Fall 2008/Pasadena
NT801/NS581
Green
NT801/NS581: RESEARCH METHODS IN NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. Joel B. Green.
DESCRIPTION: This is a 6-unit seminar for doctoral students, also offered at
the 500-level as a 4-unit course open to a limited number of master's level
students as approved by the professor, in which participants will explore
through readings, practice, and critical discussion the range of methods
employed in contemporary New Testament study. The entire research process will
be discussed, modeled, and practiced. In Fall 2008, illustrative materials for
NT801 will relate to the representation of the death of Jesus in the New
Testament.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Having successfully completed this course, participants
should be able (1) to describe, evaluate, and use the major approaches to New
Testament study today; (2) to determine what methods are appropriate to
particular problems or questions in New Testament interpretation; (3) to
construct, follow, and revise a research agenda around a New Testament text or
area of concern to New Testament study; and (4) to engage in thoughtful and
generous criticism of the research agenda and products of others.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: A sound research method reflecting critical abilities;
the capacity to develop and pursue one's own research agenda in the service of
the church, academy, and larger society; and the practice of and critical
reflection on the vocation of New Testament scholarship in its research
dimension and in the context of the larger academic community are central to
ministries for which the ThM and PhD serve as preparation.
COURSE FORMAT: The course meets weekly for presentations on method, review of
assignments, and practice of methods. The final week of the course will involve
student presentations of work and critical responses to that work.
REQUIRED READING:
- Alexander, Patrick H., et al., eds. The SBL Handbook of Style
for Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Early Christian Studies. Peabody,
MA: Hendrickson, 1999.
- Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of
Research. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.
- Green, Joel B., ed. Hearing the New Testament: Strategies for
Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
- Selections from the following:
- Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to
Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
- Aland, Kurt, and Barbara Aland. The Text of the New Testament: An
Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern
Textual Criticism. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.
- Green, Joel B., and Max Turner, eds. Between Two Horizons: Spanning New
Testament Studies and Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.
- Greenblatt, Stephen. "Culture." In Critical Terms for Literary
Study, edited by Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin, 225-32. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1990.
- McKnight, Edgar V., and Elizabeth Struthers Malbon, eds., The New
Literary Criticism and the New Testament. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity, 1994.
- McKnight, Scot. Jesus and His Death: Historiography, the Historical
Jesus, and Atonement Theory. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2005.
- Nickelsburg, George W. E. "The Genre and Function of the Markan Passion
Narrative." HTR 73 (1980): 153-84.
- Sugirtharajah, R. S., ed. Vernacular Hermeneutics. The Bible and
Postcolonialism 2. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999.
- Sweetser, Eve S. From Etymology to Pragmatics: Metaphorical and Cultural
Aspects of Semantic Structure. Cambridge Studies in Linguistics 54.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Baird, William. History of New Testament Research. 2 vols.
Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992, 2003.
- Brown, Raymond E. The Death of the Messiah--From Gethsemane to the
Grave: A Commentary on the Passion Narratives. 2 vols. Anchor Bible
Reference Library. New York: Doubleday, 1994.
- Carroll, John T., and Joel B. Green. The Death of Jesus in Early
Christianity. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995.
- Porter, Stanley E. A Handbook to the Exegesis of the New Testament.
Leiden: Brill, 2002.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Attendance at and readiness to participate in all sessions of the seminar
is expected.
- Weekly Assignments on Method (35% of final grade).
- Major Research Paper (50%).
- Critical Response to Seminar Presentation (15%).
- The professor will work with master's students to adapt
requirements 2 and 3.
PREREQUISITES: Admission into the ThM or PhD program; at master's level:
permission of the professor.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Required course for the PhD in New Testament. One
of two courses fulfilling a course requirement for PhD students with a minor in
New Testament and for ThM students. MDiv elective.
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.
This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (7/08)