{"id":1429,"date":"2017-01-05T15:20:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T20:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/?page_id=1429"},"modified":"2021-08-20T11:37:47","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T15:37:47","slug":"course-syllabus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/course-materials\/lbst-2212-literature-and-culture-spring-2017\/course-syllabus\/","title":{"rendered":"Course Syllabus"},"content":{"rendered":"

LBST 2212
\nLiterature and Culture: Rewriting the Book of Genesis
\nTR 11:30-12:45
\nDr. John C. Reeves
\n204B Macy
\nOffice hours: send an email to
\njcreeves@uncc.edu<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018One never knows what the past will hold tomorrow.\u2019 \u2013 a Mongolian proverb quoted by Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, The Spirituality of Shi\u2018i Islam: Beliefs and Practices<\/em> (London and New York: I. B. Tauris Publishers, 2011), 83.<\/p>\n

\u2018All literary works … are \u201crewritten,\u201d if only unconsciously, by the societies which read them; indeed, there is no reading of a work which is not also a \u201cre-writing\u201d.\u2019 \u2013 Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory: An Introduction<\/em> (2d ed.; Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press, 1996), 11.<\/p>\n

\u2018Each age\u2019s vision of the past is formed by its present concerns.\u00a0 It is from the standpoint of the present that we look back on the past to tell us who we are, where we came from, how we became as we are today, where we may be going; but in this questioning, this effort at recollection, it is the present which is given, the past which is vague and amorphous.\u00a0 Hence each age rewrites the past in the image of its present<\/em><\/span>.\u2019 \u2013 Julie Meisami,\u00a0\u201cThe Past in Service of the Present: Two Views of History in Medieval Persia,\u201d Poetics Today<\/em> 14 (1993): 247, with my emphasis.<\/p>\n

Course description<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

An overview and comparative study of a broad variety of Jewish, Christian, gnostic, and Muslim literary traditions surrounding characters and narrative events featured in the biblical book of Genesis.\u00a0 The texts which we will examine encompass approximately 1800 years from the putative sources of the biblical book itself to medieval works like the Zohar<\/em> and the Syriac language world chronicle of Bar Hebraeus.\u00a0 Careful consideration will be given to the cultural issues surrounding the generation (or is it the preservation?) and manipulation of both scriptural and canonically extraneous lore and legendry pertaining to Genesis.<\/p>\n

Warning<\/u><\/em>: In this class you will hear or read ideas which may disturb, shock, dismay, or outrage you, and you will be compelled to think using methodological paradigms which you may deem troubling, wrong-headed, blasphemous, or even sacrilegious.\u00a0 If you think you might be uncomfortable in this situation, then this is definitely not the class for you<\/u>.\u00a0 On the other hand, if you think you can suspend your uncritical attachments to certain notions about scriptures, their meaning, and the circumstances surrounding their production, then you will undoubtedly learn a great deal about the symbiotic relationship between literature and culture as well as the historical and cultural matrices betwixt which Judaism, Christianity, and Islam arose and flourished.<\/p>\n

Texts<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

You do not need to buy anything from the bookstore.\u00a0 Web links to many of the texts we will read are available on the course website<\/a>.\u00a0 Other texts will be distributed by the instructor either in class or electronically as needed.<\/p>\n

Course requirements<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

a. Readings<\/em>. The nature of this course entails a significant amount of close reading and reflection both within and outside of class. Students are responsible for completing the reading assignments (outlined below or assigned in class) in a timely manner.\u00a0 Every student must read and critically engage substantial portions of Bible, Qur\u2019\u0101n, parascriptural works, commentaries, testimonia, folktales, and esoterica which have been englished from texts originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Mandaic, Greek, Latin, Coptic, Arabic, Persian, and Ethiopic.<\/p>\n

b. Take-home written exercises<\/em>. An indeterminate number of written exercises (usually one per week; optimally one per class) will be prepared and submitted for in-class discussion and out-of-class evaluation. These exercises vary in length from less than one (1) to a maximum of five (5) pages.\u00a0 All of these exercises will be announced and explained by the instructor during the course of or at the conclusion of a class meeting.\u00a0 The instructor\u2019s evaluation of the student\u2019s collective written exercise performance (using a scale \u221a+ = A-; \u221a = C+; \u221a- = D) will comprise 75% of the course grade.<\/p>\n

c. Take-home final examination<\/em>.\u00a0 Instead of an in-class three-hour final examination, you will prepare a final essay wherein you will be expected to synthesize many of the major issues and themes discussed in class and in the required readings, as well as to demonstrate your knowledge of the specific source materials and facts which pertain to those issues and themes.\u00a0 Once its topic is assigned and distributed (on the final class meeting day), this essay will be e-mailed to the instructor before the date and time officially mandated for the final examination of this course by the UNC Charlotte administration.\u00a0 The final essay is worth 15% of the course grade.<\/p>\n

