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Approaches to Biblical Studies

Module description

This module will first introduce the range of approaches to biblical studies used within work taking place in Exeter. These include a variety of methodologies, including historical-critical readings, ecological hermeneutics, modes of interpretation concerned with disability, and modern reception studies. As the module progresses you will be expected to develop their own in-depth project that explores one approach to biblical studies. This work will be supervised one-on-one and will demand sustained critical engagement with questions of how contemporary academia should engage with the Bible.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to:

• provide a sense of the range of approaches to biblical studies currently practised
• provide the opportunity to produce an in-depth study associated with one methodology presently employed
• recognise the diversity of interpretive methods within biblical studies
• allow you to explore your own areas of interest in conjunction with the research currently being developed in Exeter

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. engage with recent academic approaches to biblical studies
• 2. critically assess, in depth, one biblical passage's history, textual features or reception, OR one methodology associated with academic study of the bible

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. critically evaluate how approaches to the interpretation of sacred texts have developed within the academy
• 4. demonstrate a critical awareness of the interdisciplinary dimensions of contemporary biblical studies

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. develop a project that engages with contemporary scholarship
• 6. shape detailed information into a clear written account
• 7. show significant originality and rigour in argument
• 8. demonstrate independent and critical research skills
• 9. convey ideas to your peers through oral presentation

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• introduction
• research specialisms at Exeter
• discussion of project proposals
• oral presentation of project focus
• directed research with supervisor

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• David Horrell, Becoming Christian: Essays on 1 Peter and the Making of Christian Identity (T & T Clark, 2013)
• Francesca Stavrakopoulou, Land of Our Fathers: The Roles of Ancestor Veneration in Biblical Land Claims (T & T Clark, 2010)
• Louise Lawrence, Sense and Stigma in the Gospels: Depictions of Sensory-Disabled Characters (Oxford University Press, 2013)
• David Horrell, The Bible and the Environment: Toward a Critical Ecological Biblical Theology (Acumen, 2010)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=4512

Key words search

Theology, religion, ethics, public issues