Fall 2026 – LIT 340/Bible as Literature

LIT 340 – 01/HON 270 – 05
1 course unit
no prerequisites
Term: Fall 2026
Time: 2-3:20pm TF
Room: Bliss Annex 228		 Prof. Glenn Steinberg
Office: Bliss Hall 216
Office Phone: 771-2106
Office Hours: 2-5pm on Mondays
or by appointment
E-mail: gsteinbe@tcnj.edu

TEXTBOOK:

New Oxford Annotated Bible with Aprocrypha, ed. Michael Coogan et al., 5th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2018), ISBN 9780190276089

COURSE DESCRIPTION.  The official catalogue description for this course is available in PAWS.

In this course, we read and analyze the Bible as a piece of literature. In particular, we examine the historical, cultural, and formal character of the various books of the Bible with an eye to understanding the peculiarities of Biblical narrative, imagery, genres, and style – from the Torah to the Gospels, from the historical books to the Second-Temple apocrypha, from the Prophets to the letters of St. Paul. To give us a sense of the historical development of the biblical texts, we will read them, as much as possible, in the order that they were written (or redacted) in their current form – rather than in the traditional order from Genesis to Revelation.

Because our focus is literary, we will always try to avoid theological and religious discussions – not because such discussions aren’t interesting or valid but because they’re not our focus in this particular course.  Even for those interested primarily in theology or religion, a strictly literary approach to the Bible offers many new and interesting perspectives that can deepen and enrich one’s theological or religious understanding.  But sometimes the literary approach may seem to contradict a particular theological or religious interpretation of Scripture.  I always say that you don’t have to believe or agree with anything that literary scholars say about the Bible, but you do have to learn and understand what they say.  You can learn and understand something without believing or agreeing with it.

When the College went through a curriculum revision several years ago, the vast majority of undergraduate courses were “transformed” from 3-credit to 4-credit (1-unit) learning experiences.  While most of the classes continued to meet for only 3 academic hours per week, it was understood that the “transformed” courses offered a depth of learning with additional learning tasks unfolding in the equivalent of a fourth hour, including, sometimes, an actual additional hour of class interaction.  As the equivalent of the fourth hour in this course,

F) students are assigned additional learning tasks that make the semester’s learning experience more deeply engaged and rigorous, and no other additional classroom space is needed.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTATIONS.  The principal learning activities in this course are reading, writing, and discussion.  The readings that I have chosen to assign to you are the foundation of your learning.  If you do not do the readings, you miss out on that foundation, so keeping up with the readings is absolutely essential.

Upon the foundation of the course’s readings, you build by writing response papers, which are more about writing-to-learn than writing-as-assessment.  Response papers are a safe, low-stress space for you to try out ideas, increase your understanding of concepts, and improve your retention of what you’re learning.  By writing, you reinforce and expand the learning that you’re gaining from your reading. But in order for response papers to serve this function (helping you to think through the readings to increase understanding and deepen learning), you need to actually write them yourself.  Using generative AI to write them defeats the purpose.  For this reason, you are not allowed to use generative AI of any kind for any assistance with the writing of your response papers – not for brainstorming, not for the actual writing, not for suggesting improvements, not even for checking grammar and punctuation.  In general, AI just spews out bad writing anyway – full of “hallucinations” (errors concerning the facts, plot, characters, concepts, or words of the assignment) and vague generalities.  Such writing is one of the few ways to fail a response paper, whether you used AI to generate it or wrote it yourself.

Building on your reading and writing, discussion is also very important for your learning in this class.  In general, my approach to class discussion is to begin by posing a question or problem or theme, then to have us brainstorm lots of ideas together in response to the opening question/problem/theme, then to move to evaluating the ideas that we’ve brainstormed, and finally to come to a consensus, as a class, about the best answers/solutions to the opening question/problem/theme.  Your input to the discussion is absolutely critical.  Even though I have taught the materials in this class many, many, many times before, no two classes have ever had exactly the same discussion about them.  Different classes come up with different ideas, different solutions, different approaches.  As the professor, I’m not looking for one idea or one solution or one approach in particular.  I want us to think things through together – to throw out as many ideas as possible, to test and evaluate those ideas against the evidence of the text in front of us, and to draw the best conclusions that we can.  We all learn so much by working together in a free and open discussion to answer a question, solve a problem, or explore a theme.  I learn so much from your fresh perspectives, and you learn so much from each other.  But this means that our class discussions always depend on your preparedness (how thoroughly and thoughtfully you’ve done the assigned reading) and on your courage (how willing you are to take risks, brainstorm, and share ideas – even when your ideas are only half-baked).  I can’t make a good discussion happen.  Only you all can do that.  I can work to create a classroom space that feels safe, and I can pose provocative questions for us to discuss, but a good discussion – along with the incredible learning that comes from it – only happens if you all come to class prepared and willing to join in.

