"There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories." (Ursula K. Le Guin.). The Bible is full of stories, a story of the first humans in a garden accompanied by a snake; of a boat filled with animals and a devastating flood;, of women who strive to have children, and of a father who almost sacrifices his son, and this is just the beginning. The purpose of this course is to use contemporary narrative theory to read ancient texts. A narrative reading focuses on the linguistics, general narrative techniques, literary theory and hermeneutics. We will do a broad theoretical discussion of narratives and how to read them, and from there we will continue to read narrative analysis of texts and then do our own analysis.
"I want the difficult stories, the ones that aren't easy to believe, the twisted ones, the sorrowful ones, the ones that need telling most of all." (Alice Hoffman, Green Heart)
We will read more of the difficult stories than the happy ones, and we also read some contemporary reuses of narratives motives from the Bible. In class we will be working primarily with biblical texts (based in the Hebrew or Greek texts or translations depending on your language skills), but you will be able to work with texts from your own area of specialization as well.
By the end of this course you will have gained a thorough working knowledge of current theoretical discussions of narrative readings of the Bible and you will be enabled to work with narratives in any ancient or contemporary text. Bible and Narrative is relevant for students working with narratives and narrative readings in any field but particularly for students in biblical studies, Jewish studies, religious studies, and the study of religion in antiquity. Students will be heavily involved in the weekly presentation of topics and discussion. More detailed topics and readings will be specified by the course schedule.