For a while, I’ve wanted to teach a course that more directly focuses on teaching skills of biblical reading. As I will be teaching an intensive residential course on the subject of Exodus for the Theopolis Institute later next year (watch this space!), I needed to rework the Exodus and the Shape of Biblical Narrative course that I’ve taught for Davenant before, to ensure that the two courses don’t significantly overlap.
The result is a complete overhaul of the course, which is now designed to offer a detailed introduction to skills that equip us to read biblical narrative well, skills which we will hone upon texts from the Exodus narrative. The intent of the course is for students to leave with a greatly increased capacity for attentive reading of Scripture in all its parts.
Within the course, I will explore the character of biblical narrative art, literary structures such as parallelism or chiasms, symbolism, typology, the reading of legal material, understanding ritual, and much besides. I will show how the various facets of an attentive hearing of the text can contribute to thick and rich theological understanding.
The course is open to auditors and to students seeking credit or in Davenant’s M.Litt programme. While it is designed to stretch students, the course will also be accessible to committed and thoughtful laypeople.
It starts in the second week of January and runs for ten weeks, with two hours of classes a week, besides reading and writing assignments (for students taking the course for credit). Consider signing up here:
Alastair's Adversaria 
“I will be teaching an intensive residential course on the subject of Exodus for the Theopolis Institute later this year…”
Not much of the year left. Better hurry! 😉
Lol, thanks for the heads up! Just changed it. 🙂