IST3003-1-WI14 - HB Top: Empire & the Hebrew Bible

IST3003/THEO6702 HB Topics: Empire and the Hebrew Bible

Winter 2014
Tuesday 8:30-12:00

Prof. Mark K. George
I-202C, Ext. 168
mgeorge@iliff.edu
T 12-1, Th 2-3, by appointment

Course Description

Course Description (W2014 version)

Much, if not most, of the Christian Bible was written against the background, if not within the context of, empire. “Empire” is much discussed in New Testament and early Christianity scholarship, but such is not the case for the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near East. This is surprising, because the first “empires” to emerge in southwest Asia are from the period of the Hebrew Bible and before. Furthermore, Hebrew Bible texts often assume the presence and existence of empires. Isaiah of Jerusalem’s interactions with King Ahaz of Judah during the Syro-Ephraimitic War appear to assume Assyria is an empire and imperial power and that opening a political relationship with it will go badly for Judah (Isa 7).

Given the reality of empires in the ancient world, what effect – if any – did they have on the texts of the Hebrew Bible as they were being formed? Two issues are present in this question and are the focus of this course. The first is that of “empire.” What is an empire, how does a country become one, what characterizes its existence as an empire as opposed to existence as a kingdom, how does such a socio-political entity exist, how does it interact with other peoples and countries? Consideration of such questions invariably involves a consideration of the present. The course title presents the other focus: “and the Hebrew Bible.” Work and readings on empire will be brought into conversation with a range of texts from the Hebrew Bible in order to address how “empire” may be interpreted to inform, shape, affect, or otherwise influence interpretations of it. These foci will be examined through readings in political theory, in primary texts from the ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible, and other relevant secondary readings.

Course Objectives

To gain experience in reading primary texts, both biblical and extra-biblical, through class assignments and research for the final paper.
To develop and expand students’ critical reading and research skills when working with primary research material and questions, through class readings, discussions, presentations, and the final paper.
To advance students’ abilities at formulating theoretical questions and frameworks for critical research, through class readings, discussions, presentations, and the final paper.
To enhance students’ critical reading, writing, and speaking skills, through class presentations, discussions, and the final paper.

Readings

Required

New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. This version is required for all course work, including class discussions, postings, presentations, and final paper. If you do not own a copy and need one, I recommend the HarperCollins Study Bible – Student Edition .

Dean, Mitchell. Governmentality: Power and Rule in Modern Society . 2nd. ed. Malden, Mass.: Sage Publiatrions, 2010. ISBN 9781847873842 (p).

Foucault, Michel. Security, Territory, Population. Lectures at the Collège de France, 1977-1978 . Ed. by Michael Senellart. Trans. by Graham Burchell. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. ISBN 9781403986528 (c); 9780312203603 (p). Listed as STP in Schedule .

Nemet-Nejat, Karen Rhea. Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia . Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998. ISBN 9781565637122. (ISBN 9780801047305 [p; this is the Baker Academic Press ISBN]).

Recommended

Weinfeld, Moshe. Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School . Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1992. ISBN 0931464404.

Optional

Joannès, Francis. The Age of Empires: Mesopotamia in the First Millennium BC . Trans. By Antonia Nevill. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004

Articles and Essays

Altman, Amnon. “Tracing the Earliest Recorded Concepts of International Law. (5) The Near East, 1200–220 BCE.” Journal of the History of International Law 12 (2010): 101–53.

Bahrani, Zainab. “History in Reverse: Archaeological Illustration and the Invention of Assyria.” Pages 15–28 in Proceedings of the XLVe Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale: Part 1 Harvard University Historiography in the Cuneiform World , edited by Tzvi Abusch, Paul-Alain Beaulieu, John Huehnergard, Peter Machinist, and Piotr Steinkeller, with the assistance of Carol Noyes. Bethesda, Md.: CDL Press, 2001.

Bahrani, Zainab. “The Art of War.” Pages 159–81 in Rituals of War: The Body and Violence in Mesopotamia . New York: Zone Books, 2008.

Barbanes, Eleanor. “Planning an Empire: City and Settlement in the Neo-Assyrian Period.” Bulletin of the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies 38 (2003): 15–22.

Berman, Joshua. “Constitution, Class and the Book of Deuteronomy.” Hebrew Political Studies no. 1, vol. 5 (2006): 523–48.

Berman, Joshua. “Histories Twice Told: Deuteronomy 1–3 and the Hittite Treaty Prologue Tradition.” Journal of Biblical Literature 132, no. 2 (2013): 229–50.

Bodine, Walter R. “A Model Contract of an Exchange/Sale Transaction.” Pages 41–54 in Proceedings of the XLVe Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale: Part 1 Harvard University Historiography in the Cuneiform World , edited by Tzvi Abusch, Paul-Alain Beaulieu, John Huehnergard, Peter Machinist, and Piotr Steinkeller, with the assistance of Carol Noyes. Bethesda, Md.: CDL Press, 2001.

Duling, Dennis. “Empire: Theories, Methods, Models.” Pages 49–74 in The Gospel of Matthew In Its Roman Imperial Context, edited by John Riches and David Sim. Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement 276. London: T & T Clark, 2005.

Miller, Daniel R. “Objectives and Consequences of the Neo-Assyrian Imperial Exercise.” Religion and Theology 16 (2009): 124-49.

