IST3005-1-SP14 - NT Lit: Romans

Instructor: Pamela Eisenbaum
E-mail: peisenbaum@me.com
Office Hours: By appointment

Course Synopsis

This course is designed as an advanced seminar for students who have completed at least one introductory course (or the equivalent) in New Testament.  The course fulfills the depth requirement in Sacred Texts for M.Div students.

Primary objectives include:

Books for the Course

Required Books:

See Taylor Library's list of online book sellers for purchasing options.

Schedule:

March 31st:

Reading for March 31st:

Online Discussion Leaders: Nathan, Patrick, Kim, and Beverly

Short Papers:

  1. Jasper - Johana respondent
  2. Mark - Sarah respondent

April 7th:

Readings for April 7th

Online Discussion Leaders: Jasper, Amanda, Patty

Short papers: 

  1. Mary - Kim responding
  2. Erica - Jeff responding

April 14th:

Readings for April 14th:

Online Discussion Leaders: Sarah, Gabriel, Amy

Short Papers: 

  1. Patty - Erica responding
  2. Jeff - Katie responding
  3. Johanna - Nathan responding

April 21st:

Readings for April 21st:

Online Discussion Leaders: Jeff, J.P., Katie

Short Papers: Kim, Sarah

  1. Kim - Diana responding
  2. Sarah - Amy responding

April 28th:

Readings for April 28th

Online Discussion Leaders: Richard, Richard, Johanna

Short Papers: 

  1. Olivia - Richard C. responding
  2. Beverly - Gabriel responding
  3. Diane-- Mary responding

May 5th:

Reading for May 5th:

Online Discussion Leaders: Erica, Diana, Mary

Short Papers:

  1. Richard C - Mark responding
  2. Katie - Patty responding
  3. Gabriel - Beverly responding

May 12th:

Online Discussion Leaders: Danny, Olivia, Mark

Short papers:

  1. Nathan - Olivia responding
  2. Amy - Jasper responding

Information about Assignments:

Overview of Assignments

  1. Completion of all required reading prior to the day for which it is assigned and participation in the online and class discussion. (10%)  Participating in the online discussion means that, minimally, each student will make a post in response to the questions raised by the discussion leaders for that week (see #5 below).  Your first post must be by 11:59 on Sunday evening.
  2. Masters students: Two short papers, 1200-1500 words, each worth 25% of your grade.  These papers are not intended to be research papers, though you may wish to do the optional reading for the weeks in which you write your paper.  They are response papers, in which you choose a particular aspect or issue of the week’s reading and respond to it.  In these papers you need to articulate the issue in your own words and provide your own critique.  Other details:

2.1.  At least one of your papers must be exegetical.  That is, you must take a particular passage in Romans and take a position on how to interpret it, drawing from, or arguing against, any secondary readings that take up that particular text.  You must also look at two-three commentaries (beyond the assigned reading) so as to compare other scholars’ perspectives.  You may choose any commentaries you like. 

2.2.  One of these papers you will present in class. This paper also needs to be posted on Canvas on the Friday before class at 11:59 p.m. in the Discussion Forum labeled "Short Papers" for that week.  You should also upload your paper into the Assignment labeled "Short Paper #1" or "Short Paper #2" -- you will upload both your short papers; simply upload the first one you write into "Short Paper #1" and the second one into "Short Paper #2.  On the first day of class, you will sign up for the week you present your paper.

3. Response to a fellow student’s paper. This should be a 6-8 minute oral presentation in which you respond to the paper by one of the students presenting their paper that week.  A separate handout will be provided with guidelines for the response.  Sign up will be the first day of class. (10%).

4. Doctoral Students: Final Research Paper, which includes presenting a draft of the paper to the class on the last day of class.  50% + 10% for the presentation.

5. Leading online discussion. Each week two or three students are responsible for initiating the online discussion.  (Each student performs this assignment only once.) Discussion leaders should initiate the online discussion by articulating what they understand to be the central issues raised by the week’s readings and posing two or three questions for discussion. Leaders’ postings should be 200-300 words.  You will sign up the first day of class for the week in which you fulfill this assignment.  It may be any week except the weeks when you write a response paper. (15%)  Leaders must post by noon on the Friday before class.  

