Spring semester

February 2nd, 2006 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0) |

I made it through my first day of class, and I thought y’all might like to know what this website will be distracting me from this semester. Here they are:

• ENG 210: Effective Writing: A writing course that includes practice and instruction in writing for a variety of audiences, emphasizing revising and responding to others’ writing. Students discuss well-crafted prose essays that include effective argument and clear language and organization.
• GRK 102: Elementary Greek II: The second course of a two-semester sequence which continues the study of ancient Greek grammar, vocabulary, and syntax. Passages are drawn from a variety of Greek works, including the New Testament.
• REL 334: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An introduction to the life and thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran theologian executed for his participation in a conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler. His theological ethics are examined in their historical context through three major primary texts: The Cost of Discipleship, Ethics, and Letters and Papers from Prison. Attention is given to the significance of Bonhoeffer’s work for today.
• REL 485: Seminar – Paul as Contemporary Cultural Theory: Seminar will explore and evaluate the prominent and recent return of Paul as a topic of contemporary cultural and political theory. Writings, ideas, and possible legacies of Paul will be discussed in relation to contemporary questions about freedom, universality and the political status of ethnicity, messianism and the utopian future, and questions about the “neighbor” as “other.” Readings will be comparative in focus, with Pauline writings being placed alongside texts from Nietzsche, Kafka, Freud, and others. Students will read some of the recent discussions of Paul by contemporary theorists like Jacob Taubes, Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou, and Slavoj Zizek. The class will be of benefit to those interested in theories of religion and culture, the “return of religion” in contemporary cultural theory, the interpretation of early Christianity, or the possibly radical political significance of the Pauline tradition.¹

And then there are the staples: Collegiate Choir, Undeclared, FOCUS, frisbee, being a Resident Assistant, etc.

1. I need to take a nap after just reading the course description… ↩