The Hebrew Bible—the Old Testament to Christians, the Tanakh to Jews—
is perhaps the most read text in the history of the world.  It is
also the most misread.  The purpose of this course is to introduce
you to the Old Testament/Tanakh, and to explore its origins and
meanings.  What do we know about who wrote the Bible, the world that
produced it, and the events it describes?  Why was it written, and
what is it trying to communicate?  We will investigate these and
many other questions as we try to understand a text that has spawned
three major religions and shapes the course of Western Civilization
to this day.  Requirements: midterm, final, weekly one-page
responses