ST. OLAF COLLEGE SEMINAR 2008

Peasants, Widows, Bandits and Beggars: The Everyday World in which Jesus Lived

and

Dirt, Bones, Potsherds and Stones: Archaeologists Probe the Galilee in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods

St. Olaf College
Northfield, Minnesota
July 6–12, 2008

with Richard Rohrbaugh and James Strange

An incomparable week of learning & relaxing

Register today to attend this year’s BAS week-long Summer Seminar at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. Located in southeastern Minnesota’s naturally scenic agricultural region, St. Olaf’s campus offers you a tranquil setting for learning about compelling ancient Biblical history.

Location
Lecture Program
Faculty
Optional On-Your-Own Field Trips
Cost
Terms and Conditions
Registration

Location

The 350-acre wooded campus is located in Northfield, Minnesota, just 35 miles south of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Northfield offers the best of two worlds: the quiet charm of a rural community and the convenience and excitement of the nearby Twin Cities. A thriving and innovative community, Northfield is known for its historic downtown district along the scenic Cannon River. Accommodations at the college are comfortable, dormitory-style, air-conditioned rooms with two beds per room. Participants are also welcome to use other campus facilities.

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Lecture Program

Richard Rohrbaugh

Peasants, Widows, Bandits and Beggars: The Everyday World in which Jesus Lived

We often forget how much life has changed since the industrial revolution. In our world, 98% are literate. In Jesus’ world, 98% were not. Few people then ever traveled more than a dozen or so miles from their homes. It was a world inhabited by peasant farmers, city artisans, rich patrons, desperate widows, social bandits, absentee landowners and corrupt judges. In these lectures we will look at the concepts of honor and shame, peasant economics, kinship and family patterns, surrogate families, social banditry and life in the cities and villages of the Mediterranean world. The lectures will thus offer an introduction to the new field of Social-Scientific Criticism.

• Jesus: Village Artisan
• Honor and Shame: Core Values of the Mediterranean World
• The Evil Eye: Core Belief in the Biblical World
• A Dysfunctional Family and its Neighbors: Luke 15:11-32
• Was Jesus Really a Capitalist? Limited Good: The Worldview of Peasants
• Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner: Social Realities of the Pre-industrial City
• Who Did Jesus Think He Was? Collectivist Personality and Mediterranean Machismo
• Purity and Pollution in Ancient Israel
• Kinship, Marriage and Surrogate Families
• Getting the Bible into English: The Impact of Social-Scientific Criticism

James Strange

Dirt, Bones, Potsherds and Stones: Archaeologists Probe the Galilee in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods

Every occupation of the land in any period leaves its human imprint. It is up to us to recognize it and understand it. What looks at first to be a chaotic scatter of bits and pieces within archaeological trenches can resolve itself into settlement patterns, architecture, human movement, dedication of space to special uses, and even the scope and layout of a city. In these lectures we will learn how archaeologists make their inferences and we will examine some of those inferences about synagogues, the Jewish and Gentile populations, traces of Judaism, possible traces of “Jewish-Christianity,” and specific sites. Was there an early Christian sanctuary at Capernaum? How central to Galilean life was Sepphoris? Did Nazareth really exist in the first century? How do we recognize ancient synagogues without inscriptions or Jewish symbols on the structure? The lectures will also serve as an overview of deduction of social structures from archaeological remains.

• Settlement of Galilee in the Maccabean to Roman Period: Were They Jews?
• The Recovery of Judaism and the Resettlement of Galilee after 135 CE
• The Case of Sepphoris: A Major City in Galilee
• The Archaeology of “Jewish Christianity”
• The “House of St. Peter” at Capernaum
• The Case of Nazareth: A Jewish Christian Center?
• The Earliest Synagogue Buildings in Israel
• What Does This Building Invite Me to Do? An Analysis of Synagogue Space at Capernaum
• The “Tomb of Jesus” in Talpiot
• Is an Archaeology of the Pharisees Possible?

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Faculty

Richard Rohrbaugh is the Paul S. Wright Professor of Christian Studies, emeritus, at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. He received his B.A. in chemistry from Sterling College, Kansas; an M. Div. from Pittsubrgh Theological Seminary; and a doctorate in New Testament studies from San Francisco Theological Seminary. Rohrbaugh has been a James Purdy scholar, a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, a member of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), the Catholic Biblical Association and the American Schools of Oriental Research. He is the past President of the Pacific Northwest Regional SBL, former chair of the national SBL section on Social Scientific Criticism of the New Testament, and an area supervisor for the excavations at Tel Aroer and Tel Dan. In addition to numerous articles in journals and scholarly collections, Rohrbaugh has authored, co-authored or edited nine books including The New Testament in Cross-Cultural Perspective (2007), Social Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels (1992, 2003), Social Science Commentary on the Gospel of John (1998), The Social Sciences and New Testament Interpretation (1996), Into All the World: A Basic Overview of the New Testament (1981) and The Biblical Interpreter: An Agrarian Bible in the Industrial Age (1978). His works are published in a dozen countries and in five languages.

