Spring 2010 School Schedule

By Robert Fischer | Published: November 9, 2009

Registration just got settled. Here’s what I’m taking next semester.

  • OLDTEST 305. Creation, Cosmology, and World Order. One of the most exciting initiatives in current Old Testament scholarship involves a thoroughgoing reappraisal of the theme of creation. This course will investigate shifts within the field and their implications. At stake are the relation between cosmology and anthropology in ancient Israel, the shape of Old Testament theology, the relationship between the Old Testament and the New, and the Bible’s abiding relevance for contemporary ecological issues. Instructor: Chapman.
  • OLDTEST 12. Introduction to Old Testament Interpretation. The second half of a two-semester course that serves as an introduction to the literature, history, and religion of ancient Israel with emphasis on exegetical methodology. Instructor: Chapman.
  • NEWTEST 18. Introduction to New Testament Interpretation. An introduction to the literature of the New Testament with special attention to the perspectives and methods of historical-critical investigation and interpretation. Instructor: Campbell.
  • CHURHST 206 The Christian Mystical Tradition in the Medieval Centuries: Daring Mystical Theologians: Meister Eckhart, Marguerite Porete, Jacopone da Todi, Gregory Palamas, and Luis de Leon in their Historical Context. Reading and discussion of the writings of medieval Christian mystics (in translation). Instructor: Keefe.

Should be mind-blowing. Dr. Chapman is awesome (which is good, because I’ll be spending a lot of time with him next semester). I haven’t had Dr. Keefe or Dr. Campbell before, so that’ll be a new experience. Interestingly, at the end of next semester, I’ll have taken courses predominantly from Yale and Toronto graduates.

The other two years of my M.Div career are laid out here. Next year and fall of my senior year is pretty well laid out with knocking out core classes: not a whole lot of choice there. Limited electives dominate the fall of my senior year. Spring of my senior year is pretty much wide open.

Note to Particularly Attentive Duke Div Students: Yes, I’m pushing CHURCHST 14 to next year. It’s opposite the Creation class this year, though, and since Chaps’s Creation is NEVER BEING TAUGHT AGAIN, I’m taking it now.

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  • http://quay.wordpress.com Josh

    Given that Duke is (I think) a well respected university, what is their actual stance on evolution? I notice that the topic of OLDTEST 305 mentions the “theme” of creation, rather than Creation per se.

    I sort of assume that no modern accredited University is teaching Creation as science versus Creation as perhaps allegory… but I’m curious as to if that’s actually true.

    Cheers,
    Josh

    • http://www.smokejumperit.com Robert Fischer

      @Josh

      Also, given the amount of evolutionary biology research at Duke University, there’s a lot of evolution (as a technology) going on at Duke. I’ve got a friend over in the developmental evolutionary biology lab doing some really cool stuff.

  • http://www.smokejumperit.com Robert Fischer

    Having taken the first OT Interpretation class, there wasn’t any hint that we need to accept Gen 1 and 2 as historically and objectively accurate. If there was, I would have noticed. I’m not sure if the idea was particularly poo-poo-ed, either, but I’m not sensitive to that: it’s just not memorable for me when I hear an allegorical interpretation, and I’d miss any kind of subtle dig on the historical/objective assertion because I’m in line with the critique.

    More importantly, I don’t think OLDTEST 305 is going to burn time trying to figure out how much or in what way the opening lines of Genesis might reflect objective reality. There’s more than enough to fill the semester if we take the Bible on its own terms and keep to literary- and rhetorical- critical approaches.

  • http://quay.wordpress.com Josh

    That’s great to hear re the evolutionary biology.
    I think I see a lot from Duke in terms of medical research.

    I was mainly curious as to the approach taken for theology scholarship, which has always been a generally interesting topic for me. A complex one no doubt as well.

    –Josh

  • http://quay.wordpress.com Josh

    Btw great blog, I’ve been a subscriber to the feed for a while, but for whatever reason wanted to comment on this one.

    I am a former Babtist this fascinated by theology and religious scholarship.

  • http://www.smokejumperit.com Robert Fischer

    In terms of scriptural criticism, the professors and preceptors I’ve studied with so far have been primarily keyed into literary criticism and social criticisms (esp. environmental criticism). Intro to NT apparently has a historical-critical emphasis, which will be an interesting contrast.

    Otherwise, there seems to be lots of theological explorations of ethics (esp. environmental ethics). Also a fair amount of consideration about minorities and theology (esp. black church). I haven’t taken any of those classes yet, though.

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