Postgraduate Course: Women, Gender, and the New Testament: Text and Theory (Online) (DIVI11034)
Course Outline
| School | School of Divinity |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The aim of this course is to examine the representation of women and gender in the New Testament and other ancient Jewish, Greco-Roman, and Christian texts. The course will involve analysis of historical texts and introduce students to the methodological challenges involved in studying ancient sources on women and gender. There will be a particular focus on the intersection of gender with other aspects of identity, including ethnicity and economic status, and students will be introduced to a wide range of interpretive approaches |
| Course description |
Academic Description:
This course will introduce students to the representation of women and gender in the New Testament and other ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman texts. The course will involve analysis of primary texts in translation, as well as critical reflection on the methodological challenges involved in studying ancient sources on women and gender. Students will be introduced to relevant debates in New Testament scholarship, including debates about reconstructing the lives and experiences of women in the ancient world, the construction of gender, and the implications of our studies for contemporary debates on gender and religion. There will be a particular focus on the intersection of gender with other aspects of identity, including ethnicity and economic status, and students will be introduced to a wide range of interpretive methods, including feminist, womanist, postcolonial, and masculinity studies approaches.
Syllabus/Outline Content:
The course will begin with an introduction to some of the methodological debates surrounding the study of women and gender in the ancient world. The first few weeks will focus on attempts to reconstruct the lives of ancient Jewish, Christian, and Greco-Roman women, and we will then move on to consider the representation of gender in specific New Testament texts, including the gospels, the letters of Paul, and Revelation.
Student Learning Experience Information:
The course format is a mixture of recorded lecture and seminar-style discussion on set primary and secondary readings, which will have been read in advance of the class. The course is entirely taught online.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics, History or Archaeology at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses.
** As numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2023/24, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Online Activities 22,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
173 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% Coursework:
Essay of 5,000 words |
| Feedback |
Students are expected to discuss their coursework with the Course Organiser at least once prior to submission, and are encouraged to do so more often. Meetings can take place with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment. Students will also receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a sound knowledge and understanding of significant contributions to the historical study of women and gender in the New Testament world.
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the methodological complexities of studying women and gender in the ancient world.
- Demonstrate a critical awareness of the gendered and rhetorical nature of ancient texts.
- Critically interact with and apply the breadth of secondary literature on gender in the New Testament and Graeco-Roman world.
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Reading List
Indicative Bibliography:
G.L. Byron & V. Lovelace (eds.), Womanist Interpretations of the Bible: Expanding the Discourse (2016).
C. Conway, Behold the Man: Jesus and Greco-Roman Masculinity (2008).
M. Dube, Postcolonial Feminist Interpretation of the Bible (2000).
B.H. Dunning (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of New Testament, Gender, and Sexuality (2019).
B. Holmes, Gender: Antiquity and its Legacy (2012).
T. Ilan, Jewish Women in Greco-Roman Palestine (1996).
C. Long Westfall, Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle's Vision for Men and Women in Christ (2016).
R. Kraemer & M.R. D'Angelo (eds.), Women and Christian Origins, (1999).
R. Kraemer, Unreliable Witnesses: Religion, Gender, and History in the Greco-Roman Mediterranean (2011).
E. Schu'ssler Fiorenza, Jesus and the Politics of Interpretation (2000). |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
- Critically review, consolidate and extend knowledge, skills, practices and thinking
- Apply critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis to forefront issues in the discipline
- Communicate with peers, more senior colleagues and specialists
- Take responsibility for their own work
- Develop sensitivity to issues of diversity |
| Keywords | New Testament,Graeco-Roman context,women,gender |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Philippa Townsend
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Rachel Dutton
Tel: (0131 6)50 7227
Email: |
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