6. “Tell a Friend:” Write a short paper (300-500 words, approx. 1.5-2 pages) in which you tell a friend about something you’ve learned from the week’s reading.  Alternatively, assume you are writing for the church newsletter, an op-ed piece, or a blog post.  Whatever context you assume, your goal is to communicate one key idea you think is useful for your audience, and explain it to them in your own words.  You may focus on one particular reading or an idea that has come up in several readings, but the subject needs to pertain to the issues for that week.  Demonstrate in your posting your careful thinking about the biblical material and readings. These papers should be posted in the forum designated for them the evening before class, and uploaded to the assignment designated “Tell a Friend.”  You may do this assignment any week except the weeks you write a response paper.  (15%)

 

Additional Assignment Info (24 April 2014)

Leading Online Discussion

Remember: leading the online discussion means posting some summary comments as well as questions. (see #5 above)

Short Papers

Here is more guidance to supplement the rather simple instructions I originally gave you:

The short paper assignment is a 1200-1500 word paper in which you respond to something in the reading.  Unless the paper is intended to be exegetical (see below), your paper must address something specific we read, an argument, issue, or proposed reading of the text that has been raised in the required reading.  By “address” I mean you should articulate what you take to be the argument or issue of the author, and offer a critical response to it.  Do you agree?  Do you disagree?  Why? How? On what grounds? Did it provoke new thinking in you about Romans?  What is that new thinking? Do you think there are implications that are problematic?  How does this author’s argument compare to another’s position—which do you favor and why? Does this author’s position combine with another reading for you into some other fruitful way to approach Romans?  (Compare and contrast projects are great.)

 Take, for example, the April 21st reading from Ted Jennings.  Here’s a hypothetical paper opener:  “Ted Jennings’s thesis with regard to Romans is, simply stated, that Paul is advocating a kind of justice that is outside of law, outside any worldly legal system as we know it.  Rather, it’s a justice rooted in what God achieved through Jesus.  While I find this thesis interesting, what I found really compelling about Jennings’s take on Romans is the communitarian nature of his reading.  He takes Romans as a “political philosophy” because he thinks Paul is concerned about human corporate life.  I agree!  I find this a compelling alternative to the more individualistic readings of Romans. Although Jennings’ focus is the political arena, I think his insights about the corporate dimension of Paul’s message could be used to pursue other theological questions, like religious pluralism….”  And then say how, why, etc.  One could go on to highlight some specific readings of texts Jennings provides that illustrate the corporate dimension and use them to speak to theological concerns, or perhaps compare these to Keck’s observations, which might provide the more expected theological framework focused on the individual.  Or I might bring in Stowers emphasis on the importance of the two groups: Jews and Gentiles—how might Jennings’s perspective combine with Stowers to address issues of religious pluralism?  I couldn’t do all of this in one paper, but I’m trying to give you a sense of options for a direction one might go as a way to engage with something in the reading.

What I’m trying to have you avoid is to write about some general issue only tangentially related to the class.  While you may draw on readings outside the course to enrich your paper, your focus must be on the readings for this class. 

If you are presenting your paper in class, you must address the material for that week; if not presenting, you may write on any reading up to the point at which you turn in the paper.  Other than that the general guidelines are the same.  When you turn in this paper, please upload it to the Short Paper Assignment (either #1 or #2 depending if first or second one you’re turning in).

Exegetical Papers:  As indicated on the syllabus and assignments summary page, at least one of your papers must be exegetical.  That is, you must take a particular passage in Romans and take a position on how to interpret it, drawing from, or arguing against, any secondary readings that take up that particular text.  You should draw on any relevant material we’ve read in class, but you must also look at two-three commentaries (beyond the assigned reading) so as to compare other scholars’ perspectives.  You may choose any commentaries you like. 

 

 

and general information about assignments

Synopsis of Student Assignments

Responding to Student Papers

Course Overview and Objectives

This course is designed as an advanced seminar for students who have completed at least one introductory course (or the equivalent) in New Testament.  Primary objectives include:

 

Evaluation

Weighting of Assignments:

Grading Scale

A   94-100

A-  90-93

B+  87-89

B   83-86

B-  80-82

C+  77-79

C  73-76

C-  70-72

D   60-69

F  <60

Policies and Services

Incompletes:  If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.

Pass/Fail:  Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.

Academic Integrity and Community Covenant:  All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate.  All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.

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

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. 

Degree Learning Goals

DateDayDetails