List of Approved Research Projects

In addition to our daily study of the Hebrew Bible, each of you will be responsible for reading one of the books we don’t read, for which you will research secondary sources, and write a research paper that will substitute for an exam.  We will decide together who will do which book, and you will be responsible for studying the book on your own.  

Some books are shorter than others, but keep in mind that since this is a major project that will count 15% of your grade, it may not be to your advantage to choose the easiest or shortest book.  You want to choose something you can sink your teeth into.  I recommend reading the introductions to the books in your text, and I will be happy to discuss with you which book would be most appropriate for you.

You will need to include at least three secondary sources in your paper, and will need to include a Works Cited page, all properly formatted in MLA style, which can be found in A Pocket Style Manual, by Diana Hacker, which you should have a copy of.  (Please see this document about the use of secondary sources.)  For your secondary sources, I suggest articles from the Biblical Archaeology Society Archive, which can be accessed through the Paw Page.  You may also find some sources on this page of bookmarks, or other places on this website. In addition, you are welcome to use anything from the Wrestling with God series, and I would encourage you to look at their Works Cited pages for other resources.  There are countless other secondary sources, but I caution you against using sources (particularly on the internet) that do not meet the rigorous standards that we have established in this course.  Many sources are a matter of opinion, or are written without the careful attention to detail that you have learned, or - worse yet - are written to prove a particular political point, and misuse the Bible to do so.  If you find a source not in the BAS Archive, I suggest that you email it me so I can check it out for you.

The research paper you write will be due on the day of the English exam.  

It is possible that more than one of you will work on the same book.  The research paper is an individual project, and should be treated as such, but I do invite you to talk about your ideas together, as long as you develop your theses independently of one another.

Suggested books are listed below.  If you have a project you want to do that is not on this list, please present me with your idea, and I'll be happy to consider it.

History

Joshua

Judges

Esther

Ezra/Nehemiah

Wisdom

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes 

Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)

Prophets

Isaiah 

Jeremiah

Ezekiel 

Jonah

Daniel 

Apocrypha

Judith

Tobit

Wisdom of Solomon

Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sira)