Nota bene.

1. People in this class will interpret the Bible in a variety of ways. Our study can only be successful if we treat one another's views with courtesy, tolerance, and respect.
2. English 452 is a demanding course. Be sure to arrange your schedule so you can spend adequate time for class preparation, researching, and writing.
   
   

Turning in Your Work

I want an electronic copy submitted to the TurnItIn link on Moodle.  In online classes, submit your paper through Moodle to TurnItIn.  If you have trouble uploading it Moodle, you may email it to me at bmagee@latech.edu.  You may also bring a paper copy by my office.  You are still responsible for turning in the assignment by the due date, so plan ahead.

Late Work

Your paper is due ON or BEFORE the due date. You can turn it in any time until the due date.  After that, the grade drops 5 points per period.

Attendance

In a face-to-face class, I'll take role every period.  Your attendance grade is a straight percentage of how much you attended class.  For example, if you attend 17 times out of 20 periods, your grade will be 17÷20=85%.  An absence may be excused with proper documentation.

Graded Material

In the event of a question regarding an exam grade or final grade, it will be the responsibility of the student to retain and present graded materials which have been returned for student possession during the quarter. 

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Students needing testing or classroom accommodations based on a disability are encouraged to discuss those needs with me as soon as possible. 

Plagiarism
Honor Code

"In accordance with the Academic Honor Code, students pledge the following: Being a student of a higher standard, I pledge to embody the principles of academic integrity."  If I determine that you have violated the Honor Code or the English Department plagiarism policy, you'll receive a '0' on the assignment, and I may refer you to the Honor Council if I think it appropriate.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use.

Submitting as your own original work writing that is generated partially or wholly using AI writing tools such as ChatGPT constitutes plagiarism in violation of Section 3.1, Cheating, of the University’s Honor Code: “Cheating is defined as the act of giving unauthorized assistance to or receiving unauthorized assistance from another individual for the purpose of completing academic requirements. This includes, but is not limited to, the completion of homework, tests, projects, or research assignments.” Notice that the University’s Honor Code specifies unauthorized assistance from “another individual,” which may seem to exclude AI since it is a tool, not an individual. However, it is crucial to understand that AI writing tools such as ChatGPT do not generate new material. Rather, such tools search through, analyze, aggregate, and replicate existing material, originally authored by an individual or individuals, to which these tools have access.

While the particular format of how this aggregated information is subsequently presented may be unique, and while whatever prompt you may have offered may be your original words, the words, ideas, and/or structures for that information have been taken in part or wholly from another source without proper documentation. This constitutes Deliberate Plagiarism. ... In short, there is no place for AI-generated or AI- assisted text in the University classroom, and attempting to present such work as one's original work will be subject to the same penalties as other forms of plagiarism.

The Emergency Notification System

All Louisiana Tech students are strongly encouraged to enroll and update their contact information in the Emergency Notification System. It takes just a few seconds to ensure you're able to receive important text and voice alerts in the event of a campus emergency.  For more information on the Emergency Notification System, please visit: http://www.latech.edu/administration/ ens.shtml.

Graduate Requirements

In addition to meeting the above requirements, graduate students enrolled in the course for graduate credit:

• must write a substantially longer research paper than undergraduates. (12-15 pages for graduate students, 8-9 pages for undergraduates.)
• may be asked to give presentations to the class.
• should show leadership in class discussion.

1. COVID-19 Information:
1. Students can access COVID-19-related information, guidelines, FAQs, and policies at Louisiana Tech’s website:  latech.edu/coronavirus
2. Louisiana Tech’s Return to Campus Plan is located at latech.edu/return-to-campus. Masks are required to be worn indoors on campus. Masks are required to be worn outdoors if six feet of physical distance cannot be maintained. Every member of the Tech Family will need to take personal responsibility for their behavior, which includes wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing, washing hands regularly, using proper sneeze and cough practices, helping maintain clean academic and office areas, and monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19
3. The direct link to the reporting protocol for students is located at latech.edu/coronavirus/return-to-campus-plan/for-students/. Students can reach out to Stacy Gilbert, Dean of Student Services & Academic Support, at stacyc@latech.edu for help with accommodations and additional information and to report a positive test.
4. Failure to comply with the Safety Protocols listed in the Back to Campus Fall 2020  booklet: latech.edu/documents/2020/07/covid-return-book.pdf/, specifically on pages 5-7 about masks and social distancing, could result in students being in violation of the Classroom Behavior Policy listed on page 125 of the Student Handbook: latech.edu/documents/2018/09/student-handbook.pdf/.
5. Information and contact numbers and sites for Louisiana Tech Counseling Services are located at: https://www.latech.edu/current-students/student-advancement-affairs/counseling-services/
2. Online Course Syllabus (additional information required):
1. Accommodations for potential issues with technology that might arise (power outages, poor internet, internet outages, etc.).
   
   • If you can't attend our class periods via Zoom because of technology issues, I'll post materials from the period that you can access later.
   • I'll give extended times for you to take quizzes and/or turn in papers, so you will have time to resolve tech issues. Contact me if something goes wrong that you can't fix yourself. Sometimes people get locked out of quizzes halfway through, or Moodle won't accept a paper. Stuff like that.
     
2. Clear communication on how and when exams and quizzes will be administered, and the importance of adhering to the University’s honor code policy.
• Everything will be taken up via Moodle.
  
• Except for group projects, do your own work.
  
