UMS : Unit: BN9001W

Content This unit provides a thorough study of Mark’s Gospel, including its theological and literary character, its wider Jewish and Greco-Roman context and connections, and an overview of recent trends in Markan studies. A range of exegetical tools will be used to explore interpretive approaches to the Gospel of Mark, with particular emphasis on the way in which an understanding of community, mission and ethics is revealed in the narrative.

Unit code: BN9001W

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: New Testament

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Whitley College

1.	Give an informed and critical account of the history of interpretation of Mark’s Gospel;
2.	Describe and discuss plausible socio-political and literary contexts in which the Gospel first circulated
3.	Identify and describe distinctive Markan Christological, ecclesiological, pneumatological, missiological and eschatological themes and understandings;
4.	Exegete the Markan text by employing a range of appropriate exegetical methods and resources;
5.	Discuss the interpretation and proclamation of Mark’s Gospel in meaningful ways for today’s world;
6.	Engage critically with the scholarly literature on the relationship between the oral traditions and the Synoptic Gospels.

Foundation unit in NT (BN8001W or equivalent)

lectures, discussion, tutorials

Byrne, Brendan. A Costly freedom: A theological reading of Mark’s Gospel (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2008).
Broadhead, Edwin K. Mark. Readings: A New Biblical Commentary (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2009, 2nd edition).
Donahue, John R. & Daniel J. Harrington. The Gospel of Mark (Collegeville MN: Liturgical Press, 2002).
Leander, Hans. Discourses of Empire. The Gospel of Mark from a Postcolonial Perspective (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2013).
Levine, Amy-Jill (ed.) A Feminist Companion to Mark (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001).
Malbon, Elizabeth. Hearing Mark: A listener’s guide (Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 2002).
Marcus, Joel. Mark 1-8 and 81-16. (2 vols). Anchor Bible Commentary (New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 2002/2009).
Moloney, Francis J. The Gospel of Mark. A commentary (Peabody MA: Hendrickson, 2002).
Myers, Ched. Binding the Strong Man. A political reading of Mark’s story of Jesus (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1988).
Rhoades, David, Joanna Dewey & Donald Michie. Mark as Story. An introduction to the narrative of a Gospel. 2nd edn. (Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press, 1999).
Webb, Geoff R. Mark at the Threshold (Leiden: Brill, 2008).
Witherington, Ben. The Gospel of Mark. A socio-rhetorical commentary (Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 2001).

Type	Description	Word count	Weight (%)
Exegetical Essay	3,000 word exegetical essay	3000	50.0
Critical Review	1,500 word critical review of readings	1500	25.0
Seminar or Tutorial	1,500 word thematic seminar paper	1500	25.0

Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 19 Oct, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2020-10-09 09:44:34 +1100

Mark (BN9001W)