Porter, Barbara Nevling. “The Importance of Place: Esarhaddon’s Stelae at Til Barsip and Sam’al.” Pages 373–90 in Proceedings of the XLVe Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale: Part 1 Harvard University Historiography in the Cuneiform World , edited by Tzvi Abusch, Paul-Alain Beaulieu, John Huehnergard, Peter Machinist, and Piotr Steinkeller, with the assistance of Carol Noyes. Bethesda, Md.: CDL Press, 2001.

Redford, Donald B. “‘Extending the Frontiers of Egypt,’” and “The Empire of the New Kingdom.” Chapters 6–7 (pp. 125–213) in Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992.

Said, Edward. “Consolidated Vision: (1) Narrative and Social Space.” Pages 62–80 in Culture and Imperialism . New York: Vintage Books, 1999.

Wright, Jacob L. “The Commemoration of Defeat and the Formation of a Nation in the Hebrew Bible.” Prooftexts 29 (2009): 433–73.

Requirements

Participation. Regular attendance and class participation. This includes doing all the reading and having the ability to state each reading's central arguments in your own words, as well as making a contribution to class discussions. As a seminar, the course will suffer if any student is unprepared for class, and if any student fails to contribute substantively to class discussions.
Class Presentation. Each student will be asked to make a one hour (or so) presentation on the materials and topics for one of the weeks in the course. More information on this requirement will be forthcoming, as will the schedule of topics each week.
Final paper project. A research paper on some aspect of the topics of this course is required of all students. For Masters students, papers are to be 3500–4400 words (approximately 12–15 pages), including notes. For doctoral students, papers are to be 4500–5400 words (approximately 15–18 pages), including notes. All papers are to be written to graduate school standards (typed, double spaced, proper grammar and spelling, footnotes, etc.) and are to follow the style guidelines of the Chicago Manual of Style, 16^th ed. (CMS). Students are encouraged to us The SBL Handbook of Style (SBLHS) along with the CMS, because the SBLHS has helpful guidelines for abbreviations of journals, books, etc. Please note footnotes may be single spaced. There are three aspects of this paper project.

All students are to meet with me no later than 6 February 2014 in order to discuss your topic and thesis, method, and other aspects of the paper. Please come prepared with a written thesis statement, outline, and preliminary bibliography.
A complete draft of the paper is to be the basis of a class presentation of the paper during the final week the class will meet (i.e., week 10). Papers are to be posted to the Canvas site no later than Saturday, 8 March 2014 at 11:45 p.m. Everyone is to read the other papers in the class and write up comments and suggestions for improvement of other students’ papers, which then will be handed to the appropriate student and to the instructor. The instructor also will comment on each paper and return them. Additional details about procedure will follow.
The final, revised version of the paper is to be uploaded to the course Canvas site no later than 11:45 p.m. on Friday, 14 March 2014. Please note the upload link will not accept papers after this time, so ensure you have plenty of time to upload your paper prior to that deadline.

Additional

A discussion site on the course Canvas site will be available each week for conversations about the week's readings, topics of the course, and related matters. Posting to these discussions will not be graded, but they are a useful means by which to think through issues in the readings and class discussions. Presenters should be the first to post, providing a brief summary of the central arguments in the readings (thesis, points of the argument, strengths and weaknesses of the argument), and a couple of questions for discussion. These postings should be made no later than Sunday evening at 9:00 p.m. Others should make their postings and advance the discussion - respond to the questions of the presenter, make additional insights and raise other questions, discuss instances of empire from the media and current events - no later than 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Everyone should read through the discussion before class on Tuesday.

Grading

Participation...................................................15%
Presentation...................................................25%
Final paper......................................................60%

Pass/fail requests are due to the instructor by e-mail message no later than Sunday, 12 January 2014. A response approving or denying the request will be sent by the instructor. Incompletes will be granted only in the most exceptional of circumstances. If granted, the procedures outlined in the Handbook appropriate to the student’s degree program will be followed with the caveat that additional work to complete the course is at the instructor's discretion.

Accommodations: Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to accommodate reasonably student needs. Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor or DU Student Services to initiate the process of requesting accommodations. For Iliff students, the advising center may be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by telephone at 303-765-1146.

General grading rubric: In all forms of assessment, the demonstration of critical thinking and reading skills (identifying central arguments and the evidence to support them, developing one’s own ideas and arguments, etc.), advancing the class discussion and work, and engaging in careful thinking about the topics of the course are a major component of how students are graded. Participation grades include demonstration each student’s reading knowledge and comprehension of assigned materials, the ability to summarize the main arguments of readings, to relate those arguments to other materials of the day, and active participation in class work (including the Canvas discussions) are the rubric for evaluation. Presentation grades are based on knowledge and understanding of the assigned readings, demonstrated ability to initiate and lead the class in understanding the assigned readings in ways that advance our thinking and understanding of them (i.e., not mere summaries), originality and creativity of presentation, and clarity. Final papers are evaluated in terms of the clarity of the central argument or thesis, the strength of the supporting evidence, the logic and organization of the paper, the persuasiveness of the argument, and the mechanics of writing (style, format, grammar, spelling, etc.).

Writing Lab: Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments. Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft.

Inclusive Language: It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community.

Grade Scale

A.........................94–100

A-........................91–93

B+.......................88–90

B.........................83–87

B-........................80–82

C+.......................78–79

C.........................73–77

C-........................70–72

D+.......................68–69

D.........................60–67

F..........................59 or below

Date

Day

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