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Using a combination of textual analysis and contextual research, explore some question or problem related to diversity within the Hebrew Bible and/or the diverse ways that reading communities have interpreted biblical texts.

What can we learn about the possible meanings of biblical texts from interpreters who may differ substantially from each other? What can we learn about the social construction (and power dynamics) of identities and ideologies, as we see these playing out in how people read and understand these texts? What can we learn about the value of disagreement in an effort to deepen our engagement and enrich our questions?

Here are two potential approaches you might take, though feel free to rework or adapt these to suit your own interests and questions:

The Single Longer Project Option: Select a biblical text and 2-3 interpretations of that text by different reading communities, separated by time, place, culture/ethnicity, gender, class, religion, and/or ideology. These interpretations could be in the form of commentaries, sermons, essays, autobiographical narratives, songs, paintings, poems, novels, plays, translations, or any other “text” that can be read as an effort to make sense of the biblical text you selected. What do you discover that might help the rest of us better appreciate that text and/or those perspectives? A possible trajectory for this option could include (a) an initial exploratory conversation paper(s), (b) a project proposal and/or annotated bibliography (to identify textual and contextual foci, motivating problem/question, approach/genre, initial list of resources, and assessment targets), (c) a draft for peer review, (d) an informal class presentation, and (e) final submission with self-assessment.

The Multiple Smaller Projects Option: Think of this as the “conversation papers” approach: Write a series of personal but analytical responses to different texts, in conversation with one or more interpretations by different reading communities. Begin with an interpretive problem or question, then write your way towards some possible answers through a combination of others’ perspectives and your own close reading. (As with the longer option, these interpretive perspectives could be in the form of commentaries, sermons, essays, autobiographical narratives, songs, paintings, poems, novels, plays, translations, or any other “text” that can be read as an effort to make sense of the biblical text you’re exploring.) You could explore a single perspective–preferably one that is unfamiliar or new to you–over the course of multiple CPs, or you could wrestle with different texts and different interpreters each time.

FAQs

  • How long should each option be? How many smaller CPs should I write? This will depend on what you’re trying to accomplish. That is, far more important than length are your target criteria for assessing whether you’re achieving what you’re aiming to achieve.
  • What if I’m feeling totally lost about what to do or how to do it? Talk to Brian! Ask a librarian for help. Schedule a session with the Writing Center. Check the research resources listed on the website.
  • What kinds of assessment criteria might be worth considering? For starters, especially if you’re planning to write the more traditional academic paper, you might consult these notes about genre conventions in the humanities and adopt some of these conventions as target criteria. Or look again at the course learning outcomes for ideas about how your work on this project might help you meet one or more of those outcomes. If you’re still stumped, ask Brian for help!