In previous semesters, I have commented here on the courses I was taking. We ‘re about eight weeks into the semester, but I thought some might be interested in knowing what I’m doing. As always, whenever I talk about these things, I feel that my work is unworthy because I’m not studying stuff that is impossible to understand, and thus “doctoral.” My studies continue to help me know a little bit about a lot.
This is my fourth semester of PhD coursework and kinda my last. I say “kinda” because I have five units remaining. These are not “coursework” per se, but rather are independent study that you pay thousands of dollars for. Five units shouldn’t take long, right? 18 units was manageable in one semester in college. Well, these five units will take a full year, including the summer. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
This semester I have three courses: one for one unit, one for two units, and one for three units. If you’ve done much work in higher education, then you know that the number of units has no relationship to the amount of work required. My two-unit course, for instance, requires at least 300 pages of (often difficult) reading each week. It’s nice they give us all that learning for a lower price.
After three semesters of fun and good times, this semester I have no Bible courses. I mean that in two ways. First, I have no courses in the Bible Exposition department (my department). Second, I have no courses focused on the Bible. We study things around the Bible, but not the Bible. This will cease on December 18 and at that point I will study only the Bible, henceforth and forevermore. On to my courses:
1. Research Procedures. This class is all about Turabian, bibliographies, footnotes, library research, database searching, plagiarism, and other stuff we haven’t made it to yet. These are important matters for graduate research. I remember my first semester in a masters program and I knew almost nothing about these subjects from my college years. Fortunately my thesis adviser insisted on the (divine) parenthetical citation method, unlike later programs which are enslaved to an impossibly complex and evil system of footnotes.
2. New Testament Backgrounds. This is the bargain course that I mentioned above. Like Research Procedures, it is a required class for all PhD students. Each week we tackle a new subject. Our reading is primarily in the primary sources. So we don’t read as much about the Talmud as we read the Talmud. So far we ‘ve had a week each on the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Josephus, Mishnah/Talmud, Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Philo. Most of these guys will bore you to tears in less than ten pages. This week I’m reading targums and midrash. In weeks to come we ‘ll be looking at Greco-Roman literature, Greco-Roman religion, non-literary sources, Apostolic Fathers, Gnostic Literature and NT Apocrypha. I ‘ll be writing a paper this semester on the backgrounds of Jesus’s cleansing of the temple.
3. Greco-Roman Backgrounds. This is my required NT elective. To clarify, I am required to take an NT course, and this was my choice. You might think, based on the title, that it has significant overlap with NT Backgrounds. So far I have seen no overlap. For this class we ‘re reading two books, only one of which I have required in a course I have taught. But there’s so much to learn that I am certainly not bored. The second book is comprised of material that is entirely new to me. For instance, this morning I was reading about emperor worship. I’ve been to sites where mystery religions were important or where Asclepius was worshipped, but I’ve never sat down to study these. This is my chance. I have to do seven smaller research projects for this class, and currently I’m studying Pompeii. Ever since I visited Pompeii in 2005, I’ve been convinced that an understanding of this city would be quite helpful to New Testament readers, even though it is never mentioned by name. Pompeii is extraordinarily well preserved because it was destroyed in an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
So that’s it. I’m also part of a study group that is preparing for the written and oral comprehensive exams. In my free time, I’ve taken up surfing, mountain climbing, and crochet. I’ve had to cut TV down to less than 4 hours a day though.
Thanks for the update Todd, this is very interesting to hear. I’d been toying with the idea of going back to DTS now that I was retired this summer, but I can now tell I don’t have the energy or patience at my age.
Even at Masters level DTS emphasized the “Research Procedures” items, and the graders paid more attention to Turabian format than theologic content. (Easier to grade I suppose.) I see the need for adequate references, but it is a bother. Some of the professors concentrated more on content, and one touted the “I hate Kate” club.
Curious if in your NT Backgrounds you notice any Jewish reference to the “second burial” ceremony. I’ve seen one mentioned that supported the notion that the Pharisees believed it secured the resurrection future of the deceased, but I haven’t seen it cited back to the primary source. (Oops, I guess “Research Procedures” are necessary…)
I’ve enjoyed keeping up with your studies, Todd. Enjoy the semester. By the way, would you mind listing some (or all) of your textbooks in a future post? It would be interesting to know what books are required for your studies. Blessings.
Thanks for the fly-by, Todd. I hope it’s turning out to be what you wanted.
Pshaw. Footnotes rule.1 They get all the peripherals out of the way so you can read.
1. See what I mean?
Tom – as you know, rules do matter. You only need read one paper that doesn’t adhere to convention to be convinced. The problem is that the rules become so complicated that you can spend more effort and time on form than on substance. And it’s certainly an easier approach for graders.
For burial, I would recommend this article and the sources it cites:
http://www.lifeandland.org/2009/02/let-the-dead-bury-their-own-dead/
Mike – it’s coming.
Danny – no, they force your eye to bounce back and forth. If the citation is in the text, you can see immediately what the source is. And, more importantly, it’s much faster for the writer, who can then focus on the substance of the article.