C301/L470/H303  The Poetics of Biblical Narrative
SECOND EIGHT WEEKS COURSE
MW 4:00-6:00 (3 cr.) ~ Professor Marks
~meets Cultural Studies and A&H requirements~

Close study of selected biblical writings, particularly the books of
Samuel and Genesis, in an effort to show the relevance to one
another of literary theory and biblical scholarship.  Our initial
aim will be intimate acquaintance with the complexities of the text,
including the ideas behind it and the ideas it has inspired; but we
shall be concerned too with more general issues of authority and
originality, metaphor and enigma, interpretative license and the
status of the author -- issues which a critical reading of the Bible
raises in their acutest form. Secondary reading will include classic
works of biblical interpretation, ancient and modern, religious and
secular.

No special preparation or knowledge is required but students with
Hebrew will be encouraged to work with the original.

Requirements: a short exegetical exercise, a class report, and a
final paper.