Spring 2019  |  ENGL 3132 Section 001: The King James Bible as Literature (64755)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/22/2019 - 05/06/2019
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, East Bank
Lind Hall 302
Enrollment Status:
Open (10 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Literature of Jewish Bible ("Old Testament"). Narratives (Torah through Kings), prophets (including Isaiah), writings (including Psalms, Job, Ecclesiastes). God's words/deeds as reported by editors/translators.
Class Notes:
Who was the author of the Bible? To which different audiences are its various books addressed? How did Israel acquire an earthly king? When does the Bible's central figure - YHWH (God)--emerge as the only God (monotheism) and not simply the most powerful among several gods (polytheism)? After YHWH destroys Israel for failing to keep its promise to him, how do the Prophets rescue Israel's survivors and restore them as the Jewish people? What was the message of the Jewish prophet, Jesus, and how did he acquire a following? What legacy did he leave for Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews)? How does Jesus's follower Paul figure in the establishing of Christianity? What is meant by the Second Coming and by the Apocalypse? ENGL 3132 will answer these questions by studying the several literary genres that comprise the KJB: Historical narrative, poetry, prophecy, and wisdom literature in the Old Testament; Gospels, parables, and letters (epistles) in the New Testament. Instructor will provide study questions to guide you through the biblical text. Quizzes and class discussions will be based on the study questions. Short reports and a term paper (1250 words) will replace exams in this course.
Class Description:
King James Bible as Literature: The Jewish Bible. We'll read and discuss the literature of the Jewish Bible (also called the "Old Testament"). The first half of the course will cover the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) and the narratives (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings). The second half will take up the Prophets (Isaiah and the Minor Prophets) and the Writings (Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Ruth, Esther, Daniel). Our readings will come from the King James Version, superbly edited by Herbert Marks (Norton, 2012). For this course in literature, we'll adopt the premise that the biblical texts we are studying derive ultimately from a single author: God (known also as YHWH or Jehovah). The premise allows us to treat the Bible as a historical work that has been anonymously edited and embellished to meet the demands of successive Jewish and Christian cultures. Instead of exams, you'll be given weekly assignments (quizzes, short papers) based on study questions, and you'll write a 2000-word term paper that you'll be allowed to revise. While this course is not labeled writing-intensive, it nonetheless aims to develop your biblical literacy, and by the end of our fifteen weeks your term paper should demonstrate that you can quote and comment upon the King James text in clear, idiomatic English.
Grading:
35%-40% Reports/Papers
35%-40% Quizzes (both in-class and take-home)
20%-25% Class Participation
Exam Format:
No exams (other than quizzes based on study questions)
Class Format:
60% Lecture (i.e., exposition and close reading of Marks's KJV text)
40% Discussion
Workload:
60 Pages Reading Per Week
12 Pages Writing Per Term
1 Term Paper (1500-2000 words)
6 or 7 Quizzes
3 Short (maximum 750-word) Papers
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/64755/1193
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
4 January 2016

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