INSTRUCTOR:
OFFICE HOURS: 10:00a.m. - 10:45 a.m., or by appointment
|
| My Web Site: http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/pilchj |
Read as much of the Bible as you can. During the course, we will focus on Proverbs and Sirach in the Old Testament, and the Synoptic Gospels in the New Testament. (Sirach Bibliography)
It is also possible to consult translations on the web. Here are some sites that might be helpful:
Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha If your Bible doesn't contain Sirach, it can be found on line at this site. The site is also helpful for exploring Ancient World Cultures
Blue Letter Bible - Provides Hebrew and Greek texts, with analyses and other resources.
Translations and Resources From McGill University, Canada
Non-Canonical
Literature - Click on Aids to Biblical Studies. These are
books that are not in the Bible but helpful for understanding the
Bible.
| Wipf
& Stock Publishers, 199 W 8th Avenue, Suite 3, Eugene, OR
97401 retails these books at $30 each. If a person orders
directly (phone 541-344-1528; fax 541-344-1506; e-mail:
Jennifer@wipfandstock.com; or web-page: http://www.wipfandstock.com),
they offer a 20% discount. Five or more books in one order (of
one or different titles) nets that order a 40% discount. .... Do
the math. ;-) |
VALUABLE "URL'S" FOR RELEVANT CULTURAL INFORMATION
***Scenarios
***The Context
Group Publications
RECOMMENDED:
Ancient History Sourcebook (Internet)
Students will be guided in reading the Bible as the word of God in human words. The required books lead the reader through specific passages of the Old and New Testaments and introduce the Middle Eastern cultural world and values that are reflected in the Bible.
Videos and occasional handouts bring this ancient Middle Eastern world to life so that contemporary [especially western] students can meet and learn to understand these culturally different people. Cross-cultural strategies for interpreting the Bible help the reader draw from it inspiration and guidance for life in the modern world.
1. Biblical Literature: The student will become familiar with and read as much of the Bible as time will allow. Proverbs and Sirach in the Old Testament; and the Synoptic gospels in the New Testament are essential to this course.
2. Middle-Eastern Culture: Each one will gain a fundamental understanding of the Middle-Eastern cultural context of the Bible and its remnants in modern Middle Eastern cultures.
3. Guidelines: the guidelines for reading the Bible offered
by
the Roman
Catholic Church are widely recognized and
accepted
among scholars of all Christian denominations as part of the basic,
scientific approach to reading and studying the Judaeo-Christian
collection
of scripture known as the Bible. Mastery of these guidelines is an
invaluable
tool for a respectful reading of the Bible.
The most recent and very useful statement of
guidelines
is the Pontifical Biblical Commission's 1993 document: The
Interpretation of the Bible in the Church
4. "Real-Life": Students are encouraged to explore cross-cultural
applications of biblical insights to contemporary life in other
cultures.
For a sample of the process, see my article "How
We Redress Our Suffering."
2. Annotated Bibliography for your Term Paper; DUE October 9th, 2009
3. Term Paper; DUE November 18th, 2009 (do not forget to include your final annotated bibliography)
4. Other brief assignments.
Week 1: September 2(Wed) - 4 (Fri)
Topic: Historical Time-line - Documentary
Hypothesis - Nomenclature: Jews and Christians
Read
Handout: Session One.
Read: Pilch: Cultural Context of the OT,
pp. 153-172. Historical Time Line; pp. 1-16, Guidelines.
Guidelines for interpretation: Dei
Verbum (Second Vatican Council) (1965) see par. #12
Statement on
Fundamentalism (1987)
The
Interpretation of the Bible in the Church (1993)
Documentary Hypothesis (see Handout: Session One - link to Dr. Kitz).
Nomenclature:
Read: The
Cultural Dictionary of the Bible, pp.
98-104 "Jews and Christians;"
(read also the Catholic Study Bible,
p. 413 (introductory section) on the use of "Jews" in the Gospel of
John, and the suggestion for amending the text.)