GOALS.  In this course, I want you

      1. to grow ever more responsible for and independent in your own learning,
      2. to improve cognitive endurance in order to be better able to complete readings of considerable length and complexity,
      3. to read as much of the Bible as a single semester allows,
      4. to increase your understanding and appreciation of the beauty and uniqueness of the narrative, imagery, genres, and style of the ancient writings that make up the Bible,
      5. to become comfortable reading the Bible as a literary text (rather than as a theological or religious text),
      6. to become more conversant in the most influential images, stories, characters, and myths of the Judeo-Christian tradition,
      7. to become familiar with present-day theories about how the Bible was composed and transmitted, and
      8. to increase your sensitivity to the concrete historicity of texts and to the development of literary traditions, cultural values, modes of thought, and uses of language over time.

This course also contributes to the following Middle States goals for the School of Humanities & Social Sciences and the English Department:

#1 Written Communication,
#5 Critical Analysis and Reasoning: Ability to critique the arguments of others in the discipline and the construction of one’s own arguments in the discipline, using data/evidence are a focus of instruction and/or the ability to analyze linguistic and cultural patterns,
#7 Interpret Language and Symbol,
#8 Intercultural Competence: The development of understanding of other cultures and/or subcultures (practices, perspectives, behavior patterns, etc.),
#12 Students will be able to demonstrate familiarity with a range of critical, generic, and literary traditions (including recent theoretical approaches) that shape – and are shaped by – literary discourses and texts of particular periods or movements,
#14 Students will be able to identify historically specific elements relevant to a particular text, and
#15 Students will be able to read a literary work and characterize its main aesthetic, structural, and rhetorical strategies in an argumentative, thesis-driven essay or in a writing workshop
#17 Analyze how creative texts, artworks, or performances reflect, shape, exalt, or challenge the values of a culture.

REQUIREMENTS.  For this course, you must complete the following graded assignments:

      1. eight two-page response papers (together worth 20% of your final grade),
      2. a midterm exam (worth 10%),
      3. PAPER 1 (20%),
      4. PAPER 2 (25%), and
      5. a cumulative, comprehensive final exam (25%).

Your final grade will be based on the following scale:  A = 93%-100%, A- = 90%-92%, B+ = 87%-89%, B = 83%-86%, B- = 80%-82%, C+ = 77%-79%, C = 73%-76%, C- = 70%-72%, D+ = 67%-69%, D = 60%-66%, and F = below 60%.  This scale is absolute.  Because the response papers are in a sense a form of extra credit built into this course from the start, I do not give extra credit at the end of the semester to help students raise their grade even a whisker.  So, even if, at the end of the semester, you are just .001 points away from an A-, your final grade will be a B+.

RESPONSE PAPERS.  In the course of the term, you are required to submit eight short, informal papers (about 2 pages each) on the reading assignments for class from the Bible.  You may choose for which days you want to write a response paper, as long as you have completed eight response papers by the end of the term.  You must, however, submit at least two response papers before the midterm exam.  If you have not submitted at least two response papers by then, you will receive a zero that you cannot make up as two of your eight response paper grades (bringing the highest total response paper grade that you can receive for the semester down to a 75% or C).

For each response paper, choose one of the following topics and analyze the reading assignment from the Bible for the day with respect to the topic you’ve chosen:

