Assignment task:
In the time period of the New Testament (roughly the first century CE), we are much more able than in the time of the Hebrew Bible to connect the characters and events in the texts to history. This is possible largely because our sources-Christian and non-Christian, insider and outsider-are more plentiful. For your final assignment in the course, we want you to select a historical figure (Mary Magdalene) from the following list and construct a paper telling us what we can determine about their lives. Your paper must address the following:
Introduction:
Topic sentences should introduce who you are researching. (Mary Magdalene) Your introduction should state, in two sentences, something about the difficulties of reconstructing the life of someone from ancient history. The third sentence will be your thesis statement, telling the reader who your figure is and what you think (briefly) we can conclude about them. What is your basic conclusion of the character or the basic conclusion about the problem of trying to reconstruct the figure?
Paragraph 1:
1. What are the sources for the figure and what do they tell us? This includes both insider (New Testament and apocryphal texts) and outsider (Jewish and Greco-Roman sources, if available).
Paragraph 2:
2. What are the challenges in working with these sources? For example, are they reliable (why or why not?), are they contradictory, are they fragmentary?
Paragraph 3:
3. What scholarly techniques can be used to deal with these challenges? For example, if the sources are contradictory, how do we determine which (if any) is correct?
Paragraph 4:
4. How can we be sure that we are dealing with historical facts and not simply with theological interpretations? (Or, think of the question in reverse: how can we determine whether there are any historical facts in these accounts at all?)
Conclusion
Your conclusion will tie up the four topics outlined above by presenting your SCHOLARLY conclusions about the life of the figure of your study. What is your basic conclusion of the character or the basic conclusion about the problem of trying to reconstruct the figure.
References/Sources:
Christian E. Hauer and William A. Young. An Introduction to the Bible: A Journey into Three Worlds. 8th ed.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version [NOAB], College Edition. 4th edition.
"Feminist Biblical Interpretation: History and Goals" by Sarah Schectman
Was the Gospel of John Changed to Suppress Mary Magdalene?
Primary literature used (e.g., apocryphal texts)