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ENG 270-001 Old Testament as Literature Andrew Battista

University of Kentucky ENG 270: The Old Testament as Literature

Syllabus – Spring 2011

Section: 001Instructor: Andrew Battista

Days: MWF Office: Patterson Office Tower 1518

Location: FB B 13Office Phone: 257-1840

Time: 9:00-9:50 AME mail:

Writing Center Phone: 257-1368Dept. Phone: 257-7008

Mailbox: POT 1215 Office Hours: M 2-4 PM F 2-3 PM

Course Blog URL: or by appointment

Required Texts: The Jewish Study Bible, Tanakh Translation. Berlin, Adele and MarcZviBrettler, eds. (ISBN: 0195297546),Brettler, Marc, How to Read the Bible.(ISBN: 082760775X), and Freud, Sigmund. Moses and Monotheism.(ISBN: 0394700147)

Course Description & Objectives: This semester, we will read the Old Testament as literature rather than as a sacred text. Or, more specifically, we will approach the Old Testament by reading sections of it via various literary critical hermeneutical methods, waysof reading we can distinguish from those that regard the Old Testament as a wellspring of personal religious or spiritual edification (i.e. “God’s Word”). One goal of this course is to understand the politics and consequences of its title: should we refer to the text we’re reading as the Bible, Hebrew Bible, Old Testament, Jewish Scriptures, Torah, or Tanakh? A second goal of this course is to read the Old Testament as an entity distinct from the New Testament and its various appropriations and reinterpretations of the Old Testament (note: we’ll attempt this insofar as the task is possible). Finally, we’ll examine some ways in which the Old Testament continues to shape our literary and cultural identities. To accomplish these goals, we’ll consider the process of canonization, weigh the challenges of reading texts that have been redacted and translated, understand the conventions of Old Testament literary genres, investigate post-biblical rabbinical interpretation, and explore a variety of literary critical interpretations of Old Testament texts.

Attendance Policy: The University of Kentucky mandates that if a student misses more than one-fifth of class contact hours for any reason, he or she cannot receive credit for the course. For our course, this means if you are absent for nine (9) sessions, you must either withdraw before the registrar’s deadline (or petition the college dean for a “W” if you are withdrawing after the deadline) or you will receive an “E.” Note that in the context of the one-fifth policy as it pertains to passing the course, UK makes no distinction between excused and unexcused absences. See Section 5.2.4.2 for a definition of “excused absence,” a list of what constitutes proper documentation, and a description of your student rights. You must indicate to me within one week after an absence that it is excused, and you must provide the proper documentation for each excused absence.

My Policy: Your success in ENG 270 hinges on interaction, discussion, and constructive criticism, none of which can happen when you are not in the classroom. Although I think this is clear, it’s still the case that every semester I teach, I have some students who habitually arrive late to class or leave class early, which is distracting. Worse, it demonstrates a lack of respect for me, for other students, and for the subject. Everyone will be allowed to have four absences without penalty, which is, in my opinion, more than enough leeway for bad traffic, rain, sickness, printing problems, parking snafus, or anything else that might occasionally make you late. In addition to the university attendance policy, frequent absences or tardiness may reflect poorly on the participation component of your grade. Please attend regularly and on time.

Grading Standard: As per the University of Kentucky policy, students must submit all essay assignments and earn a grade of “C” or higher on each. This rule, known as the “‘C’ or above policy,” means that you are able to re-write essays to receive the required grade of “C” (essays earning a grade of “C” or better may not be re-written). The maximum grade a re-written paper can receive is a “C” (“70”). If you submit an essay that earns the grade of “D” or “E,” you must meet with me, revise, and turn in the re-written version (with the original version)within two weeksof receiving it. Please be aware that the final essay cannot be revised and must be of “C” quality upon submission, or else you will not pass the course.

Your final grade will be derived according to the A-E system, without + or – distinctions. I will assign a percentile point grade for each of the two formal essays (e.g. “86”). The essays will be tabulated with the other components of the course, and your grade will be converted to a 4.0 scale. Your final grade is derived accordingly: A 3.5 - 4.0, B 2.75 - 3.49, C 1.75 - 2.74, D 0.5 - 1.74, E 0.0 - 0.5

Grade Distribution: Your final grade is determined according to your performance in the following categories: two formal essays (one written individually, one written in collaboration with a group), two exams (one midterm on the Torah and one comprehensive final), conversation blog posts, and participation. The categories are distributed accordingly and explained in detail below:

Formal Essays …... 40% Participation……10% Exams…40% Conversation Papers…10%

Formal Essays: The sum of graded formal writing will equal (at minimum) 15 typed pages, 10 of which must be single authored. As per the W requirements, no assignment requiring fewer than four pages may count toward the 15 page minimum, and each essay must undergo a draft, review, and revision process to be considered complete. You will write two formal essays, each of which will be the product of a deliberate process. The tentative due dates and weight factors for the essays are as follows:

Assignment / Page length / Weight / Due Date
Researched essay / 10-12 pg. / 30% / March 30
Group essay / 5-8 pg. / 10% / April 29

For consistency’s sake, use only standard margins, submit only typed essays, and use only 12-point Times New Roman font (do not use Currier New). Note that all essays failing to meet the required amount of pages or sources automatically fail. I will not read them before returning them to you.