3. Methods for students to contact and interact with the professor, including posted office hours.
• Look at the top of the syllabus for this quarter's contact information. My hours change every quarter.
  
4. Policy for Zoom backgrounds for online students (prohibition of obscene or other inappropriate or offensive backgrounds on their Zoom)
• Remember other people can see your Zoom backgrounds (if you have one), or the wall behind you if you don't.
  
3. Face-to-face and hybrid/flex Syllabus (additional information required):
1. Plan for course if faculty member becomes ill or needs to self-quarantine following potential exposure.
• We'll continue to meet by Zoom if I'm in quarantine.
  
2. Policy for class behavior including wearing of masks, social distancing, possible seating assignments, cleaning of desks, etc.
• For in-person classes, be sure to weak a mask over both your mouth and your nose. We'll have cleaning wipes for you to use to clean your chair and desk when you arrive.
  
3. Policy for communication with faculty member that encourages appointments over zoom that maintain social distancing protocols.
• If you want a conference with me, contact me through my email or text me at (318) 805-2326 to set up a time.
  
4. Clear communication on how and when exams and quizzes will be administered, and the importance of adhering to the University’s honor code policy.
• The dates for major assignments are in the syllabus. For smaller quizzes, I'll let you know when they are and what they cover via Moodle.
  
5. Statement that students who are feeling ill with COVID-19 symptoms, have been exposed to or testing positive for COVID-19, should not come to class and should contact Tech Care at 318-257-4866.
6. Statement that students who miss face-to-face class for COVID-19 related reasons will have access to course materials and grad opportunities while away from face-to-face class. Participation should be emphasized over attendance.
• My understanding is that we're supposed to take attendance. I'll excuse Covid absences like other illnesses.
  
  
  

Hoc opus, hic labor est.

Registration Week (September 5-6)

• Lecture: Introduction to the Course
• The History of Writing
• Reading: Greek alphabet. Please learn the Greek alphabet well enough to sound out words. A lot of the best sources won't transliterate. 
• Benjamin Franklin. "Remaks Concerning the Savages of North America."
• Magee packet 34-38 Writing Technology
• Presentation (Graduate Students Only)

Week 1 (September 9-13)

• Lecture: Genesis lecture
• Creation order comparison
  
• Reading: Ryken, chapters 1-3
• Genesis
• Auerbach. "Odysseus' Scar."
• Magee packet 1-9
• 97-98 Hesiod

• Lecture: The Jewish Canon — The Catholic Encyclopedia
  
• Exodus lecture
• Reading: Exodus 1-20; 32-40
• The Canon of the Old Testament (Catholic Encyclopedia)
• The Jewish Canon (Jewish Encyclopedia)
• Magee packet 15-19 OT Canon Formation
• 65-66 OT Canon Formation
  

Week 2 (September 16-20)

• Lecture: Deuteronomy lecture
• Major versions of the Bible
  
• Reading: Deuteronomy 28-34
• Packet 23-33 Translating the Bible
• 77-87 English Translations
• 89-93 Literary Criticism

• Lecture: Pslams lecture
• Reading: Psalms 1-25, 45-50, 119, 120-134 
• Packet 12 Metaphor Diagram
• 14 Parallelism Diagram
• 70-76 Hebrew Poetry
• 94-96 OT Wordplay 
• Presentation: Translating the Bible into English
  

Week 3 (September 23-27)

• Lecture: Proverbs lecture
• Reading: Proverbs 1-14, 31
• Ryken, chapters 4-6
• Packet  108-111 Wisdom of Sol.
• 112-113 Baruch
• Presentation: Textual Criticism
  

• Lecture: Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes lecture

• Reading: Ecclesiastes
• Song of Songs
• Presentation: Philology

Week 4 (September 30 — October 4)

• Lecture: Job and Jonah lecture

• Reading:  Job 1-14, 38-42
• Jonah

• Lecture: Isaiah lecture

• Reading: Isaiah 1-39 
• Packet 13 Allegory diagram
• Presentation: Allegory
• Typology
  

Week 5 (October 7-11)

• Lecture: Apocrapha lecture

• Reading: 99-100 1 Esdras
  • 114 Baruch
  • 115 Epistle of Jeremiah
  • 116 Prayer of Azariah
  • Daniel 1-9
  • Susanna
  • Bel and the Dragon

• Lecture: NT Canon Lecture
• Historical Background of the New Testament
  

• Reading: Ryken, chapters 10-11
• Packet 19-21. The Canon of the New Testament
• 1 Maccabees 1-5 (be sure to read all 5 chapters)
• Writing: Research paper outline
  

Week 6 (October 14-18)

• Lecture: Mark lecture

• Reading: Mark
• Ryken, chapters 7-8, Appendix
  
• Presentation: The Synoptic Problem

• Lecture:  Matthew lecture
• Reading: Matthew
• Presentation: Form Criticism

Week 7 (October 21-25)

• Lecture: John lecture
• Reading: John
  • Packet 51-63  Synopsis
• Presentation: Source Criticism
• Redaction Criticism
  

• Lecture: Luke lecture
• Reading: Luke
• Presentation: Narratology

Week 8 (October 28 — November 1)

• Lecture: Acts lecture
• Copying the Lord's Prayer lecture
• Reading: Acts
• Ryken, chapter 12

• Lecture:
  
• Writing: Essay Exam

Week 9 (November 4-8)

• Lecture: Romans lecture
• Reading: Romans

• Lecture: Hebrews lecture
• Reading: Hebrews
• Writing: Research Paper Due

Week 10 (November 11-14)