**Most recent research on Proper Nomenclature for
the
biblical period: John H. Elliott (2007)
Week 2: September 7 (Mon- HOLIDAY) - 11 (Fri)
Topic: Core Cultural Values
Read
Handout: Session Two
Read: Pilch: Cultural Context of the OT,
pp. 49-70; Neyrey, section II
(Read: Plevnik, "Honor/Shame," pp. 106-115 in Pilch and Malina, Handbook of Biblical Social Values)
Week 3: September 14 (Mon) - - 18 (Fri)
Video: The Middle Eastern Family - PATRIARCH'S
MARRIAGES PATRILATERAL
COUSIN MARRIAGES
Special
Study Guide (hand-out)
(Read: McVann, "Family Centeredness," pp.
77-79
in Pilch and Malina, Handbook of Biblical Social Values)
Week 4: September 21 (Mon) - 25 (Fri)
Rearing Boys and Girls
Read:
Handout Session Four
Read: Pilch: Cultural Context of the OT,
pp. 71-94.
(Read: Pilch, "Parenting," pp. 145-148 in
Pilch
and Malina, Handbook of Biblical Values)
Read: Pilch, "'Beat
His Ribs While He Is Young' (Sir 30:12): A Window on the Mediterranean
World," Biblical
Theology Bulletin 23 (1993) 101-113.
Pilch, "Death
With Honor: The Mediterranean Style Death of Jesus in Mark," Biblical
Theology Bulletin 25 (1995) 65-70.
Bibliography
of Childhood in Antiquity
Week 5: September 28 - October2 (Fri)
Topic: Status and Roles: (Kypseli -
Video)
Special
Study Guide (hand-out):
Jerome H. Neyrey, "What's
Wrong With This Picture? John 4, Cultural Stereotypes of Women, and
Public
and Private Space," Biblical
Theology Bulletin 24 (1994) 77-91.
Concerning the
Samaritans
Read: Pilch: Cultural Context of the OT,
pp. 117-152..
Week 6: October 5 (Mon) -- 9 (Fri)
Topic: Individualism and Group Solidarity
Read: Psalm 22 ("My God, My God, why hast thou
forsaken
me")
Read
Handout Six
Read Pilch: Cultural Context of the OT,
pp. 95-116.
(Read: Neyrey, "Dyadism," pp. 53-56 in Pilch and Malina, Handbook of Biblical Social Values.)
Week 7: October 12 (Mon - HOLIDAY) - 16 (Fri) (MID-SEMESTER)
Topic: Revelation and Inspiration
Read
Handout Seven
Read: Pilch: Cultural Context of the OT,
pp. 173-209.
Mid Semester Exam: Wednesday,
October 14th - Based on Bible;
Text-book;
class lectures; videos.
You must use your Bible, but not your text book.
October 19th, 2009 to December 9th, 2009
Week 8: October 19 (Monday) - 21 (Fri)
Topic: Reading Scenarios (Salt of the Earth)Week 9: October 26 (Mon) - 30 (Fri)
Read Handout: Session One
Read: Pilch: Cultural Context of the NT, pp. 1-26.
Read: Pilch: Cultural Dictionary of the Bible, pp. 4-7
Topic: Synoptic Problem - Two Source Hypothesis: The Testing of Jesus;Week 11: November 9 (Mon) - 13 (Fri)
Read Cultural Tools, pp. 40-43
New Testament in Cultural Perspective: Secrecy, Lying, Deception.
Read: Cultural Context of the NT, pp. 57-92.
Read: Cultural Tools, pp. 68-70.
Read: Pilch, The Cultural Dictionary of the Bible: Deception and Lying, pp. 46-51; Secrecy, pp. 129-134.
Read Handout: Session Three
Based only on the second part of the course; Bible; NT
text-book;
class lectures. You must use your Bible, but not the text-book.
These videos are in the Gelardi Media Center, Lauinger Library, in my name. The videos are relevant to the course. You are encouraged to view them at your leisure, according to your interest.
Prizzi's Honor (English; 2 hours and 10 minutes)An excellent, contemporary illustration of the core cultural values of Mediterranean societies (honor and shame) and the real-life consequences of living or failing to live up to these values.
Wedding in Galilee (Arabic and Hebrew, with English titles; 2 hours)This contemporary film offers many insights. For instance, the wedding customs in this film illuminate the "wedding parables" told by Jesus.
Jesus of Montreal (French-Canadian, with English titles; 2 hours)A challenging presentation of some contemporary scholarship about the Jesus of history, and how such scholarly insight is received by various people.
The Middle Eastern Family, and Kypseli will be viewed in class.Not in the library, but worth renting: