Description
Reflect on the work you’ve done in this course and what you’ve learned:
Consider the places you’ve been aggravated, surprised, challenged, and/or engaged.
Where have you grown?
Where have you reconsidered?
Where have you changed?
Where have you considered but resisted?
Where have you contributed?
Which issues were new to you?
Which issues do you find you now hold a position new, altered, or reversed, since the start of the course?
What percentage of the course text have you thoughtfully read? Why? i. e 50% 90%
What will you continue to study on your own?
Write a thoughtful, well-supported, reflective essay of depth and detail that assesses this semester, your work and your growth. Look internally for things that have changed and things that have remained the same (abilities, ideas, understanding, scholarly interests, personal commitments, etc). Consider as well any goals you set for yourself at the start of the term.
What are you most proud of concerning your efforts? Where might you have done things better or differently? What will be your key “take aways”? Where will you continue to strive to learn more? How has your thinking/attitude changed (or not changed)? How have you changed (or not changed) as a writer, as a reader, as a student of culture, philosophy, and ethics, and as a person? What do you feel especially proud of now as you close out the semester? Is there some essay (either your own or one you’ve read this term), some discussion, some example, word, or phrase which has provided a “light-bulb” moment or an epiphany for you? Why? How?
The questions above are starting points to get you thinking and to generate ideas. You are free to organize this essay in any way that makes sense to the content you wish to include. You do not need to move through the questions above one by one. Instead, explain with detail, drawing on course text(s) and on concrete illustrations to show HOW that what you say is true.
For example, if you claim that your understanding of the significance of end of life issues in shaping culture has deepened, draw on direct quotations from texts, research, real life, and colleagues and point to concrete examples that demonstrate what got you thinking in a new direction and why and that further illustrate what shapes your thinking now. Explore the implications of this attitude for your scholarship and for your life.
The Lessons we covered
Week 1: Introduction, Personal Experience, and History
Learning Outcomes
Identify and analyze the genres, history, development of the Biblical texts.
Week 2: Canon & Organization
Learning Outcomes
Describe and evaluation the canon and organization of the Bible
Week 3: Translation & Hebrew Poetry
Learning Outcomes
Describe the process of language translation
Recognize and critique Hebrew poetry
Week 4: Hebrew Wisdom & Narrative
Learning Outcomes
Recognize and critique Hebrew wisdom and narrative
Week 5: Gospels & Parables
Learning Outcomes
Recognize and critique the Gospels and parables
Week 6: Law & Prophecy
Learning Outcomes
Recognize and critique law and prophecy
Week 7: Letters & Apocalypse
Learning Outcomes
Recognize and critique the letters and apocalypse