3/1: HOMEWORK: Work on your portfolios (due next Friday). Also, please read Exodus 1-7 for Monday.
2/26: HOMEWORK: Finish Genesis (we'll talk about Joseph's story tomorrow) and continue to work on your portfolios.
In class: Work in groups of 4 today (there ca be a couple of threes if necessary - no pairs): Please start today by revisiting Gen 38 (Tamar's story).Together, discuss your first impressions. insights/ questions about the story, Judah's actions, the character of Tamar, etc. Share your most important ideas/questions/insights, etc. in a google doc with me (cathy_nicastro@wrsd.net) and with the group members. Please make sure everyone's name is on the document. Then, read through this take on the story and how it fits into Jewish law (why it matters beyond the bounds of Genesis). Add to our notes anything that you find particularly interesting and/or anything that clears up your questions (or creates more). Click on the "Paintings of Tamar" tab at the top of that page. Scroll through the art - choose two pieces that catch yor attention. First (by yourself) descrbe what you see in each art piece, then come together again as a group and discuss how the art reshapes reimagines, reinforces, etc. the story, the characters, who has the power in the story, etc. and why that matters (what does the artist gain from this portrayal?) Be ready to talk about Joseph's story in full tomorrow in class.
2/15: HOMEWORK: Finish Genesis by 2/26. Continue to work on your portfolios (due March 8).
Portfolio work day. See resources page.
2/14: We talked through Jacob's arc : Is Isaac a weak patriarch? Why is deception used to further the line? Is Jacob the right person to carry on the blessing? Is Rebekah her generation's Abraham? Does she avoid a Cain and Abel situation? Where is the morality? Motifs we are following - women at the well, dreams, deception, etc.
We also worked on the portfolios.
2/11: HOMEWORK: read at least Gen 24-28 (through 32 if you can).
Today we looked at each of these representations of Gen 22. As we will do all semester with art, we started by describing what we see ("plot" then character(s), then relationships, setiing, etc.). Then, we used the description to analyze how each artist is interpreting the story: which character(s) elicit sympathy and why? Which characters do not and why? How does the title shift understanding? How is the biblical story beging reshaped, reinvented, revised, reinforced, etc.? What does the artist gain? Rembrandt's Sacrifice of Isaac, 1635.Rembrandt's Abraham's Sacrifice, 1655. George Segal Abraham and Isaac, 1978-79.
2/8: HOMEWORK: Keep up with the reading schedule. In class, the binding of Isaac and what it can teach us today.
2/6: HOMEWORK: Read and react (on the back of today's notecard - fill one side of the notecard) to Gen 22. In class, to start, reflect on the reading for today, focusing in on one chapter. On one side of the notecard: Write about what struck you as important and why, what does the chapter tell you about the character of God? Of Abraham? Of the promise? Of important relationships, etc.? Fill one side of the noetcard and bring your ideas to small group discussions.
2/5: HOMEWORK: Read Gen 19-21, keeping in mind what we talked about in class today. If you were out today, please make sure to read the portfolio handout as well. Come to class with questions.
In class: We finished God's character sketch and talked about Abraham, God, Sarah, Hagar, etc. I handed out this reading about the covenant.
Here is the Genesis portfolio assignment. Those taking the class for H credit read the first 1 1/2 pages. Those taking it for CPA credit, look halfway down the second page for the start of your assignment.
2/4: HOMEWORK: Please read Gen 12-18 for Tuesday.
In class: character sketches of God. Start with traits first (brainstorm a list of traits God in Gen 1-11 possesses). Return to the text and find evidence (at least two pieces of evidence for each trait - revise and add traits based on evidence). Look for patterns in the traits and come up with a metaphor for God (i.e God is a gardener, God is a lawyer, etc.). Create a symbol for each of the 3-5 traits you'll be using in the sketch. Then, create the sketch, incorporating the symbols and writing up your defense.
2/1: HOMEWORK: Here is the reading schedule for Genesis
In class: we finished our discussion about Noah and then read and talked about Gen 11:1-9. We also looked at Marta Minujun's sculpture (see Resources page in the drop down menu under Genesis above).
1/31: HOMEWORK: Final drafts of the poem analysis due tomorrow. Please bring in a hard copy and the marked up poem.Please go to this document, THINK creatively and add your headline on the line corresponding to your number. Then, when everyone is done, choose two headlines to comment on (thoughfully)
1/30: HOMEWORK: due Thursday: Read Gen 6-9. Make sure to read the notes as well. Due Friday - a hard copy of your marked up poem, plus two paragraphs. This will be our first asessment grade.
In class - work day.
1/28: HOMEWORK (due by Thursday - we will have Wednesday's class period as a work day, and you can choose how to use that time): Read Gen 6-9 and revise one of the poems in the two paragraph format we looked at with the Wallflowers example today.
In class, we talked through the poems and worked on an example from the Wallflowers as a model for the portfolio work.
1/25: HOMEWORK: Work on two of the poems this weekend (oneif you are taking the class for CPA credit).You can find the poems here and here. For each poem: beyond the mark up of the poem (as we’ve done together), write a paragraph about the poem itself – write about lines, images, word choice, tone, title, etc. and use those to help you make meaning of the poem. In the next paragraph, write about the allusion, about the ways in which it reshapes, reimagines, revises the biblical story and about how understanding the allusion deepens your understanding of the poem.
1/24: HOMEWORK: Reread Gen 3 for textual support: does God see this coming? With that in mind, read Gen 4
In class: We started with this Oliver poem to get our feet wet working with allusions. Then. we tackled Gen 3 in small groups, talking about the story, what was suprising, who was to blame.
1/23: HOMEWORK: Read Genesis 3. On the front of the notecard, tell me what you thought about the reading (dealing with these questions): What surprised you in the reading? What details did you notice in the text that may have been different from your recollection of the story? Why did those details matter? What is man’s relationship to God in this story? What is God’s relationship to man? On the back of the notecard: WHY does this happen? Who is to blame and WHY. Fill both sides of the card.
In class we examined the conventions in Genesis 1 and read and discussed the Genesis 2 creation story.
1/22: HOMEWORK: Please see Bible as Lit page for syllabus and other materials. Bring in syllabus sign off sheet.
In class we read and discussed Genesis 1.
Artwork: George Segal. The Explusion. 1986-87. Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA.