TC 302: Uses and Abuses of the Bible
Room: CRD007B Time: 2:00-3:30
Fall, 2014
Office hours: to be determined. at Einstein Bros. Bagels on the Drag, and by appointment.
Professor A. Martinich, WAG 416A, martinich@mail.utexas.edu
Description: The Bible has influenced political, literary, and philosophical works for two thousand years. In addition to reading and discussing large part of the Bible, parts of the Qur'an, John Milton’s Paradise Lost, and Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan, will be among the major works read and discussed. The Bible both prescribes standards of ethical conduct and challenges some. Some of the most compelling stories in the Bible are about the nature of human beings and how they should behave.
We begin by reading Genesis, Exodus, parts of the books of Samuel and Kings, Job, the Gospel according to Matthew and the one according to Mark. We want to understand what the authors of these books meant; and we want to look at some ways that they were used and understood by later ages. This includes some ancient works about related events that were not included in the Bible.
Mohammed believed that Moses and Jesus were prophets, but some of the Qur’an’s stories conflict with those in the Bible. Thomas Hobbes tried to reconcile the Bible with modern scientific theory; and John Milton used the Bible to create the greatest epic poem in English. Students may explore related topics or authors, according to their interests.
This course contains a substantial writing component.
Texts/Readings
Genesis (New Oxford Study Bible); Exodus 1-24; Job (cc. 1-3; 38-42); Gospels According to Mark and Matthew, and of John (cc. 1, 8, 21-22); 1 Corintians 15; selections from the Apocrypha; Qur’an (suras 1-5, 7, 10-14, 19-20, 37, 101-114),Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (cc. 31-39, and 44), John Milton, Paradise Lost (books 1, 3-5, 9, 12), and A. P. Martinich, Philosophical Writing 3rd edition.
Assignments
Essay assignment 1: due Sep 4: 5%
Essay 2: due Oct 2 (in two versions: 100-200 words and 500-700 words): 10%
Essay 3: due Nov 4 (in two versions: 200-300 words and 1,200-2,000 words: 20%
Essay 4: due Dec. 5 2,000-3,300: 35% (The final essay must be a revision of essay 2 or 3 and must be 1000-2000 words longer than the original essay.)
Class discussion: 20%
Final examination: 10 %
A. P. Martinich, Roy Allison Vaughan Centennial Professor in Philosophy, Professor of History and Government, is the author or editor of more than fifteen books. His book Hobbes: A Biography (Cambridge University Press) won the Roy Hamilton Best Book Award in 2000. His book The Philosophy of Language 5th edition (Oxford University Press) has been the standard text in the field for twenty-five years. He is currently editing The Oxford Handbook of Hobbes. He is vice-president of the Board of Directors of The Journal of the History of Philosophy.He received the Chet Oliver Teaching Award in 2008.