      1. Narrative.  Biblical narrative is not linear like most narrative today.  It’s more like a collection of short stories than like a single, coherent novel.  So, imagine that someone put together a book by asking a bunch of different writers to write short stories with some of the same characters (famous people from our past) but without reading each other’s stories.  The characters might have the same names and even sometimes similar characteristics, but the stories about the characters wouldn’t be consistent with one another.  In one story, two characters might meet each other, but in the next story, they may not have met yet.  This is what biblical narrative is like.  As you read, you can’t assume that what happened in one story is relevant to the next one.  Stories don’t move neatly from point to point in chronological order across the whole of a book.  In addition, the Bible sometimes repeats or splices together two different versions of the same story – as though two different writers wrote short stories about the same incident but each put their own spin on it.  So a story may start and then suddenly start over again (splicing two different versions of the same story together); or a story may be told once and then be told all over again later in a different context; or two or more stories may cover the same basic ground, telling a different two (or more) different stories about the same basic event.  Choose a story that gets repeated, that covers the same ground as another story, or that starts and restarts.  What effect does the repetition have on readers?  Is the repeated story exactly like the original?  If not, how does the repetition vary from the original?  What do we learn from the repetition and variation?  Do the repetition and variation cause ambivalence (a feeling of uncertainty about how to evaluate the stories and their message) or add layers of meaning (providing multiple perspectives on the same incident or topic that enrich our understanding) or constitute a corrective (with one version of the story “correcting” the other)?
      2. Typology.  Many plot motifs are repeated again and again throughout the Bible (e.g., the story of a barren woman who miraculously has a child in her old age).  This kind of repetition is called typology by biblical scholars.  It differs from the narrative repetition in #1 above in that it doesn’t involve the same characters.  It’s not the same story (with the same characters) being repeated but different stories (with different characters) that nonetheless follow the same basic storyline or plot pattern.  The first instance of a motif is called a type (like a prototype or archetype) and prefigures later appearances of the same motif.  Sometimes a type will even be turned on its head (in what is called an anti-type).  Many of these types have their origin in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible).  So, do any plot motifs in the reading assignment seem familiar?  Are they a type, the repetition of a type, or an anti-type?  Why would the biblical author choose to reuse this type?  What was the meaning of the type before?  What does its earlier meaning add to this repetition?  How does the repetition reflect anything new back on the original type?
      3. Imagery.  Biblical texts often repeat the same or similar images over and over again – e.g., vines and vineyards, flocks of sheep and shepherds, ravening lions, flowing rivers, trees, weddings, prostitutes, and so on.  How does the reading assignment use one or more of these common images?  What meaning does the common image seem to convey?  Is it the same meaning as in previous reading assignments, or has the meaning of the image changed?  Does the author use the image differently or give it a different cast or flavor?  Why would the author resort to the same tried-and-true images as other texts (rather than create new and original images)?  Does the text create any new and original images, not common to other texts?
      4. Genre.  Biblical texts come in a number of different genres (e.g., prophetic writing, “historical” narrative, complaint poetry, royal/patriotic songs, liturgical psalms, letters, sayings, miracle stories, apocalyptic literature), each with their own very particular conventions and expectations.  In most cases these genres are foreign to us today.  What seem to be the main characteristics or conventions of the reading assignment’s genre?  What seem to be the most important elements required by the genre in terms of narrative components, style, and/or imagery?  How does the reading assignment’s use of generic conventions and expectations relate to that of previous reading assignments from the same or other genres?
      5. History/Values.  In ancient times, the writing of history was not so much about trying to capture objective truth about the past as it was about seeing and telling events in a way that separated and defined different social and political groups – i.e., that distinguished us from them.  In Genesis, for example, we hear lots of stories about Abraham, because Abraham is considered the father of the Hebrew people.  We want to know about and remember Abraham as our forefather, but we also want to think of ourselves as getting something from Abraham that separates us from other peoples.  The stories about Abraham (and other similar figures, both positive and negative) are there to emphasize who we are and what separates us from other peoples, especially in terms of our values.  Other peoples are usually figured in the negative characters in our histories; we are usually figured in the positive characters (though not always).  So, what characters in the reading assignment represent the Hebrew people?  How does the reading assignment perceive the Hebrew people?  What does it see as distinguishing the Hebrews (and the characters who represent them) from other peoples?  What values does it embrace?  Does this reading assignment seem to value hard work, honesty, innocence, wealth, generosity, breeding, loyalty, religious ritual, physical prowess, beauty, love, intelligence, humility, learning, cleverness, action, duty, honor, (self-)discipline, individual freedom, family, class, nation, community, or something else?  What exactly does it mean by such terms?  How and where do the characters manifest such values?  How does the Hebrew people’s perception of themselves in this reading assignment relate to previous reading assignments in class?
      6. World View/Human Nature.  What kind of world does the text portray?  What are the fundamental elements or principles of the text’s fictive world?  Is the world a benevolent place or a dark, dangerous hell-hole without hope?  How does the reading portray God?  Is God benevolent, vengeful, caring, mysterious, overwhelming, reassuring?  What does the portrayal of God tell us about how the reading perceives the world and its workings?  How does the text portray humanity?  What are the fundamental nature and characteristics of humanity in the text’s world?  Are human beings seen as basically good or fundamentally flawed or just plain evil?  Does the text seem to view/portray the world and humanity in a basically positive or a basically negative light?  How does the text’s portrayal of the world and humanity relate to that of previous reading assignments in class?
      7. Gender.  How are men and women portrayed in the reading assignment?  What seems to be the attitude of the author toward men and women?  What makes a good man or a good woman?  What makes a man masculine in the text?  What makes a woman feminine?  What does the text imply or say about the roles that are appropriate for each gender?  What seems to be each gender’s place in society?  How is power exercised or shared between the genders?  Does the text seem to favor, criticize, or attack either gender?  How does the text’s treatment of gender relate to that of previous reading assignments in class?
      8. Audience/Social Agenda.  What does the reading say about its intended audience?  To whom is the writer writing or speaking?  How do you know?  What specific clues tell you about the text’s audience?  How does the text portray different social classes?  What centers of power or social class(es) does the text seem to address, criticize, support, and/or depend upon?  What seems to be the social and political agenda of the text – centralization of power, decentralization of power, increase of wealth at the top, populism, engagement in international politics, disengagement from international politics (i.e., isolationism), national aggrandizement in the international sphere, national/religious renewal within the domestic sphere?  How do the text’s audience and/or social agenda relate to those of previous reading assignments in class?  Check under “Files” Canvas for a document with brief descriptions of the most important social groups and centers of power in biblical times.

