Reading Trauma in the Book of Jeremiah (BA9520T)

Content

This unit engages with the book of Jeremiah as a response to the crisis of the sixth-century BCE Babylonian incursion of Jerusalem and the associated waves of forced deportation. Students will be introduced to trauma as a lens for interpreting biblical texts. Through exegesis of selected texts and scholarship on the historical contexts of Jeremiah and themes such as prophecy, divine violence, forced deportation, diaspora and return, communal identity formation and communal memory will be explored.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

At least two units in Biblical studies, including Introduction to the Old Testament or equivalent.

Pedagogy

One week intensive including lectures and seminars (in-person 25 hours), supported by required pre-reading and three post-intensive tutorial sessions (on-line).

Indicative Bibliography

• Alexander, Jeffrey C., and Elizabeth Breese. "Introduction." In Narrating Trauma: On the Impact of Collective Suffering, edited by Ron Eyerman, Jeffrey C. Alexander and Elizabeth Breese, xi-xxv. Boulder: Paradigm, 2014.
• Boase, Elizabeth, and Christopher G. Frechette, eds. Bible Through the Lens of Trauma. Semeia Studies. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2016.
• Maier, Christl. "Listening to the Trauma of Refugees in Jeremiah 40-44." Lectio Difficilior 1 (2017): 1-13.
• O’Connor, Kathleen. Jeremiah: Pain and Promise. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011.
• Rom-Shiloni, Dalit. Exclusive Inclusivity: Identity Conflicts between the Exiles and the People Who Remained (6th-5th Centuries BCE). New York: T&T Clark, 2013.
• Smith-Christopher, Daniel. A Biblical Theology of Exile. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002.
• Stulman, Louis, and Edward Silver, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Jeremiah. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2021.

Assessment