"Portrait of a City"
Research Project
27
March 2007
The purpose of the "Portrait of
a City Project" is to give the student the opportunity to develop proficiency
in analyzing the material culture in which a given Biblical text (or set of
texts) arose.
Unlike the exegetical project, where one is expected to apply
all
the various methods of Biblical exegesis and interpretation that have been
surveyed in this seminar, this paper permits
the student to focus on archaeology, epigraphy, palaeography, and/or social
history, using whatever methods of textual analysis are necessary to corroborate
and help interpret the material remains.
When using textual data in your analysis,
you must demonstrate your awareness of the contemporary critical approaches
we have studied and how they apply to your analysis of the site you have
selected as the focus of your research. (NB: This applies to non-canonical
texts as well as the canonical ones.)
For example:
- If you choose to study the
ancient city of Corinth, you might focus on its shipping district and harbor
in Cenchrea. This could lead you to refer to Rom. 16:1-2, where Paul commends
Phoebe to the attention of the Roman churches, and mentions her status at
the church in Cenchrea. There should be evidence that you understand what
it suggests about Phoebe's social location, and about the leadership structure
of her church, when Paul calls her adelphê, diakonos, and prostatis.
An awareness of the translation issues regarding these terms might also
be pertinent.
- Or, if you chose to focus on the Temple of Aphrodite in Acrocorinth,
you might refer to Paul's remarks to the Corinthian women prophets
in 1 Cor. 11:1-16; the discussion should indicate that you are aware of
the text-critical problems with v. 10, and the dubious authenticity of 1
Cor. 14:33b-36.
You will not be expected to do a detailed analysis of such
texts (otherwise, you would end up with an exegetical project rather than
this one), but there must be evidence that you understand how and when to
use the methods we have studied, and what one gains from the dialogue between
the material culture and pertinent, critically-appropriated literary evidence
from that same time and place.
A basic outline of a final
"portrait" project is as follows:
- An introduction including including
your thesis statement, a statement of what approach you will take toward
the text (e.g., historical, liberationist, social-scientific), a sketch
of how you will proceed in proving your thesis, and a brief "history of
research" on your site (designed to segué into your argument and
establish why it is significant)
- An argument comprising an analysis
of the chosen site, which would include: (a) an outline of the city's
basic layout, including pertinent topographical, ecological, commercial,
and political data; (b) a detailed study of one site within the city (e.g.,
the agora, public baths, burial grounds, a temple, or a private house), using
contemporary archaeological (and allied) methods; (c) a synthesis of your
findings and their significance; and (d) an analysis of the implications
of your research for our understanding of early Christianity, and the Pauline
corpus in particular.
- A conclusion summarizing how
you have proven your thesis, and what avenues for further study remain;
- A critical, select bibliography of
items relevant for your research. (This should include all the works you
consulted, even if they are not cited in the essay itself.)
Ideally, even the rough draft of the project should include all these components,
but it must include at least the thesis statement and #2.
As indicated in the syllabus, the project will
be graded in six stages,
weighted according to the course grading
schedule. Deadlines for the
various stages of the paper are indicated in the Course Schedule.
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