Exams: Exams will cover the material, including primary texts, lecture notes, and discussion questions that will be presented in each of the three major units. The exams, which are designed to encourage close reading and a detailed knowledge of the texts, will include multiple choice, quotation identification, and short essay response questions. The exam schedule and weight factor is as follows:

Exam / Date / Weight
Midterm / March 4 / 20%
Late Semester / April 22 / 20%

Conversation Blog Posts: Throughout the semester I will post questions on the blog that are meant to prepare you for class discussion. At least two times, you are required to write a blog post of about 1000 words that engages these questions and post it before arriving to class. Late blog posts will not count. More information regarding the nature of these assignments will be covered in class.

Participation: Because your success depends heavily on attendance and involvement, the participation grade will be derived from your contributions in all facets of the course, specifically (1) in-class small group and class-wide discussion, (2) comments on the course blog, (3) attendance and (4) peer review activities.

Much of your participation in this course will be evaluated by the quantity and quality of your contributions to the blog. Each week, I will post discussion questions that will guide our class readings and will foreground our discussions. You are strongly encouraged to weigh in on these questions before arriving to class. Use them to guide your reading experience. Also, you’ll be asked to participate in peer review activities in class and on the blog, and these activities form the final component of your participation grade.

Effective participation demands a level of respect shown to others in the classroom. Our discussions will inevitably involve provoking issues, many of which may trigger some level of passion. However, exclusionary, or offensive language in class or in blog discussions is not appropriate and will not be accepted. This includes using just language that is sensitive to religious diversity. I am confident that the class will approach the course readings, discussions, and writings with respect and understanding. Remember, understanding does not necessarily equate to agreement.

Late Policy: Late essays will be penalized ten percentage points per day. Essays are due at the beginning of class (submitted in class, in person) on the deadline date. “Late” (excluding situations involving excused absences) means that you have neither turned in your essay on time in hard copy form nor have spoken with me to make alternate arrangements. Please, if you foresee any difficulties in meeting a deadline, contact me, as I am reasonable and will almost always give an extension. The only way you can incur a penalty for turning in an assignment late is to completely disregard a deadline and not contact me.

Disability Policy: Those students with disabilities who need special accommodations should make arrangements with me.

Plagiarism and Academic Honesty: Part II of Student Rights and Responsibilities ( part2.html) states that “all academic work, written or otherwise, submitted by students to their instructors or other academic supervisors, is expected to be the result of their own thought, research, or self-expression. In cases where students feel unsure about a question of plagiarism involving their work, they are obliged to consult their instructors on the matter before submission.” When students submit work purporting to be their own, but which in any way borrows ideas, organization, wording or anything else from another source without appropriate acknowledgment of the fact, the students are guilty of plagiarism. Plagiarism includes reproducing someone else’s work, whether it be published article, chapter of a book, a paper from a friend or some file, or whatever. Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing or allowing another person to alter or revise the work which a student submits as his/her own, whoever that other person may be. Students may discuss assignments among themselves or with an instructor or tutor, but when the actual work is done, it must be done by the student, and the student alone. When a student’s assignment involves research in outside sources or information, the student must carefully acknowledge exactly what, where and how he/she has employed them. If the words of someone else are used, the student must put quotation marks around the passage in question and add an appropriate indication of its origin. Making simple changes while leaving the organization, content and phraseology intact is plagiaristic. However, nothing in these Rules shall apply to those ideas which are so generally and freely circulated as to be a part of the public domain. (Section 6.3.1). The minimum penalty for an academic offense, such as cheating or plagiarism, is an E in the course (Section 6.4.1).

W Information: ENG 270 has been designated as a writing intensive course, and as such, students should (1) write a paper that is essentially free of mechanical errors (grammar, punctuation, spelling, and syntax) and awkwardness, using a style that is appropriate to the purpose and audience, (2) demonstrate an ability to discover, evaluate, and clearly present evidence in support of an argument in the subject area and utilize documentation that conforms to the formats and the citation conventions of the subject area, (3) be aware that composing a successful text frequently takes multiple drafts, with varying degrees of focus on generating, revising, editing, and proofreading, and (4) write a capable, interesting essay about a complex issue (discipline-specific) for a general university audience.

As per the W requirement, students are required to submit two clean copies of the final essay for assessment. One copy goes to me, and the other must have all identifying information removed, except the student ID number.

Miscellaneous Policies

  • My mailbox is in POT 1215. You may hand in work to the office assistant between the hours of 8:00-4:30 and only aftermaking prior arrangements with me. Similarly, don’t ever slide assignments under my door.
  • Leaving your cell phone, iPod, or other devices on during class (or text messaging or surfing the Internet on them) is not acceptable.
  • I will accept neither handwritten nor e-mailed essays.
  • I will issue a midterm grade, but I will not provide you with your final grade before the end of the semester.
  • Incompletes can only be granted by the Division of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Media Director and are only issued under extenuating circumstances.
  • Do not “pre-pack” (begin gathering your books and packing up before the class ends).
  • Staple your formal essays before handing them in.
  • I would prefer that you do not use a laptop to take notes in class.
  • Realize that you may expend as much as one whole cartridge of ink if you consistently use your personal printer for this class. Prepare accordingly.