Keep in mind that some topics are more relevant to some readings than others (and some topics aren’t relevant at all to some readings).  Don’t choose to focus on a topic for a reading for which that topic is irrelevant.

You should submit each response paper by “sharing” it with me as a Google Doc before class on the assigned day.  Be sure to grant me “editing” or “commenting” status when you share the Google Doc with me (so that I can comment directly on the paper).  Please note that, when you do a response paper, you are writing about the reading assigned for the day on which you’re submitting the paper. So, you’re writing about the reading assignment before we discuss it in class and submitting your response paper before the class meeting for which that reading is assigned. You may not submit a response paper about a past day’s reading assignment.

Response papers are graded Pass/Fail, so they need not be a perfect, polished product.  Rather, response papers should be just what their name says – a response.  Think about one of the topics that I have asked you to consider above; then write a response.  Don’t worry about typos or comma splices or organization.  Don’t worry about answering every question I ask under a particular topic.  In fact, focus on the one question that seems most interesting to you, and be as specific as you can, getting down as much as you can, as quickly as you can.  Treat response papers more like a journal entry than like a formal paper.  I don’t want a five-paragraph theme.  Rather, I want an exploration – as detailed and specific as possible – of the assigned reading for the day.  But don’t focus too narrowly on just one passage from the assigned reading.  Try to generalize about the reading and then look at several specific examples and passages to support your generalization.

Normally, as long as you submit a response paper of suitable length, detail, and thoughtfulness (and as long as you submit it before class on the assigned day), you will receive all the points that the response paper is worth.  You may submit more than eight response papers in the course of the semester (to make up for any response papers that do not pass), but no matter how many extra response papers you turn in, you will not receive credit for more than eight total (and if you do not submit at least two response papers before the midterm exam, you will receive zeros that you cannot make up for two of your eight response paper grades).  You may not submit more than one response paper for a single day’s reading assignment, nor may you submit a response paper for a day that you are absent from class.  But you may submit more than one response paper on the same book of the Bible if there are multiple reading assignments spread over multiple days from that book.  The response papers should then each be on the specific reading assignment for each specific day.  NOTE: You may not submit a response paper for a day without a specific reading assignment for class from the Bible (e.g., exam days).  ALSO NOTE: Even if you do not submit a response paper on a particular day, you should still come to class prepared to discuss the response paper topics in relation to the assignment for the day, because we will focus on these topics in our in-class discussions all semester.  In other words, the response paper topics above are a great guide for your class prep and studying every day, even when you’re not writing a response paper.

The purpose of the response papers is

      1. to help you in your preparation for class discussion,
      2. to allow you to try out new and different ideas in a safe, low-stress space,
      3. to help me see where you’re struggling with the concepts in class,
      4. to help you reinforce and expand on what you’re learning in class, and
      5. to help you develop your intellectual independence and confidence.

In order to accomplish these goals, you really need to write your response papers yourself without the help of AI, so you are not allowed to use AI of any kind for any assistance with the writing of response papers – not for brainstorming, not for the actual writing, not to suggest improvements, not even for checking grammar and punctuation.  In general, AI just spews out bad writing anyway – full of “hallucinations” (errors concerning facts, plot, characters, concepts, and words) and vague generalities.  Such writing is one of the few ways to fail a response paper, whether you used AI to generate it or wrote it yourself.

You also may not work together with classmates on your response papers.  Just as using AI defeats the purpose of writing the response papers, getting ideas from a classmate or imitating what they write does not help you to deepen your learning or to try out and practice new ideas.

