Course Catalogue

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This course aims to explore, interrogate and reflect on the ways in which biblical women are understood, contextualised and represented in the text of the Bible that has developed, in various ways, a foundational significance for Western culture. We will study in depth some of the scriptural narratives of female characters of the Bible, and biblical texts concerning gender and ethics from a variety of perspectives including feminist hermeneutics, intersectional theories and queer exegesis. We will visit cultural sites to explore the ways in which biblical women are celebrated or lamented, and we will study contemporary retellings of biblical women in film, literature and TV to reconstruct their stories and reflect on their place in our world. The course provides the opportunity to understand the ways in which readings of biblical women establish creative transactions between ancient patriarchal cultures and modern post-industrial cultures via counter-readings, misreadings and outraged readings, and more broadly, how this relates to our understanding of the place of the Bible in western society.

18 sessions of 2.5 hours taught over three weeks, of which 12 will comprise of lecture and discussion, 8 will have seminar format or involve relevant cultural visits or other events (e.g. watching films).

This course is only available to students taking part in the International Summer School.

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The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Essay Outline (500 words) - 25%

■ Essay (3,000) - 75%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ There is no alternative to the essay outline, but a flexible deadline can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)

■ There is no alternative to the essay, but a flexible deadline can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

The course aims to:

■ Engage in close reading of selected texts from different divisions of the Bible;

■ Discuss feminism and gender theory and their applications in biblical scholarship and contemporary society;

■ Familiarise students with a range of theoretical interpretative approaches to texts.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

■ Provide an analysis of the historical, cultural and literary character of specific biblical texts about women;

■ Offer an analysis of a variety of interpretive approaches to the representation of women in biblical texts;

■ Reflect comparatively about ideologies in biblical texts and in their afterlives.