Sex and the Bible

Sex and the Bible

Paper #2 ( 1500 word minimum, include word count at the end of paper -

due on Blackboard by February 20, respectively)

Before you write:

Choose one passage (probably just a few verses - at the most, one story or unit of text)

from among the assigned readings in the New Testament. Read the text carefully several times. Take a look at several translations to try and understand anything complicated.

Then ask yourself some of the following questions:

How are sexual practices and/or gender roles functioning in the passage you

have selected? What is assumed to be normal? What’s the logic of how gender

or sexual expression/practice is being thought about? What is the text

concerned to endorse or prohibit? Why? How does the text justify its position?

What sources of authority does it invoke? What presuppositions does it work

with? How does it offer an argument about sex/marriage/gender? If you are

working with a narrative, what details in the narrative, the descriptions of the

characters, or the flow of the plot allow a reader to draw a particular meaning

from the story and/or leave open particular ambiguities?

The above questions are meant to orient you and help you in your thinking - do not

feel like you need to systematically answer each of them (after all, 1500 words is not

very long).

When you start writing:

What we are looking for here is cogent and well-reasoned analysis based on your

close reading of a particular text. I expect you to develop a thesis about what you

think is going on in the text and to back up that thesis with a carefully-reasoned

argument using evidence from the text. Your analysis should stick as closely to the text

you have chosen as possible. For this reason, please do not consult biblical

commentaries or do any other secondary research (especially online!!!). What we want

to see here is your own thinking about a particular biblical text with respect to

questions of sex and gender. Make sure that you specifically cite evidence for your

argument from the text itself. When citing from or alluding to the text, please use

parenthetical documentation. For example: “Hosea makes a pun on sowing and

scattering by naming his son Jezreel” (Hos 1:3).

A word of advice: given that the treatment of sex and/or gender can be quite complex

in many of these texts, it may be helpful to focus on a particular angle or issue that

most interests you in the text you choose, rather than trying to cover an entire set of

issues that is way too large for 1500 words. I also strongly recommend that you make

an appointment with the Dornsife Writing Center (http://dornsife.usc.edu/

writingcenter/) to go over your argument. I am happy to look at your opening

paragraph and thesis statement in advance of turning in the paper.

A couple of tips:

1) Do not waste space in your introduction with broad discussions of the bible and

western society. State your thesis and get into the details as quickly as possible.

2) Do not let yourself unconsciously fill in the gaps in an argument. We do this

particularly when we are familiar with a text, often without thinking of it. You are

welcome to speculate about how to bridge gaps, but that requires that you first find

the gaps in an argument. Focus on what the text says first and foremost, but also

pay attention to what it doesn’t say.

3) Do not develop a thesis that focuses on how different these authors are from

modern standards. Focus on the arguments or assumptions of the texts

themselves!

4) Make sure that you are citing evidence from the text and discussing the details.

Get specific! If you say something like "I believe..." or “I feel…” that means you are

not working with the details.

5) If your argument relies on “tone” or “feeling” as part of its thesis, think about how

you might use a different concept to organize your thoughts. These categories are

too subjective and vague to allow you to use them to organize your analysis

6) Proofread, proofread, proofread. Read your paper over several times before you

submit it. Check your spelling and your grammar. Have someone else look at it.

Go to the Writing Center and ask them to read and comment on your paper. Take

this as an exercise in not embarrassing yourself when you send a memo to your

boss at [Insert Corporation Name] full of grammatical errors and run-on sentences.

If your paper has too many errors of grammar, spelling, or syntax, we may ask

you to rewrite it.