This course will study in depth some of the narratives of female characters of the Bible and associated non-canonical text, and texts concerning gender and ethics. The approach will involve close exegetical reading and considering a variety of perspectives, including historical, literary, theological and ideological approaches. There will be a focus on feminist hermeneutics, intersectional theories and queer exegesis.

1x2hr seminar per week over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.

This is one of the Honours options in Theology and Religious Studies and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

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The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Essay (2,000 words) - 50%

■ Essay (1,500 words) - 40%

■ Presentation of 5 minutes - 10%

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 essays, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)

■ Recording of presentation as an alternative to the presentation

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

This course will provide the opportunity to:

■ engage in close reading of selected texts about sex and gender from different divisions of the Bible and related texts;

■ relate biblical and related texts to a variety of religious and secular contexts;

■ discuss feminism, gender theory and queer theory and their intersections and applications in biblical scholarship;

■ become familiar with a range of theoretical interpretative approaches to texts.

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

■ provide a rigorous analysis of the historical, cultural and literary character of specific biblical and apocryphal texts about sex, gender and their intersections;

■ read and understand key primary and secondary texts and present a clearly argued analysis of the positions taken in these texts;

■ offer a critical and in-depth analysis of a variety of interpretive approaches to the representation of sex and gender in biblical texts;

■ reflect critically and comparatively about ideologies in biblical texts and in their afterlives;

■ present complex arguments in written and oral form.