Brian Schmidt – Middle East Studies, Near Eastern Studies | 2019-2020
I submit this NINI proposal in response to both the College’s call and my department’s goals for instructors to implement innovative ways of engaging students with new course content, new course methods, and new experiential opportunities to enhance student initiated, active learning, inclusiveness and equity. I recently initiated the implementation of a number of new components and modules for three new courses, while for two other courses that I have regularly offered to undergraduates, I am integrating several major revisions most of which coincide with the elements I am implementing for my new courses. The Middle East (hereafter ME) undergraduate topics courses that I teach are typically 80 min. in length and meet twice a week. The courses which I am currently revising and creating and those I plan to revise and create in the coming months include:
ME 295: Satan, Sin and Suffering in the Book of Job
ME 391: Satan, Sin and Suffering in the Book of Job
ME 235: Introduction to the Tanakh or Old Testament
ME 339: Before the Exile: The History and Religion of Ancient Israel
ME 3XX: What is the Meaning of Life: The Book of Ecclesiastes