Course Requirements

1) Attendance and participation are obviously required since graduate seminars are discussion oriented.

2) The reading assignments are the life blood of the course since they stimulate discussion.

3) You will lead discussion two times during the semester and write two presentation papers. Each paper will begin with a one to two page, single-spaced formal outline followed by a four to six page summary and critique of the Part Two Reading assignment you are assigned to present and discuss with the seminar. (See below for instructions for the outline. The paper itself should read like a book review aside from the fact you are reviewing a much shorter piece of writing. After a brief suitable introduction, summarize the article and then critique it. Roughly two thirds to three fourths of the review should be summary and the rest critique.

3) You will turn in three two page formal outlines of any of the Part Two Readings . Being able to identify the major points and sub-points of a well-written essay is a valuable skill in preparing for teaching and "comps." Click here for excellent directions on how to do a proper formal outline. I will expect you to follow them. Here are some tips: 1) Some if not all of the main headings are often provided for you by the section headings of the article. If the author has done a good job with these, you won't need to reinvent the wheel. You will only need to provide the subheadings. 2) Try to use brief but complete sentences, or at least intelligible phrases, for your headings and subheadings. As you review your outline, ask yourself if a year from now you could basically understand what the article had to say using only your outline. Why is this important? Some of you will ask me to be on your Advisory Committees and the readings from this course will serve as part of the bibliography for my questions on your Comprehensive Exams. Studying will be a lot easier if your outlines were done well.

3) Finally, and most importantly, you will write an eighteen to twenty page research paper. You will present a ten page version of the paper—a suitable length for an academic conference—to the class. Specific instructions will be provided later.

Grading

Two Presentation Papers (30 pts. each)	60 pts.
Discussion Participation	50 pts.
Three Outlines (10 pts. each)	30 pts.
Research Paper Proposal	30 pts.
Research Paper Presentation	30 pts.
Research Paper	100 pts.
TOTAL SCORE	300 pts.

Office Hours

My office is PACB 266. Hours: MWF 10:00 - 11:50 AM. Appointments are also possible. My email address is on the campus web and Blackboard. I encourage you to email me with questions, comments, etc., if you cannot come by during office hours. Just put your name, course, and section on the subject line (e.g., Eric Cartman Rel 631) and I’ll be sure to read your mail first.

Textbooks

Required:

Gorman, Elements of Biblical Exegesis. Hendrickson, 2001.

Harrelson, Hebrew Bible: History of Interpretation. Abingdon, 2005.

Hayes, New Testament: History of Interpretation. Abingdon, 2005.

Knight, Methods of Biblical Interpretation. Abingdon, 2005.

Recommended:

The HarperCollins Study Bible (revised and updated) or The New Oxford Annotated (3rd ed.).

Barton, John, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Interpretation.

Barton, John. Reading the Old Testament: Method in Biblical Study. Rev. ed. Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 1997.

Grant, Robert M. and David Tracy. A Short History of the Interpretation of The Bible.

McKenzie, Steven L. and Matt Patrick Graham, eds. The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1999.

McKenzie, Steven L. and Stephen R. Hayes, eds. To Each Its Own Meaning: Biblical Criticisms and Their Application.

Other Matters

1) Statement on Nondiscrimination. Missouri State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution, and maintains a grievance procedure available to any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against. At all times, it is your right to address inquiries or concerns about possible discrimination to the Office for Equity and Diversity, Park Central Office Building, 117 Park Central Square, Suite 111, (417) 836-4252. Other types of concerns (i.e., concerns of an academic nature) should be discussed directly with your instructor and can also be brought to the attention of your instructor’s Department Head. Please visit the OED website at www.missouristate.edu/equity/.

2) Statement on Disability Accommodation. To request academic accommodations for a disability, contact the Director of Disability Services, Plaster Student Union, Suite 405, (417) 836-4192 or (417) 836-6792 (TTY), www.missouristate.edu/disability. Students are required to provide documentation of disability to Disability Services prior to receiving accommodations. Disability Services refers some types of accommodation requests to the Learning Diagnostic Clinic, which also provides diagnostic testing for learning and psychological disabilities. For information about testing, contact the Director of the Learning Diagnostic Clinic, (417) 836-4787, http://psychology.missouristate.edu/ldc.

3) Statement on Academic Dishonesty. Missouri State University is a community of scholars committed to developing educated persons who accept the responsibility to practice personal and academic integrity. You are responsible for knowing and following the university’s student honor code, Student Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures, available at www.missouristate.edu/assets/provost/AcademicIntegrityPolicyRev-1-08.pdf and also available at the Reserves Desk in Meyer Library. Any student participating in any form of academic dishonesty will be subject to sanctions as described in this policy.

4) Statement on Cell Phones and Other Electronic Devices. As a member of the learning community, each student has a responsibility to other students who are members of the community. When cell phones or pagers ring and students respond in class or leave class to respond, it disrupts the class. Therefore, the Office of the Provost prohibits the use by students of cell phones, pagers, PDAs, or similar communication devices during scheduled classes. All such devices must be turned off or put in a silent (vibrate) mode and ordinarily should not be taken out during class. Given the fact that these same communication devices are an integral part of the University’s emergency notification system, an exception to this policy would occur when numerous devices activate simultaneously. When this occurs, students may consult their devices to determine if a university emergency exists. If that is not the case, the devices should be immediately returned to silent mode and put away. Other exceptions to this policy may be granted at the discretion of the instructor.