COURSE SYLLABUS
Advanced Greek Exegesis
Gk 495--------DSGK401
The First Letter of Peter

Last revised: 8/12/05

The student demonstrates understanding of the historical, literary and theological meaning of the Greek text of Paul's Letter to the Colossians.

DSGK401 is "an exegetical and theological study of the Epistle in Greek, focusing primarily on the writing's cultural setting, literary features, and distinctive contributions to New Testament theology. Attention will also be given to the development of hermeneutical tools necessary for the interpretation and exposition of the writing."

Greek 495 is an exegetical study of the first letter of Peter, based on the Greek text.  The student will be expected to master the Greek text of the book, including the textual and punctuation apparatus of the United Bible Societies revised FOURTH EDITION Greek text.

The demonstration of this understanding will be evidenced by regular class recitation in which the students orally read and translate a designated text, by weekly quizzes and by three major exams. The additional requirement for DSGK401 students will be the preparation and presentation of a research paper to the class at a designated time during the semester. The nature and parameters of the research project will be worked out with the professor before or at the beginning of the semester.

•   The Greek New Testament.  Edited by Kurt Aland et al.  4th  ed.  United Bible Societies.  This edition without the dictionary is recommended.

Attendance:

Students are expected to attend all class periods.  University policy will allow no more than 25% absences from this course. This means a maximum of 11 absences for classes meeting three times each week; 7 absences for one meeting twice; and 4 for one meeting once weekly. For the summer term with two class periods each for five days each week, a total of 11 absences from the 48 total class periods is the limit. Note also: absences due to officially sponsored activities, such as athletic contest will count toward the maximum allowable number of absences but will not be factored into the grade adjustment. Each student is responsible to notify the professor of the reason for each absence to determine whether it is an excused absence. Attendance and tardies will 10% toward the final semester grade. See Semester Grade below for explanation and chart. For undergraduate Religion Majors, each attendance at the C.M.A. meetings during the semester earns five bonus points on the Participation Grade.

• Exams:

Three major exams shall be given in the duration of the semester.  In addition weekly quizzes shall be given at the beginning of the first class period of the week covering the past week’s material.  See Assignment Sheet for exact dates.  These shall be given a majority of the weeks during the semester. According to university policy, the student may elect to take a different, more difficult make-up quiz, if the student has an excused absence from the class period of the missed quiz. No make-up quizzes are possible for unexcused absences! The grading of the major exams will be completed over a two week period after the test date.

The final exam will consist of the formal presentation of a research paper by the divinity school students (30 minutes each), followed by an oral response from the undergraduate response team to each paper presentation. The undergraduate class members will receive a group grade based upon their oral response (15 minutes per team), which will constitute their final exam. The divinity school students will receive two grades: (1) the evaluation of the written paper submitted one week in advance of presentation, which will constitute their final exam, and (2) the evaluation of their oral presentation, which will constitute their paper presentation grade.


• Make-up Tests:

Make-up exams for the exams which are missed will be taken within two weeks of the regular exam.  One time for makeups will be scheduled, and a different, more difficult test will be administered.  Permission to take make-ups shall be given ONLY to those with justifiable reason for missing the regular exam (by university policy, only: athletic contests, emergencies, illness or bereavement). Each student needing a make-up exam must secure permission from the professor in advance of the scheduled make-up exam by completing the Request for Make-up Test form. The form must be approved by the professor before the make-up can be scheduled; approval will be sent to the student via his/her e-mail address.

• Quizzes:

In addition, weekly quizzes shall be given at the beginning of the first class period of the week covering the past week’s material.  See Assignment Sheet for exact dates.  These shall be given a majority of the weeks during the semester. No quiz grades will be dropped and no pop tests will be given! According to university policy, the student may elect to take a different, more difficult make-up quiz rather than count the missed quiz as one of the drops, if the student has an excused absence from the class period of the missed quiz No make-up quizzes are possible for unexcused absences!

Grading of Weekly Quizzes:  Failure to record name on paper is minus 10 points.  Accents and breathing marks count for 1/4 error per word. Quizzes turned in without a grade recorded in the appropriate location will have 10 points deducted from the grade.


• Paper Presentations:

A requirement only of the divinity school students enrolled in the class, this assignment will consist of a research paper based on Colossians and related to either exegetical including text critical or theological including ethical issues connected to the New Testament document.

The semester grade will be determined from an average of the following sources: major exam 1, major exam 2, Final Exam, average of weekly quizzes, and the average of class recitation, counting a 90 per of the semester grade. Additionally, class attendance, participation, and attitude will count for 10 percent of the semester grade.

The adjusted average of the above numerical grade will then be converted into a letter grade according to the following curve: A = 90-100; B= 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 60-69; F = below 60. The numerical grades are not rounded off; see example below.

Note the following illustration of the above:

 

Grade Sources:	G495:	DSGK401
Exam 1	18%	15%
Exam 2	18%	15%
Final Exam	18%	15%
Quiz Avg	18%	15%
Class Recitation	18%	15%
Paper Presentation	-----	15%
Class Participation:	10%	10%
Sem Avg:	100%	100%
Semester Grade:	.

An internet based, continuously updated grade book, WebGrade, will be made available to each student so that his/her individual grades will be accessible 24/7 through secure access with a provided USER ID and PASSWORD that is distinct from those provided by Gardner-Webb University.

Special Needs. If you require accommodations for a special need, please contact the professor. Your request will then be processed through the NOEL Program for the Disabled.

Career Opportunities. The Career Services Office has marvelous services available to GWU students and alumni for job assistance. You need to get your resume posted with them and take advantage of the services Holly Sweat and her assistants provide. Career Servies is proud to announce that the majority of their resources can now be accessed via their website: www.careers.gardner-webb.edu.  Upcoming events, career fairs, campus employer recruitment and the Jobs Bulleting are just a few of the resources available on the site.  Be sure to take advantage of all Career Services has to offerContact the office at 704 406-4562, their web site at http://www.careers.gardner-webb.edu, or go by their office at Suite 204 in the Dover Campus Center.

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Class Cancelation Notices.When classes are canceled due to bad weather, you can find this information posted on GWU's web site or call 1- 877-GWU-SNOW. Additionally, area radio -- especially the university's radio station WGWG at 88.3 FM -- and TV stations will be notified of the closing. Very rarely will classes on the Boiling Springs campus be closed for bad weather.