■ Course Description:
This MOOC on The Bible as Literature (The Old Testament) will enable students to read excerpts from the Old Testament of the Bible with understanding and appreciation. The Bible is a book-making book and literature which provokes literature. English and American literature do not exist without the Bible. “A student,” says Northrop Frye, “who doesn’t know what is in the Bible doesn’t know what is going on in English literature.” This MOOC on reading the Bible as literature will explain key words and sentences, interpret main characters and events, illustrate literary affiliations, shed light on the charm of biblical literature, and bring to light the true meaning of life as presented in the Bible.
The course consists of 125 short video lectures on the ten weekly topics: The Bible as Literature, The Creation of the World, Life in Paradise, The Fall, The Flood, Biblical Epic, Biblical Poetry, Biblical Story, Hero Story, and Biblical Tragedy. Starting with introductions to the course in the first week from such perspectives as the Bible as cultural influence, as a literary work, a literary anthology, a story, a literary text, a literary style, literary archetypes and a literary course,this MOOC then attempts to focus on one particular archetypal story in Genesis from the second to the fifth week of the course before exploring a more general overview of major genres of literature in the last four weeks of the course, revealing some hidden meanings and neglections between form and content in the Bible, thus explaining some prototypical yet essential features of literature in the Bible.
We also expect to find the usual literary qualities of delight and wisdom in the Bible. The Bible was not written primarily for entertainment, yet it exhibits almost all the usual literary techniques and features that constitute the entertaining side of literature. The wisdom embodied in the Bible provides endless intellectual inspiration to the biblical readers in all places at all times. Like reading any literary classic, reading the Bible as literature may be difficult, but readers inevitably find it intensely rewarding.
课程简介：“圣经文学”，顾名思义，是把圣经当作一部文学作品进行文本释读的课程，可作为大学生人文素质教育选修课和英语专业选修课。那么，为什么我们应该阅读圣经呢？我们又应该如何阅读圣经呢？其答案首先是圣经的文学形式决定了它的文学阅读方式。圣经是西方文化的根基，具有其普遍意义，对西方文明以及语言文学的影响不容置疑。从公元7世纪留下姓名的英国最早的盎格鲁•撒克逊诗人凯德蒙到当代英语作家，圣经对催生英语文学的形式与内容以及对推动英语语言的发展都起到了举足轻重的作用。
该在线开放课程分为10个单元：“圣经文学”、“创世记”、“天堂”、“堕落”、“洪水”、“圣经史诗”、“圣经诗歌”、“圣经故事”、“英雄故事”和“圣经悲剧”；每周播放1个单元，期末复习考试2周；每个单元包括单元导入、文体界定、原文诵读、文本释读、难点讲解、主题评论、问题讨论、客观测试等教学环节，包括125个主讲人教学视频，总时长1022分钟左右；课程充分利用现代网络信息技术，有效地建立起了一个跨文化、跨学科、多层次、师生互动、学员共享、自主协作、互动交流的学习平台，充分体现了大规模在线开放课程的特点和优势。
Week 1: The Bible as Literature
Lecture 2: The Bible as a Literary Work
Video Introduction to Week One: The Bible as Literature
Lecture 1: The Bible as Cultural Influence
Lecture 3: The Bible as a Literary Anthology
Lecture 4:The Bible as a Story
Lecture 5:The Bible as a Literary Text
Lecture 6:The Bible as a Literary Style
Lecture 7:The Bible as Literary Archetypes
Lecture 8:The Bible as a Literary Course
Lecture 9:Q&A Questions for Week One
Lecture 10: Multiple Choice Exercises for Week One
Multiple Choice Exercises for Week 1 (The Bible as Literature)
Week 2:The Creation of the World
Lecture 1: Genesis as the Bible’s Book of Beginnings
Lecture 4:Hero Story in the Bible
Lecture 5:Motifs and Themes in Genesis
Video Introduction to Week Two: The Creation of the World
Lecture 2: The Primeval History of Genesis
Lecture 3: The Genres of Genesis
Lecture 6: Genesis 1: The Creation of the World
Lecture 7: Plot: Epitome and Embryo
Lecture 8: Character: The Protagonist
Lecture 9: Style: Majestic Simplicity
Lecture 10: Structure: Symmetry and Design
Lecture 11: Q&A Questions for Week Two
Lecture 12: Multiple Choice Exercises for Week Two
Multiple Choice Exercises for Week 2 (The Bible as Literature)
Week 3:Life in Paradise
Video Introduction to Week Three: Life in Paradise
Lecture 1: An Introduction to Genesis 2
Lecture 2: Life in Paradise
Lecture 3: Genre: A Companion Story
Lecture 4: The Transcendent and Immanent Protagonist
Lecture 5: Physical Life in the Garden of Eden
Lecture 6: God\'s Creation of A Human Male
Lecture 7: The Two Trees
