EL360
THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE II
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students to assist with unit selection.
Elements of this outline which may change with subsequent offerings of
the unit include Content, Required Texts, Recommended Readings and
details of the Assessment Tasks.
Students who are currently enrolled in this unit should obtain the outline
for the relevant semester from the unit lecturer.
Unit Name
The Bible as Literature II
Unit Code
EL360
Awards
Bachelor of Education (Secondary) - English teaching area
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Education (Secondary) - English major
This unit is able to be undertaken towards other CHC awards according to course
rules and the meeting of prerequisite requirements, as applicable.
Core/Elective
Elective
Prerequisites
EL245 The Bible as Literature I
30 credit points of 200-level English units
Mode
Internal
M
Learning Outcomes:
This is an historical-and literary-based unit that pursues the themes of the
introductory unit, EL245 The Bible as Literature I, but with greater emphasis on the
literary genres contained within the Bible and a deeper investigation of the Bible’s
influences on English-language literature from the time of Chaucer (the fourteenth
century) to the present day. It aims to develop students’ competency in recognising
biblical allusions and patterns of discourse in key literary texts in English. Students
of English should be very aware of the Bible as a collection of literary texts that
have impacted powerfully on Western literature throughout the Christian era.
SA
Unit Rationale
33 hours
44 hours
63 hours
140 hours
PL
E
Delivery/Contact hrs Class contact
Engagement with unit materials
Assignment preparation
Total
On completion of this unit, students will have provided evidence that they have:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Understood of the Bible as an historical and a literary text.
Surveyed the literary genres contained in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Critically assessed these genres in the light of their history.
Recognised key biblical allusions and patterns of discourse in literary texts in England from Chaucer to
the present day.
5. Evaluated the central role of Biblical stories, images, and discourses in the Western literary tradition.
6. Written at an appropriate tertiary standard (with special attention to correct grammar, punctuation,
spelling, vocabulary, usage, sentence structure, logical relations, style, referencing and presentation).
Content:
Week
Topic
1
Introduction: The English Bible (both Old and New Testaments) as a single Book; The historical
background; Do we read the Bible differently from the way we read other texts? Biblical Narrative
literature.
2
Biblical Poetic literature (The Psalms, Songs of Characters in the Old Testament)
3
Biblical Wisdom Literature and Biblical Prophetic Literature (The Song of Solomon)
4
The Biblical Epistles (The New Testament Letters - Romans to Jude)
5
Biblical Apocalyptic Literature (The Book of Revelation)
In the following section of the course, study will be made of a range of literary texts in English from different
periods to discover the central place of biblical stories, images, and discourses in our cultural heritage.
6
Narratives - Genesis 1-3 and extract from Milton’s Paradise Lost
7
Poetic Language - Psalms and Song of Solomon and various Christian poems and songs
8
Wisdom Literature - Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon and Victorian Literature
(including children’s literature); Prophetic Literature - Isaiah and Ezekiel and Blake’s poetry,
Milton, Fables eg Arthur and Merlin
9
Letters (Epistles) - Paul’s letters (New Testament) and Cromwell’s letters, Elizabeth I’s letters
10
Daniel, Revelation and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Nevil Shute’s On the Beach (1957), Robert
C O’Brien’s Z For Zechariah (1975), Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (2006).
11
Conclusion - Is the Bible different from other forms of Literature?
PL
E
Set Text Requirements:
School of Education and Humanities 2011, EL360 The Bible as Literature II: Book of Readings, Christian
Heritage College, Brisbane.
Norton, David 2000, A History of the English Bible as Literature, vols 1&2, Victorian University of
Wellington, Wellington.
Recommended Readings:
M
Ryken, Leland 1985, How to Read the Bible as Literature, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI.
SA
Jeffrey, DL & Evans, S (eds.) 2007, The Bible and the University, Paternoster, Grand Rapids, MI.
McGill, WJ 2004, Poets’ Meeting: George Herbert, R. S. Thomas, and the Argument with God, McFarland,
Jefferson, NC.
Norton, D 2000, A History of the English Bible as Literature, vols 1&2, Victorian University of Wellington,
Wellington, NZ.
Roncace, M & Gray, P (eds.) 2007 Teaching the Bible: Practical Strategies for Classroom Instruction,
Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, GA.
Roncace, M & Gray, P (eds.) 2007, Teaching the Bible Through Popular Culture and the Arts Briil, Boston.
Ryken, Leland 1985, How to Read the Bible as Literature, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI.
Assessment:
Assessment Item
Topic/s
Learning Outcomes
assessed
Week Due
Weighting
Paper
(3000 words)
Written discussion of the literary
genres of both the Old and the
New Testaments.
1-6
Week 7
50%
Assignment
(3000 words)
The influence of biblical stories,
images and discourses in English
Literature.
1-6
Week 15
50%
Unit Overview:
This unit pursues the same aims as EL245 The Bible as Literature I, but demands a more critical and
reflective attitude to Biblical texts. By comparing the literature of the Bible in all its genres with specific
English texts, it requires a far greater knowledge of English literature than does EL245, and it compels
students to re-think the status of the Bible as literature or as a type of literature that is unique.