EXAMS. The exams in this course are an assessment of how well you are learning, understanding, and retaining the material in class.  The exams ask you to identify quotations that were important in our class discussions and to explain the reason(s) that they were important (i.e., what concepts, themes, or meanings we discussed in relation to them).  The quotations are usually ones that we discuss at length together, although some quotations may be less discussed in class but still central to the plot and themes we discussed in relation to the work from which they come (and therefore reasonable passages for you to be able to identify and relate to our class discussions).  In addition, the exams assess your retention of important character names, settings, critical terms, and concepts by asking you to identify and describe them in a couple sentences or bullet points.  Finally, the exams offer you the opportunity to draw together the different strands of what you’ve been learning in class in an essay that asks you to look broadly at overarching themes and ideas.  The exams will be open-note but NOT open-book.  The midterm exam is mostly a sort of trial run for the final exam – to give you an experience, partway through the semester, of what the final exam will be like (so that you can better see what will be expected of you on the final).

PAPER 1 and PAPER 2.  You are required to complete two of the following three “P” paper options:

      1. Prophet Paper.  Read the book of Hosea.  Then read Brad E. Kelle, “Is Hosea Also among the Traumatized?: The Book of Hosea and Trauma Hermeneutics,” Journal of Biblical Literature 144 (2025), pp. 63-83 (available through Project Muse on our library’s website).  Write a paper of 4-6 pages in which you argue a clear, specific, and interesting thesis about how the book of Hosea uses the elements of the prophetic genre to orient and characterize itself, while responding to Kelle’s essay.  How does the book of Hosea use the elements of the prophetic genre to characterize its authority and message?  How do the book’s authority and message coincide with or differ from those of other prophets (e.g., Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and/or Ezekiel)?  How is the book of Hosea similar to the other prophetic books?  How is it a significant departure from them?  How do the specific ways in which it employs and manipulates the conventions of prophetic writing draw attention to its specific outlook and purpose – its particular world view, values, and/or style?  Do not simply list similarities and differences between Hosea and other prophets.  Focus on describing the fundamental character of Hosea and on using the conventions of prophetic writing (and the writings of other prophets) as a way to illustrate and support your claim about the book’s central essence and/or agenda.  Also, remember to pay attention to chronology (i.e., whether Hosea was written before or after other books).  If you compare Hosea to later prophets, recognize that Hosea cannot be responding to or manipulating what those later prophets wrote (since they hadn’t written their prophetic books yet when Hosea was written).  This doesn’t mean that you can’t compare Hosea to later books.  It just means that any comparisons that you make must show the differing ways that different prophets conceived of their authority and purpose without direct reference or connection to each other.  Remember that, as you develop your thesis about the book of Hosea, you also need to respond to what Kelle’s essay says about the book (see below for more about how do to that).
      2. Pentateuch Paper.  Read the doublet of Exodus 16 (P strand) and Numbers 11 (J, E, or a whole new “post-P” strand – it’s disputed).  Then read Thomas Römer, “Israel’s Sojourn in the Wilderness and the Construction of the Book of Numbers,” in R. Rezetko et al., eds., Reflection and Refraction: Studies in Biblical Historiography in Honour of A. Graeme Auld (Brill, 2007), pp.419-445 (available through Google Scholar).  Write a paper of 4-6 pages in which you argue a clear, specific, and interesting thesis about the doublet and its significance, while responding to Römer’s essay.  In your argument, focus on what effect having both stories in the Bible has on biblical readers.  What does having both stories accomplish?  Why include both?  What do we understand about God, Moses, and/or the Hebrew people from having both stories?  How are God, Moses, and/or the Hebrew people the same or different in the two stories?  Do the stories differ in perspective or share continuities?  How do the different perspectives or the shared continuities between the stories enrich our understanding?  Do the differences/continuities between the stories cause ambivalence, add layers of meaning, reinforce commonalities, and/or “correct” each other?  Remember that, as you develop your thesis about the the doublet, you also need to respond to what Römer’s essay says about Exodus and Numbers (see below for more about how do to that).
      3. Pericope Paper.  Read the pericope of Luke 5:17-26, Luke 10:25-37, or Luke 18:18-30 in comparison with its counterpart in at least one of the other Gospels.  Then read Jocelyn McWhirter’s essay “A Rejected Prophet,” in her book Rejected Prophets: Jesus and His Witnesses in Luke-Acts (Fortress Press, 2013), pp. 57-74 (available online through our library).  Write a paper of 4-6 pages in which you argue a clear, specific, and interesting thesis about the pericope and its significance in characterizing Luke’s Gospel, while responding to McWhirter’s essay.  Focus on what the details of Luke’s version of the pericope, as compared to those of the other Gospel writer(s), tell us about Luke’s interests, concerns, values, style, and/or technique.  In order to do a good job, you should probably read (and use) more of Luke’s Gospel than just your chosen pericope (to get a sense of what is characteristic or distinctive about Luke and then to describe and illustrate that distinctive character in your paper).  Remember that, as you develop your thesis about Luke’s gospel, you also need to respond to what McWhirter’s essay says about Luke (see below for more about how do to that).