Lecture 8: Moral Choice in the Paradise
Lecture 9: Human Companionship and Marriage
Lecture 10: Q&A Questions for Week Three
Lecture 11: Multiple Choice Exercises for Week Three
Multiple Choice Exercises for Week 3 (The Bible as Literature)
Week 4:The Fall
Lecture 7: Genesis 4: Brothers in Rivalry
Video Introduction to Week Four: The Fall
Lecture 1: Genesis 3: The Fall
Lecture 2: The Fall from Innocence
Lecture 3: Prototypical Tragedy
Lecture 4: Temptation Motif
Lecture 5: Crime and Punishment
Lecture 6: Contrast and Foils
Lecture 8: Desire and Rule
Lecture 9: The Blood of Abel
Lecture 10: Q&A Questions for Week Four
Lecture 11: Multiple Choice Exercises for Week Four
Multiple Choice Exercises for Week 4 (The Bible as Literature)
Week 5:The Flood
Video Introduction to Week Five: The Flood
Lecture 1: Noah and His Ark
Lecture 2: The Corruption of Humanity
Lecture 3: Noah’s Faith
Lecture 4: Grace through Obedience
Lecture 5: God’s Call
Lecture 6: Destruction and Preservation
Lecture 7: Noah’s Messengers
Lecture 8: God’s Covenant with Noah
Lecture 9: The Tower of Babel
Lecture 10: Q&A Questions for Week Five
Lecture 11: Multiple Choice Exercises
Multiple Choice Exercises for Week 5 (The Bible as Literature)
Week 6: Biblical Epic
Video Introduction to Week Six: Biblical Epic
Lecture 1: Exodus: An Adventure Story
Lecture 2: The Unifying Epic Elements
Lecture 3: The Characters of the Epic Story
Lecture 4: The Themes of the Epic Story
Lecture 5: The Birth of Moses
Lecture 6: Moses Meets the Great I AM
Lecture 7: Moses as a Reluctant Leader
Lecture 8: The Passover
Lecture 9: The Exodus
Lecture 10: Crossing the Rea Sea
Lecture 11: The Ten Commandments
Lecture 12: Q&A Questions for Week Six
Lecture 13: Multiple Choice Exercises for Week Six
Multiple Choice Exercises for Week 6 (The Bible as Literature)
Week 7: Biblical Poetry
Lecture 3: Metaphor and Simile
Lecture 4: Hyperbole, Apostrophe and Personification
Lecture 5: Parallelism and Unity in Variety
Video Introduction to Week Seven: Biblical Poetry
Lecture 1: What Is Biblical Poetry
Lecture 2: Thinking in Images
Lecture 6: Psalms as Lyric Poems
Lecture 7: Lament Psalms
Lecture 8: Praise Psalms
Lecture 9: Nature Psalms
Lecture 10: Worship Psalms
Lecture 11: Q&A Questions for Week Seven
Lecture 12: Multiple Choice Exercises for Week Seven
Multiple Choice Exercises for Week 7 (The Bible as Literature)
Week 8: Biblical Stories
Lecture 1: The Setting of Biblical Stories
Lecture 5: The Plot of Biblical Stories
Lecture 9: The Characterization of Biblical Stories
Lecture 10: The Characterization of Jacob
Video Introduction to Week Eight: Biblical Stories
Lecture 2: Setting as Atmosphere
Lecture 3: Setting as Symbol
Lecture 4: Setting as Culture
Lecture 6: Plot Conflict and Suspense
Lecture 7: Conflict in Foil
Lecture 8: Plot Unity
Lecture 11: Jacob and Esau
Lecture 12: The Stolen Blessing
Lecture 13: Jacob\'s Wrestling with God
Lecture 14: Q&A Questions for Week Eight
Lecture 15: Multiple Choice Exercises for Week Eight
Multiple Choice Exercises for Week 8 (The Bible as Literature)
Week 9: Hero Story
Lecture 1: The Hero Story
Lecture 3: The First Ordeal: Daniel Taken to Babylon
Lecture 4: The Second Ordeal: Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
Lecture 5: The Third Ordeal: The Fiery Furnace
Lecture 6: The Fourth Ordeal: Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream
Lecture 7: The Fifth Ordeal: The Writing on the Wall
Lecture 8: The Sixth Ordeal: Daniel in the Den of Lions
Video Introduction to Week Nine: Hero Story
Lecture 2: The Book of Daniel
Lecture 9: Q&A Questions for Week Nine
Lecture 10: Multiple Choice Exercises for Week Nine
Multiple Choice Exercises for Week 9 (The Bible as Literature)
Week 10: Biblical Tragedy
Lecture 3: The Literary Features of Judges
Video Introduction to Week Ten: Biblical Tragedy
Lecture 1: The Definition of Tragedy
Lecture 2: The Spirit of Tragedy in the Bible
Lecture 4: The Tragic Story of Samson
Lecture 5: The Birth of Samson
Lecture 6: Samson\'s Marriage
Lecture 7: Samson\'s Vengeance
Lecture 8: The Death of Samson
Lecture 9: Q&A Questions for Week Ten
Lecture 10: Multiple Choice Exercises for Week Ten
Multiple Choice Exercises for Week 10 (The Bible as Literature)