James Strange is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of South Florida. He has served both as Chairperson of Religious Studies (1990-93) and as Dean of the College of Arts and Letters (1981-89). He earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Rice University in 1959, an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School in 1964, and a PhD. in New Testament Studies from Drew University in 1970. He was Montgomery Fellow at the W.F. Abright Institute for Archaelogical Research in Jerusalem in 1970-71 and NEH fellow at the same Institute in 1980. Strange’s research interests are in Biblical Archaeology, New Testament Studies, Christian Origins and post-Biblical Judaism. His co-authored books include Ancient Synagogue Excavations at Khirbet Shema, Israel (1976), Excavations at Ancient Meiron, Upper Galilee, Israel (1981), and Archaeology, the Rabbis and Early Christianity (1981), and Excavations in the Ancient Synagogue of Gush Halav (1990). His articles have appeared in the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, The Biblical Archeologist, Biblical Archaeology Review (for which he sits on the editorial board), Revue Biblique, The Israel Exploration Journal, and The Anglican Theological Review, as well as in The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia and the Mercer Bible Dictionary.

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Optional On-Your-Own Field Trips

Thursday on the Square

On some Thursday evenings in the summer, you will find many folks gathered at Northfield’s Bridge Square, the heart of the city, for concerts and variety shows. Most stores stay open later, so you can shop in a comfortable, unhurried atmosphere.

The Northfield Historical Society Museum

408 Division St.
Mon.-Sat., 10-4; Sun., 1-4

This historical museum is home to Northfield's famous 1876 Jesse James bank raid site. The museum is unchanged and appears as it did that fateful September 9 when the James-Younger Gang attempted to rob it. In the museum’s Ted Scott Room, there are rotating exhibits on Northfield’s history, the surrounding area and the state. The museum store maintains an old-fashioned dry goods store atmosphere and offers souvenirs and books of local and regional interest. For more information, visit the Northfield Historical Society's Web site: www.northfieldhistory.org.

The Outlaw Trail Tour

Retrace the route the James-Younger Gang took as they rode through the Northfield area in 1876. The Northfield Convention and Visitors Bureau provides a self-guided tour brochure, available upon request from the Northfield Chamber of Commerce. Through the Chamber you can also reserve tour guide service for large groups. Just call them toll free: 1-800-658-2548 or visit their Web site at www.northfieldchamber.com.

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Cost

The cost for lectures, room and board, banquet is $895 per person, based on double occupancy, if registration is received by June 6. If registration is received after June 6, cost is $995. For a second person from the same family sharing the same room, cost is $825; after June 6, cost is $895. A limited number of singles are available on a first-come, first-served basis for an additional charge of $90. BAS will assign roommates as needed.

The cost for lectures only (and farewell banquet) is $700 if registration is received by June 6. If registration is received after June 6, cost is $750. For a second person from the same family or organization, cost is $650; after June 6, cost is $700. Reservation deposit of $200 per person is due with reservation; final payment due by June 6.

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Terms and Conditions

Cancellation: Refund of deposits, less $100 per person for administrative costs, will be made if a reservation is cancelled up to two weeks prior to the start of the seminar. If cancellation is received less than two weeks before start of seminar, an administrative fee of $100 plus any additional costs incurred will be passed on to the participant.

St. Olaf Summer Seminar Fee Includes: Entrance to all lectures, films and discussion groups planned and staffed by BAS; accommodations for six nights in a college dormitory for participants staying on campus; all meals in college cafeteria for participants staying at the college; Vacation Seminar folder containing course outlines, bibliographies and schedule; gratuities; and ten Continuing Education Units (CEU).

Continuing Education Units: NOTE: CEUs are a formal recognition of learning accomplished. No examination or formal paper is required. CEUs are accepted by many institutions and employers in fulfillment of requirements for further learning.

Not Included: Transportation to and from St. Olaf College, laundry and other items of a purely personal nature. The seminar begins with registration on Sunday, July 6, from 3:00-5:00 PM. The seminar ends after breakfast on Saturday, July 12.

A Final Note: To ensure your comfort, the Biblical Archaeology Society will have a full-time resident coordinator at St. Olaf College to care for group and individual needs. The BAS vacation seminar will provide you with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from and interact with Bible scholars and archaeologists in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The staff at BAS hopes that you will accept our invitation to join us this year.

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Registration

REGISTER ONLINE, or follow the link below for our printable registration form. You must have Adobe Reader to view this form. If you do not have Adobe Reader, click here first to download this free program.

DOWNLOAD REGISTRATION FORM

If you are unable to download this PDF file, please contact the Travel/Study department at 1-800-221-4644 ext.208

If you have any questions, please contact the Travel/Study department:

Biblical Archaeology Society Travel/Study Programs
4710 41st Street NW
Washington, DC 20016-1700
USA

Toll free: 1-800-221-4644 ext.208
Fax: 1-202-364-2636
email: travelstudy@bib-arch.org

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