You may only complete and submit two of these options (i.e., no going for best two out of three).  Depending on which options you choose, the due dates for the papers are different.  See the course schedule below for the due dates.  You may not write on one option and submit the paper on the due date for one of the other options.  You must submit your paper on the due date specified for the option that you’ve chosen (unless you negotiate an extension on the deadline with me).

Be careful how you use and respond to the scholarly essay in each of your papers.  Do not go point by point through the scholarly essay, slavishly following its argument and focusing more on the essay than on the biblical texts.  Instead, respond to just the main point (or one of the main claims) of the scholarly essay with a claim of your own, and then use the bulk of your paper to make a case for your claim.  Your claim should meaningfully connect to the main point of the scholarly essay, either supporting it from a different angle, disagreeing with it, or expanding it in a new direction, but your paper should focus mostly on your claim rather than on the scholarly essay.  I recommend that you start with an introductory paragraph (including your thesis), followed by one paragraph that summarizes the scholarly essay’s main point and argument, and then another paragraph in which you talk about how your claim relates and responds to the scholarly essay.  At that point, leave the scholarly essay behind and launch into your own ideas.  In the rest of your paper, you should argue your claim, looking primarily at new evidence.  Only very rarely, if the scholarly essay made a major point that is especially helpful to your argument, should you refer back to it and summarize or quote what it said, always making perfectly clear what comes from the scholarly essay and what comes from you.  But you should not continually use the scholarly essay to lend authoritative support to the points that you’re making.  Don’t keep quoting throwaway lines from the scholarly essay that seem to have already said what you’re saying.  Think of your paper as your contribution to a conversation with the scholarly essay.  You should be moving the conversation forward, adding something new, rather than just rehashing what the essay already said and quoting it over and over, as though you’re just going over the same ground that the essay did.  In a real conversation, if you just keep repeating what somebody else has already said and quoting them over and over, what impression do you give?  Have confidence in your own ideas, and move beyond the scholarly essay to contribute something new and interesting.  Do you see something new and different in the biblical texts?  Does what you see seem to bolster the scholarly essay’s main point or to torpedo it?  Does it make you agree more with the scholarly essay or disagree more with it?  Can you formulate your (dis)agreement as a thesis?

You need not use any sources for your paper other than the biblical texts and the scholarly essay assigned for the paper.  In fact, I would encourage you not to use other sources (because I’d rather hear what you think than what some published scholar, online blogger, or AI thinks).  But if you do use any other sources (whether scholarly, online, or AI) for ANYTHING (an idea, a piece of background information, an overall perspective, a phrase or wording, a suggestion for improvement, a grammar check), be sure to cite and document the source(s) appropriately (in notes, parenthetical citations, or a “Works Cited” page).  If you use AI to assist you in any way, explain how you used it IN DETAIL in a note at the end of your paper.  Check out the APA’s “How to Cite ChatGPT” or the MLA’s “How do I cite generative AI in MLA style” for guidelines on how to cite AI properly.  If you fail to cite sources or AI that you use, you are violating the College’s academic integrity policy.  You do not need a “Works Cited” page, citations, or other documentation just for the biblical texts and scholarly essay assigned for the paper – if those are the only sources that you use.  Just cite page numbers (for the scholarly essay) and chapter and verse (for the biblical texts) in parentheses wherever you take material or quotations from them.

I encourage you, about a week before each paper is due, to submit a thesis paragraph (a draft of the first paragraph of your paper or just a paragraph that describes what you plan to write about) by “sharing” it with me as a Google Doc (making sure to give me “editing” or “commenting” status, so that I can comment directly on your paragraph).  If you do so by the date noted in the course schedule below, I will give you feedback on your proposed thesis.  If you submit a thesis paragraph later than the date noted in the schedule, I will try to get you feedback as quickly as possible, but I cannot guarantee that I’ll be able to get you the feedback fast enough to be of use to you before the essay itself is due.

