A Missing Paradigm?
Strengthening Research on the
Pedagogy of Jewish Studies
Marc Brettler,
Brandeis University
Background
Audience: College intro class in HB/OT
Background questions:
• What should people be researching?
• Challenges and benefits of research?
Some Suggested Purposes of
College-level Biblical Studies
• Entry into the Humanities
• Counteracts sciences
• Important example of condensed life
• Special place of study of religion to college
students
• Manner in which “adult” study helps religious
personality develop
The Bible as Part of the Humanities 1
“More than ever, we require the deep historical
perspective and specialized knowledge of other
cultures, regions, religions, and traditions provided
by the humanities. And precisely because of the
rapid developments in science and technology, we
must think carefully about the nature of the human,
the ethics of scientific investigation, and the global
effects of technological change.”
Cathy N. Davidson and David Theo Goldberg,
“A Manifesto for the Humanities in a Technological Age,”
in The Chronicle Review 2/13/04
The Bible as Part of the Humanities 2
“The Bible is also in this sense a document of the
university because in this book life as it is lived
by people has become manifest in an enormous
condensation, so much so that from it time and
again new impulses for life as it is lived emerge.
This is note merely a dogmatic claim but a
statement of fact.”
Gerhard Ebeling,
“The Bible as a Document of the University,”
in The Bible as a Document of the University, ed. G. Ebeling et al.
Teaching the Bible as Teaching (about?) Religion
Theory: The academy enjoins that as a professor of religion, I am
teaching a subject like any other, such as astronomy, sociology, or
history.
Reality: In the classroom, this is simply not the case. My students
rightly assume before taking a class that the study of religion is unique.
Theory: In the study of religion, the search for meaning is secondary.
It may even be distracting.
Reality: For our students, the search for meaning is often primary.
For us who teach them, it once was too, or perhaps still is. To deny
this is to deracinate the vitality and ultimate relevance of our teaching.
Theory: The teacher of religion is not necessarily a role model.
Reality: The teacher of religion is always a role model
Kimberly C. Patton,
“’Stumbling Along between the Immensities’:
Reflections on Teaching in the Study of Religion,”
Journal of the American Academy of Religion 65/4 (1997) 831-854.
Are College Students Adult Jewish Learners?
Contemporary Jewish adult learners wonder:
• Will I feel comfortable learning with other Jews?
• Will I be accepted by Jewish “authority figures” despite the
limitations of my Jewish knowledge?
• Will I get help in acquiring skills for Jewish learning?
• Will my view of Judaism and religion be respected by
teachers and fellow learners?
• Will I find relevance in Jewish learning?
• How will my learning affect my identity as a Jew?
Diane Tickton Schuster,
Jewish Lives, Jewish Learning: Adult Jewish Learning in Theory & Practice, p. 172
Summary: Questions to Research
Are students taking course:
to “think carefully about the nature of the human”?
to understand life condensed?
to “understand something unique”?
to “search for meaning”?
to study with an adult “role model”?
to find a community?
to change/reconfigure/deepen (Jewish?) identity?
Easy enough to survey these + discover other reasons--but is
survey enough? How do we move beyond “practitioner
ruminating about practice”? Real philosophical analysis?
Collect real data? How do we move from this data to its
implications? How evaluate reasons students do take course
vs. reasons students should take course?
Implications
Our understanding of why teaching (in conjunction with other
factors) will determine shape of course, namely what it means
to introduce students to the HB. It will also determine certain
decisions that teachers need to make, e.g.:
• How should biblical books covered be selected and ordered?
• How should ancient non-biblical material (written, nonwritten) should be used?
• How much post-biblical material (Jewish or Christian) should
course cover?
• Relative emphasis on methods or on material? Singlemethod or multiple methods?
Empirical study of different teachers with different syllabi might
yield useful results.
Challenges to Doing Research
• Not all faculty care about potential benefits -- not as
important as publishing.
• Faculty who teach subject manner are, by and large, not
trained to do the research on pedagogy.
• Material is so highly charged, it can be hard to sit back
and to think about pedagogy. (Is it easier to figure our
success of spelling instruction than Bible instruction?)
• Others?
Potential Benefits
• Better/more successful teacher.
(But what does that mean? How measure that: evaluations?
grades improve? measure aspects of students personality or
religiosity? long-term follow-up? other?)
• Spill-over to other types of Bible teaching, either shared
insights, or insights by contrast.
• Others?
Questions: my email: brettler@brandeis.edu