English 120 - Literary Approaches to the Bible
Beth Kissileff

TTh 1-2:20

A study of the Bible both as and in literature.  Using the work of such modern literary scholars as Robert Alter and Frank Kermode, we will begin by exploring the literary structures, themes, and poetics of specific narrative and poetic units of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament.  We will look at some of the literary and ideological difficulties of the Bible's translation into English, examine some poetry and prose that is indebted to such translation, and trace the presence of biblical concerns in a diverse group of writers that will, among others, include Mark Twain and Zora Neale Hurston.  The goal of this course is to give the student some familiarity with modern methods of studying both ancient Biblical texts and the literary texts which have been influenced by them.