UW-Madison
Fall 2007
Hebrew 371-Lecture 1, Jewish Studies 371, Religious Studies 400-001
Lamentations and Its Interpreters
Tuesdays
and
Thursdays
Noland 119
Instructor: Kim Lan Nguyen
Office: 1352 Van Hise Hall
Office Hours:
Phone: 263-2835
Email: kimlannguyen@wisc.edu
Course Description
The book of
Lamentations came into being as a response to the destruction of
This course has two goals: 1) to understand how the book of Lamentations deals with suffering and how it offers catharsis to the sufferers so that they can move on, and 2) to understand how subsequent generations responded to the book as they reflected upon the suffering experienced in their own times. Toward the first goal, the book of Lamentations will be examined in its historical and literary contexts. Toward the second goal, later responses to the book will be examined; special attention will be paid to Late Antiquity Rabbis, Early Christians Church Fathers, Medieval Commentators, and some modern interpreters.
Textbooks
Berlin, Adele.
Lamentations. The Old
Testament Library.
The textbook can be obtained at either The University Book Store or Underground Textbook Exchange
Course Reader available at Bob's Copy Shop.
Course Requirements
- Attendance: Three absences are allowed for illness, religious observances, and other emergencies.� Each additional absence will result in a reduction of half a grade.
-
Examinations: There are two exams, a midterm and a final. The
midterm will be in class on October 23. The final must
be taken at the scheduled time Thursday, December 20, at
- Papers: There are two 5-page papers. Sources used for papers must be properly cited. Internet resources may be used only if they are taken from published works. Please note that plagiarism will not be tolerated. Papers are due on Oct 18 and Dec 11 at the beginning of class.
- Pop quizzes: quizzes on reading material will be given without advance notification. There will be no made-up quizzes.
- Oral participation
Grading
The final grade is composed of the following:
- Quizzes: 5%
- Oral participation: 5%
- Examinations: 20% each
- Papers: 25% each
Schedule
Introduction
T 9/4
Introduction to the course; Introduction to the book of Lamentations
R 9/6
Topic
Historical and theological background of Lamentations
Readings
Deuteronomy 28; 2 Samuel 7:1-17; 2 Kings 22, 25
T 9/11
Topic
The genre of communal
lament in
Readings
Kramer, "Lamentation
over the
destruction of
Psalms 44, 79, 89
R 9/13
No class - Rosh Hashanah
Make-up assignment:
Attend and
write a one-page report on the Sanford J. Ettinger lecture "Writing of
Hope in
Times of despairs:
Thursday, October 18,
Reading Lamentations
T 9/18
Topics
External form of Lamentations; Acrostic feature and its meaning; Poetic feature; Unity of Lamentations.
Readings
Renkema, "The Meaning of the Parallel Acrostics in Lamentations"
Poem 1
R 9/20
Topic
Form/Structure/content
Reading
T 9/25
Topic
Speaking voices
Readings
Lanahan, "The Speaking Voice in the Book of Lamentations"
Miller, "Reading Voices: Personification, Dialogism, and the Reader of Lamentations 1"
R 9/27
Topics
Personification; Suffering; Justice/ Sin and punishment
Readings
Kaiser, "Poet as 'Female Impersonator': The Image of Daughter Zion as Speaker in Biblical Poems of Suffering" - read only pages 174-82
Dobbs-Allsopp, "No Comfort: Lamentations 1" - Read only the section "Excursus: Personified Zion" on pages 50-3
Poem 2
T 10/02
Topic
Form/Structure/Content
Reading
Poem 3
R 10/4
Topics
Genre; Form/Structure/content
Reading
T 10/9
Topics
"The Man"; Theology: Submission and Hope
Saebo, "Who is 'the Man' in Lamentations 3? A Fresh Approach to the Interpretation of the Book of Lamentations"
Owens, "Personification and Suffering in Lamentations 3"
Poem 4
R 10/11
Topic
Form/Structure/Content
Reading
Poem 5
T 10/16
Topic
Form/Structure/Content
Reading
Reading the poems together: The message of Lamentations
R 10/18
Work due: Paper 1
Topics
Theology; Purpose
Readings
Reimer, "Good Grief?
A
Psychological
Greenstein, "The Wrath at God in the Book of Lamentations"
Dobbs-Allsopp, "Tragedy, Tradition, and Theology in the Book of Lamentations" - Read only pages 54-60
T 10/23
Exam 1
Inner Biblical Interpretation
R 10/25
Topic
Second Isaiah's response to Lamentations: Comfort and Restoration
Reading
Isaiah 49:8 - 50:3; 51:1 - 52:12;
54:1-17
Worksheet 1
Rabbinic Interpreters
T 10/30
Topics
Midrashic Literature; Rabbinic responses to the book of Lamentations
Reading
Mintz, "Midrash and
the
Destruction" - Read pages 49-62
R 11/1
Topic
Rabbinic responses to
the reversal
of
Readings
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations: I.1 Sections 3-11; Lamentations: I.9 Section 36; Worksheet 2
T 11/6
Topics
Rabbinic responses to innocent suffering; response to God�s silence in Lamentations
Readings
Midrash Rabbah - Lamentations: I.16 Sections 45-50; Midrash Rabbah - Lamentations: Proem 24 (pp. 40-49)
Linafelt, "Life in Excess: The Midrash on Lamentations"
Worksheet 3
Early Christian Church Fathers
R 11/8
Topic
Origin's spiritual reading
Reading
Trigg, "Commentary on Lamentations, Selected Fragments"
Worksheet 4
Medieval Commentators
T 11/13
Topic
Method of Medieval Jewish Interpretation; Rashi's commentary on Lamentations
Judaica Press
Complete Tanach with
Rashi: Lam 1-2
R 11/15
Topic
Rashi's commentary on Lamentations (cont'd)
Judaica Press
Complete Tanach with
Rashi: Lam 3-5
T 11/20
No class - Instructor attending SBL conference
Make-up assignment:
Attend write a
one-page report on the Lecture "Witness: One of the Great
Correspondents of
the Twentieth Century Tells Her Story" (RESCUE OF JEWS DURING
THE
HOLOCAUST) By Ruth Gruber, journalist and human rights activist
Thursday, November 8th -
Alumni Lounge,
R 11/ 22
No class - Thanksgiving Recess
T 11/ 27
Topic
John Calvin's commentary on Lamentations
Commentaries on the Lamentations
Modern Interpreters
R 11/29
Topic
Literature of Survival
Reading
Linafelt, "'None
Survived or
Escaped':
T 12/4
Topic
The significance of laments in the Christian church
Readings
Westermann, "The Theological Significance of Lamentations"
R 12/6
Topic
No vengeance, but repentance
Readings
Morris, "Reading Lamentations in the 21st Century: Concerning Daniel Berrigan's Lamentations and Tod Linafelt's Surviving Lamentations"
Excerpts from Daniel Berrigan's Lamentations
T 12/11
Work due: Paper 2
Topic
Theology of Protest; Effects of the book of Lamentations on Women
Readings
Graetz, "
Seidman, "Burning the Book of Lamentations"
Guest, 'Hiding Behind the Naked Women in Lamentations: A Recriminative Response" - Read only pages 422-432
R 12/13
Topic
Review; Wrap up
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