Your papers will be evaluated according to the following criteria (roughly in order of relative importance):

      1. Does the paper have a clear, specific thesis?  Does the thesis offer an interesting perspective or “hook” that is provocative without being gimmicky or offensive?
      2. Does the paper’s analysis progress logically?  Does the paper have a clear and consistent overall organization that relates all the ideas of the paper together in support of the thesis (rather than simply a list of random ideas without relation to one another or to the thesis)?  Does the paper have appropriate transitions to aid the reader in following the paper’s logic (rather than weak transitions like “The first…,” “Another…,” and “…also…”)?
      3. Does the paper’s thesis relate and respond to the scholarly essay?  Does the paper avoid focusing too much on the scholarly essay? Does it avoid overuse of the essay as a crutch to lend authority to its own points? When summarizing or quoting the essay, does the paper accurately represent the essay’s content and focus?
      4. Are the paper’s paragraphs properly developed – neither too long and wandering nor too short and deficient? Are the topics of individual paragraphs suitably narrow and focused on a single claim rather than vague and focused on a broad theme? Once a paragraph gets specific about anything, does it stay focused on that specific topic to the end?
      5. Does the paper provide relevant, concrete evidence (including quotations) and logically persuasive reasons for every assertion?
      6. Does the paper show sensitivity to the concrete historicity of the literary works under consideration (rather than treat them as timeless museum pieces or reflect on them anachronistically)?  Does the paper avoid generalizing vaguely or broadly about entire time periods?
      7. Does the paper exhibit confidence and insight when analyzing material never discussed in class?
      8. Does the introduction to the paper offer an interesting, helpful preview of the content, logic, and organization of the paper?
      9. Is factual information in the paper accurate?
      10. Is the writing in the paper clear, effective, and appropriate to an academic setting?

LANGUAGES ACROSS THE CURRICULUM.  A quarter-unit (one-credit) Languages Across the Curriculum independent study may be added to this course for students who have intermediate level proficiency in Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, or biblical Greek and who wish to complement the work in this course by utilizing their language skills. Students should complete this google form (https://forms.gle/67mtZBYhqmJ33EPFA) by Tuesday, September 1, to request to be enrolled in the LAC independent study. Please contact LAC Program Director Dr. Holly Didi-Ogren (holly.didi-ogren@tcnj.edu) with any questions.

PROFESSOR’S AVAILABILITY.  My office is Bliss Hall 216.  My in-person office hours this term are 2-5pm on Mondays.  If you have questions about class (or just want to talk about stuff), feel free to stop by my office during these hours (no appointment necessary).  I can also meet over Zoom during my office hours if that’s more convenient for you; just let me know, and I’ll send you a Zoom invitation.  If you cannot meet during my regularly scheduled office hours, talk to me about meeting at another time, and we can set up an appointment.  Outside of class, you may contact me by email (gsteinbe@tcnj.edu) or by calling my office phone (609-771-2106) and leaving a message (if I do not answer), but email is usually the best way to get in touch with me.  You may also leave a written message for me in my box at the English Department offices in Bliss Hall 124.

ATTENDANCE.  Regular attendance is a virtual necessity for successful completion of this class.  Class discussion constitutes important, useful preparation for your graded work.  If you miss a class, you will essentially lose out on that day’s contribution to your preparation, since it is never really possible to reproduce or recapture the dynamics and flow of information for a missed class meeting (even if you get notes from someone).  If, however, you positively must miss a class, I expect you to find out from a classmate what you missed and to come fully prepared – without excuses – to the next class meeting.  If you must miss an in-class, graded assignment due to a religious holiday, let me know ahead of time, and we will arrange a way for you to make up the assignment.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY.  Academic dishonesty is any attempt by a student to gain academic advantage through dishonest means, to submit, as your own, work which has not been done by you, or to give improper aid to another student in the completion of an assignment. Such dishonesty would include, but is not limited to, submitting as your own a project, paper, report, test, or speech copied, partially copied, or paraphrased from the work of another (whether AI-generated, in print, on the Internet, or from another student). Credit must always be given for words quoted or paraphrased and for ideas or information taken from somewhere else. The rules apply to any academic dishonesty, whether the work is graded or ungraded, group or individual, written or oral.  Most people who cheat do so out of desperation, because they are struggling to understand an assignment or lack time to do it.  Please, please, please, if you ever need help with an assignment or need an extension on a deadline, let me know rather than resort to cheating.

