Course Objectives
- Through this course the students will become more familiar with the content and the historical context of the Book of Judges.
- The students will examine their own contexts and critical issues of our time that are related to Judges.
- The students will engage with “newer” approaches to interpreting the Bible.
- The students will write a term paper in consultation with the class.
Requirements & Grades:
- Class Presentations: Session 2 to 5 (10% each; total 40% toward the final grade); an outline or a narrative description of each presentation is due on the day of presentation.
- Research Paper: 15-20 double-spaced pages in length, due May 18, two weeks after the final class session (60% toward the final grade).
Books
- Mieke Bal, Death and Dissymmetry: The Politics of Coherence in the Book of Judges (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989); I have the library copy; I’ll put it on reserve in time for the class.
- Walter Brueggemann, The Land (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977)
- Ann E. Killebrew, Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2005)
- J. Clinton McCann, Judges. Interpretation Commentary Series. Louisville: John Knox Press, 2002
- J. Maxwell Miller and John H. Hayes, A History of Ancient Israel and Judah (Second Edition; Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006); the Library will have the first edition on reserve
- Daniel Patte et al., eds., Global Bible Commentary (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2004); we will look at one chapter from this book
- Regina M. Schwartz, The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998)
- Gale Yee, ed., Judges and Method (Second Edition; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007) [if you’re purchasing a copy, make sure it’s a Second Edition]
Class Schedule
Meeting 1: January 26 Introduction to the Course and Judges
Reading Assignment
• McCann, pp. 1-25
• Miller and Hayes, pp. 84-118 [or, from the first edition, pp. 80-119]
• Global Bible Commentary, pp. 74-86
• Yee, pp. 1-18
Session 1: 9:00 – 10:30 am
Introduction to the course: expectations, assignments, requirements
Introduction to hermeneutics and methods [Yee]
Break: 10:30 – 10:45
Session 2: 10:45 – 12:00
Introduction to the historical context of Judges [Miller and Hayes]
Introduction to the Book of Judges [McCann]
Working Lunch: 12:00 to 1:00 pm
Session 3: 1:00 – 2:30
Discussion of one contextual interpretation [Global Bible Commentary]
Break: 2:30 – 2:45
Session 4: 2:45 – 4:00
The format, presentations, and reading assignments for the next four meetings
Meeting 2: February 23 Judges 1 – 5
Religion and Violence
Reading Assignment:
• McCann, pp. 27-60
• Yee, pp. 19-45 [Narrative], 115-138 [Deconstructive]
• Regina Schwartz, The Curse of Cain
Session 1: 9:00 – 10:30 am
Reading the Text [Judges 1-5 and McCann]
Break: 10:30 – 10:45
Session 2: 10:45 – 12:00
Examining Methods [Yee]
Working Lunch: 12:00 to 1:00 pm
Session 3: 1:00 – 2:30
Exploring the Issue [Regina Schwartz]
Break: 2:30 – 2:45
Session 4: 2:45 – 4:00
Student Presentation: contexts, issues, and texts
Meeting 3: March 16 Judges 6 – 9
Peoples and Nationalism
Reading Assignment:
• McCann, pp. 61-75
• Yee, pp. 46-64 [Social-Scientific], 183-201 [Gender]
• Killebrew, Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity
Session 1: 9:00 – 10:30 am
Reading the Text [Judges 6-9 and McCann]
Break: 10:30 – 10:45
Session 2: 10:45 – 12:00
Examining Methods [Yee]
Working Lunch: 12:00 to 1:00 pm
Session 3: 1:00 – 2:30
Exploring the Issue [Killebrew]
Break: 2:30 – 2:45
Session 4: 2:45 – 4:00
Student Presentation: method, paper proposal, bibliography
Meeting 4: April 13 Judges 10 – 16
Women and Power
Reading Assignment:
• McCann, pp. 76-116
• Yee, pp. 90-114 [Structuralist], 202-236 [Cultural]
• Mieke Bal, Death and Dissymmetry
Session 1: 9:00 – 10:30 am
Reading the Text [Judges 10-16 and McCann]
Break: 10:30 – 10:45
Session 2: 10:45 – 12:00
Examining Methods [Yee]
Working Lunch: 12:00 to 1:00 pm
Session 3: 1:00 – 2:30
Exploring the Issue [Bal]
Break: 2:30 – 2:45
Session 4: 2:45 – 4:00
Student Presentation: thesis and outline
Meeting 5: May 4 Judges 17 – 21
Land and Colonialism
Reading Assignment:
• McCann, pp. 117-139
• Yee, pp. 65-89 [Feminist], 138-160 [Ideological], 161-182 [Postcolonial]
• Brueggemann, The Land
Session 1: 9:00 – 10:30 am
Reading the Text [Judges 17-21 and McCann]
Break: 10:30 – 10:45
Session 2: 10:45 – 12:00
Examining Methods [Yee]
Working Lunch: 12:00 to 1:00 pm
Session 3: 1:00 – 2:30
Exploring the Issue [Brueggmann]
Break: 2:30 – 2:45
Session 4: 2:45 – 4:00
Student Presentation: revised outline and thesis; updated bibliography; report on the work done up to this point
Term paper due: May 18