d. Individual involvement<\/em>. Almost perfect attendance (see below) is an essential requirement for this course. Each class meeting builds upon the knowledge gained during previous meetings.\u00a0 Moreover, in-class discussion and analysis comprises a significant portion of every class meeting.\u00a0 Preparation for every class usually involves the completion of a series of assigned readings and\/or written assignment(s).\u00a0 Students are expected to contribute in an informed manner<\/u>* to the public analysis and discussion of any assigned topic.\u00a0 The instructor\u2019s assessment of one\u2019s attendance, class preparation, and informed oral contributions will constitute 10% of the final course grade.<\/p>\n

e. Zakhor<\/em> (Remember!): Mastery of the assigned readings and diligent class attendance are necessary prerequisites for the successful completion of this course. Each student is responsible for all lectures, class discussions, assignments, and announcements, whether or not he\/she is present when they occur.<\/p>\n

f. It is the policy of UNC Charlotte for the Fall 2021 semester that as a condition of on-campus enrollment, all students are required to engage in safe behaviors to avoid the spread of COVID-19 in our community. Such behaviors specifically include the requirement that all students properly wear\u00a0CDC-compliant face coverings\u00a0in all indoor spaces on campus, including in this classroom, regardless of your vaccination status<\/u>. Failure to comply with this policy in this classroom may result in dismissal from the current class session. If a student refuses to follow this policy, s\/he will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity<\/a> for charges under the\u00a0Code of Student Responsibility<\/a>.<\/p>\n

*Note well Prov 15:28: \u05dc\u05d1 \u05e6\u05d3\u05d9\u05e7 \u05d9\u05d4\u05d2\u05d4 \u05dc\u05e2\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea \u05d5\u05e4\u05d9 \u05e8\u05e9\u05e2\u05d9\u05dd \u05d9\u05d1\u05d9\u05e2 \u05e8\u05e2\u05d5\u05ea, which I\u2019m inclined to render as \u2018the mind of the devoted (student) contemplates before answering, whereas the mouth of the clueless spews out worthless nonsense.\u2019<\/p>\n

Miscellaneous information<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

a. The grading scale used in this course is as follows:<\/p>\n

91-100 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 A \u00a0 \u00a0= \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 demonstrable mastery of material; can creatively synthesize<\/p>\n

81-90 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 B \u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 some demonstrable proficiency in control of material & analysis<\/p>\n

71-80 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 C \u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 satisfactory performance of assignments; little or no analysis<\/p>\n

61-70 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 D \u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 inadequate and\/or faulty understanding of material<\/p>\n

0-60 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 F \u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 unacceptable work<\/p>\n

b. One of the requirements of this course is to complete the work of the course on time. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons for late work\u2014an illness or other emergency. \u2018Emergency,\u2019 however, does not include your social involvements, travel plans, job schedule, disk, wi-fi, and\/or printer failures, the state of your love life, your obligations to other courses, or general malaise over the state of the world.\u00a0 The world has been in a mess as long as anyone can remember, and most of the world\u2019s work is done by people whose lives are a mass of futility and discontent.\u00a0 If you haven\u2019t learned yet, you had better learn now to work under the conditions of the world as it is.\u00a0 Therefore:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Homework exercises are due on the date announced by the instructor in class. They must be typed, double-spaced, and submitted by email to me in either Microsoft Word or Adobe format prior to the start of the class for which they have been assigned.\u00a0 No physical copies of homework will be accepted or returned<\/u>.\u00a0 Since we will normally discuss these exercises together in class on that date, it would clearly be unfair to those who submitted their work on time for me to accept \u2018late\u2019 work from those who were privy to our in-class discussion.\u00a0 Hence I will not accept \u2018late\u2019 homework submissions (even from those of you who may be physically absent during our discussion); however, \u2018early\u2019 submissions (i.e., before the start of class) are always welcome and will receive full credit. These exercises are graded using a scale \u221a+ = A-; \u221a = C+; \u221a- = D; failure to submit = 0.<\/p>\n

2) For accounting purposes, letter grades bear the following values: A=95; A-=92; B=85; C+=78; C=75; D=65; F=30.\u00a0 A paper or written exercise that is not typed automatically receives the grade F, as do any typed papers which violate the required formatting parameters or which the instructor deems physically unacceptable and\/or grammatically incomprehensible.<\/p>\n

3) Since your diligent physical participation is critical for the success of this course, attendance at class meetings will be monitored by the instructor.\u00a0 One or two absences are regrettable; three (3) is the limit of tolerability. Each successive absence lowers this portion of your course assessment by one letter grade; seven (7) or more results in an automatic F<\/u> for the 10% of your course grade that is dependent upon attendance and class participation.\u00a0 Please note that, with the exception of religious holidays, the instructor does not distinguish \u2018excused\u2019 from \u2018unexcused\u2019 absences.\u00a0 Unsanctioned late arrivals and early departures will be tallied as absences.<\/p>\n

4) I do not post grades on Canvas or use it for grading. \u00a0You can easily determine your own course progress (or lack thereof) by paying attention to number and quality of the grades you earn and performing the arithmetic required (using the equivalency tables listed above) to generate a \u2018rough\u2019 grade average.<\/p>\n

c. For absences related to COVID-19, please do the following:<\/p>\n