Units timetabled for 2013 and 2014 are provisional only, and details of semester and time will change. The official timetable for each year is released on 1 September of the prior year.

Archived unit descriptions for 2011 are available here.

Hermeneutics

Unit Code: 
AP320
RTI: 
United Faculty of Theology
Unit Value: 
15 points

The unit explores issues in hermeneutics from a philosophical perspective, keeping in mind the engagement of that perspective with the theological, in the interpretation of biblical and other texts. Following a survey of traditional hermeneutic models, the unit focusses on modern developments. It moves from Schleiermacher, Dilthey and Gadamer to the contributions of structuralists, poststructuralists and others to the question of how textual meaning might be authoritatively determined.

Learning Outcomes: 

Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:

  1. articulate fundamental issues attending textual interpretation
  2. distinguish modern interpretive approaches from traditional methods
  3. discuss the particular challenges confronting Biblical interpretation
  4. identify a range of interpretive approaches to texts
  5. (level 3 only) discuss the relationship between theological stances and interpretive approaches
Lecturer/s: 
John Martis
Timetabling
Semester: 
Semester 2
Day: 
Thursday
Time: 
10 - 1
Location: 
Centre for Theology and Ministry
Unit Frequency: 
Occasional
Years Offered: 
2011
Unit Fields
Courses: 
Graduate Diploma in Theology
Courses: 
Master of Divinity
Courses: 
Master of Theological Studies
Field: 
Field A Humanities
Disciplines: 
Philosophy
MDiv Field: 
Christian Thought and History
Department Name: 
Department of Philosophy
Unit Level
GradDip Field: 
Elective
MDiv Type of Study: 
Specialised
Prerequisites: 

15 points of Biblical Studies and 15 points of Christian Thought and History at Foundational level

Mode of Teaching: 
Semester
Teaching Methods: 

Lectures and tutorials

Workload
Number of timetabled hours per week: 
3
Expected personal study hours per week: 
9
Total workload hours per week: 
12
Total workload hours for unit: 
144
Assessment
Assessment TypeWeightingLearning Outcomes Assessed
Assessment Type: 

A tutorial presentation of 20 minutes, and leadership of discussion, on a question bringing different hermeneutic approaches into engagement

Weighting: 
20%
Learning Outcomes Assessed: 
1, 2, 3, 4
Assessment Type: 

A 2000 word essay based on the above tutorial presentation and discussion

Weighting: 
30%
Learning Outcomes Assessed: 
1, 2, 3, 4
Assessment Type: 

A 3000 word essay on a question probing the connection between theological and hermeneutic stances

Weighting: 
50%
Learning Outcomes Assessed: 
5, 6
Recommended reading: 

* = set texts recommended for purchase

The Bible and Culture Collective (eds).The Postmodern Bible. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.

Bleicher, Josef (ed).Contemporary Hermeneutics: Hermeneutics as Method, Philosophy, and Critique. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1980.

Caputo, John D. Radical Hermeneutics: Repetition, Deconstruction and the Hermeneutic Project. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987.

Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.     

* Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008.

* Palmer, Richard E. Hermeneutics: Interpretation Theory in Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, and Gadamer. Chicago: Northwestern University Press, 1969.

Tracy, D. Plurality and Ambiguity: Hermeneutics, Religion, Hope.  San Francisco, Harper and Row, 1987.

Schneiders, S. M.The Revelatory Text: Interpreting the New Testament as Sacred Scripture.  San Francisco: Harper, 1991.

Wilson, Barrie A. (compiler). About Interpretation : from Plato to Dilthey : A Hermeneutic Anthology. New York: Peter Lang, 1989.

© United Faculty of Theology, 2008-2012.