This course will provide a brief introduction to one of the most important — and yet one of the least accessible and least read — texts of the Jewish tradition. After a brief overview of the origin and history of this monumental work, the course will focus on reading and discussing a few important sections and considering their connection with the Hebrew Bible. No background knowledge of any kind is required. Continue reading
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Despite the traditional belief that it has remained unchanged since its fundamental principles were given to Moses at Mt.Sinai, what is today known as Judaism is the product of several thousand years of evolution. During this time a number of distinct “Judaisms” have come into being, some of which (including “Christianity”) survive until this day. Beginning in ancient times and concluding in the present, this course will survey the development of these various forms and the people associated with them by examining a range of primary and secondary sources. The course will consist of both lectures and class discussions. In addition, students will be required to write three short papers on assigned topics and to make a presentation related to the themes of the course. Continue reading
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Despite our habit of talking about it in the singular, “the Bible” is an anthology of many books from different times and places. But not every book that could have made it into the Bible did so. This lecture will survey the processes by which the biblical anthology was put together and explore some of the books that were left “on the cutting room floor.” Continue reading
Although discovered in the late 1940s, the Dead Sea Scrolls — a collection of Judaic texts dating from roughly 200 BCE to 100 CE — have only recently become fully available to scholars and the public. In this course, we will explore these ancient documents both by reading a selection of them (as well as secondary texts that put them in context) and by comparing them to traditional biblical texts from the same era. In addition to seeking an appreciation of the scrolls themselves, we will also seek greater understanding of various strands of thought current at the dawn of both rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. No prior knowledge or experience of any kind is required. Continue reading
Whether or not a particular 12-year-old boy died at the hands of Israeli soldiers, the image of Mohammed al-Dura is an authentic symbol of the Israeli occupation. Avoiding this harsh truth does a disservice to Israel and the Jewish people, as well as to the Palestinians, hinders the quest for peace, and endangers everyone if the wrong lessons are drawn from the al-Dura incident. Continue reading
Though many people think of God as something fixed and unchanging, a careful study of scripture reveals that this is not so. Rather, it seems that the Western conception of God — and indeed the very notion that there is only a single God – has evolved over the millennia. This course will introduce students to some of the varying conceptions of God found in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur’an through careful reading and discussion of primary materials in English translation. Readings will be drawn primarily from the Torah (especially Genesis and Exodus), the Book of Job, the Gospels, and key suras (chapters) of the Qur’an — though we will begin by looking at Mesopotamian and Greek conceptions of the gods as manifested in the Epic of Gilgamesh and Hesiod’s Theogony. Students will be responsible for doing close, thoughtful reading of each assignment and actively participating in each class discussion. In addition, students will be asked to write three papers (about 6 pages in length) and to make a presentation related to the themes of the course. The second essay is to be revised based on class and instructor feedback. Continue reading
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The dissertation proposed is an effort to further the development of an overarching model of the “textual mediation of culture and cognition” through an initial interdisciplinary case study of the dialectical relationship which has existed between the Book of Mormon and Mormonism since the publication of the former and the founding of the latter in 1830.
As currently conceived, the analysis will proceed in three parts. Part One will set the scene by laying out the theoretical background of the study and the historical background on Mormonism and the Book of Mormon. With these basic perspectives and facts in hand, Part Two will move in two opposite directions, conducting first an “imagined community” analysis which examines the ways in which the Book of Mormon has participated in the “social construction of Mormon realities” (text → context), and then an “interpretive community” analysis which examines the ways in which Mormonism has participated in the “social construction of Book of Mormon textualities” (context → text). Finally, Part Three will resolve this “Hegelian contradiction” by reconceptualizing both the issues and insights of Part Two in terms of: (1) textual mediation of Mormon culture (group habits of thought ↔ individual habits of thought); (2) textual mediation of Mormon cognition (individual habits of thought ↔ individual episodes of thought); and (3) textual mediation of Mormonism (group habits of thought ↔ individual episodes of thought). The conclusion will suggest how these three can be regimented as facets of one total phenomenon, the “textual mediation of Mormon culture-and-cognition”.
To the extent it is successful, the proposed study will: (1) promote a paradigm shift already underway by documenting the insufficiency of “social construction of reality” and “social construction of textuality” approaches to “myth” and the necessity of a “textual mediation” approach; (2) provide a basis for future studies of textual mediation both by contributing to our understanding of exactly what is happening when a text functions mythically and by serving as a prototypical analysis; and (3) shed light on the historical phenomenon that is Mormonism. Continue reading