuesday, May 6, 2008, 8:00-11:00 AM
***Final Group Project Papers are due no later than Tuesday April 28, 2008 11:30 AM. You can bring them to class or turn them in at the instructor’s office---Bear 275.*** All students must submit a hardcopy of the final paper. Papers sent via e-mail and “lost” in cyberspace are the student’s responsibility.