ACCOMMODATIONS.  The College of New Jersey prohibits discrimination against any student on the basis of physical or mental disability or perceived disability. The College will also provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations to enable students with disabilities to participate in the life of the campus community. If you require such accommodations, I will make every reasonable effort to meet your needs and to create an environment where your special abilities are respected.  Go to the website of the Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) for more information about how to arrange for such accommodations.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION. We are all enriched by greater diversity, and we all bring different perspectives to this class. I want to create a learning environment that supports diversity and honors your identities and perspectives (including your race, gender, sexuality, social class, religion, mental and physical health, differing abilities, politics, etc.). If, for example, you go by a name and/or set of pronouns that differ from those that appear in your official records, please let me know. If you feel that your performance in class is being impacted outside of class by a hostile environment related to your identity, please don’t hesitate to talk to me. If something is said or posted in class (by anyone, including me) that you consider hostile or offensive to your identity, please talk to me about it. I will expect our whole class (including me) to strive always to honor every form of diversity.  See also TCNJ’s statement on inclusive excellence at https://inclusion.tcnj.edu/inclusive-excellence-statement/.

SCREENS.  Unless required as an accommodation for a physical or mental disability, you may not use screens (laptops, phones, or ipads) during class meetings for this course.  In the last ten years, there has been a ton of research that shows that screens are bad for learning – that you are less likely to remember what happens in class if you take notes on an electronic device rather than with pen and paper, that you are less likely to comprehend and remember what you read if you read it on a screen rather than in a printed format, and that you are more likely to be distracted and miss things in class if you use an electronic device during class time.  I am not a Luddite (someone who despises all technology); I love my screens and use them a lot.  But I have watched a lot of students, especially over the last ten or so years, perform much worse in my classes than they could (or should) have performed, because they used screens for taking notes and reading.  And my anecdotal experience with students over the last decade is nothing in comparison with the towering tsunami of research that shows just how bad screens are for learning in the classroom.

For that reason, you may not use any electronic devices during our meetings for class. Note that, if we ever need during class to look at a text, document, or assignment that is online, I will display what we need on the large screen at the front of the room.  You will not need your own screen.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT AND COMMITMENT TO STUDENT SUCCESS, SAFETY, AND WELL-BEING.  The TCNJ community is dedicated to the success, safety, and well-being of each student. TCNJ strictly follows key policies that govern all TCNJ community members’ rights and responsibilities in and out of the classroom. In addition, TCNJ has established several student support offices that can provide the support and resources to help students achieve their personal and professional goals and to promote health and well-being. You can find more information about these policies and resources at the “TCNJ Student Support Resources and Classroom Policies” webpage at https://academicaffairs.tcnj.edu/tcnj-syllabus-resources/.

Students who anticipate and/or experience barriers in this course are encouraged to contact the instructor as early in the semester as possible. The Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) is available to facilitate the removal of barriers and to ensure reasonable accommodations. For more information about ARC, please visit https://arc.tcnj.edu/.

COURSE SCHEDULE.  The schedule below is subject to revision at the discretion of the professor.  Changes in the schedule made after the first day of class will be shown in red.

Dates Assignments
T Aug 26 Introductions
F Aug 28 Genesis 1-2 and Amos
T Sep 1 Genesis 3-4, 12-13, 15-16, 18-19, 24-27, 29, 34
F Sep 4 Isaiah 1-23
T Sep 8 NO CLASS (Monday schedule instead)
F Sep 11 Isaiah 24-39 and Genesis 20-22, 31, 33
T Sep 15 Judges
F Sep 18 1 Samuel
T Sep 22 2 Samuel
F Sep 25 1 Kings
T Sep 29 2 Kings
F Oct 2 MIDTERM EXAM
T Oct 6 NO CLASS (Fall Break)
F Oct 9 Jeremiah 1-25
T Oct 13 Jeremiah 26-52
F Oct 16 Ezekiel 1-24
T Oct 20 Ezekiel 25-48
F Oct 23 Isaiah 40-66
Thesis paragraph for the PROPHET PAPER DUE as a shared Google Doc by 11:59pm
T Oct 27 Genesis 1-24
last day to withdraw with a W or to request ungraded option
Th Oct 29 PROPHET PAPER DUE in Canvas by 11:59pm
F Oct 30 Genesis 25-50
T Nov 3 Exodus 1-25, 32-35, 40
W Nov 4 Thesis paragraph for the PENTATEUCH PAPER DUE as a shared Google Doc by 11:59pm
F Nov 6 Psalms 1-3, 107-147
T Nov 10 Ecclesiastes and Daniel
W Nov 11 PENTATEUCH PAPER DUE in Canvas by 11:59pm
F Nov 13 Ruth and Judith
T Nov 17 1 & 2 Corinthians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, and Philemon
F Nov 20 Mark
T Nov 24 Matthew
Thesis paragraph for the PERICOPE PAPER DUE as a shared Google Doc by 11:59pm
F Nov 27 NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Break)
T Dec 1 Revelation
W Dec 2 PERICOPE PAPER DUE in Canvas by 11:59pm
F Dec 4 John
FINAL EXAM PERIOD FINAL EXAM