Biblical Studies Religion

This course is unique in its nature and structure. This is the team-taught course about Sacred Texts and Hermeneutics offered at the School of Divinity, which will be led by two professors in Biblical and Qur'uc0u257 nic Studies. The course will introduce different hermeneutical theories, exegetical methods, and theological perspectives. Each class session will include a lecture on particular sacred texts and methods, to provide an opportunity for students to engage the professors and each other on the hermeneutical insights and other implications of the material. This provides a context for recognition of interconnections between texts that might not be immediately identifiable. The course surveys the development of theories of interpretation and exegesis from classical to contemporary time and shows the relation between the theory of interpretation and the understanding of theology. The course will especially attend to the influence of nineteenth- and twentieth-century theories of interpretation upon sacred texts, with an explicit focus on engaging twenty-first century approaches and debates about the importance of interpretation for religious and theological studies. This course fulfills the M.Div. New Testament exegesis requirement and is also required for the M.A. concentrations in Biblical and Islamic Studies.