Students will post questions about the readings assigned by the times listed on the schedule below. The
purpose of the critical reading questions is to focus your reading so that you actively engage with the
material (reading while looking for specific questions is far more fun and productive than simply reading
with a blank mind). Also, we will discuss certain critical reading questions together in class. NB: We will
not have time to discuss all of the questions during class, because of time constraints. Please be aware
that if your question is not picked for discussion, that does not mean that it is a bad question. You are
always welcome to approach the instructor after class to discuss your question if it was not picked for
discussion in class.
Every critical reading question is worth 3 percentage points of the final grade (30% in total), which
means it is important to do them properly. Each question should be one medium-length paragraph long
(at least 200 words, though you may write more), and should contain four main parts: Context, the
query itself, the significance of the query, and the citation (they do not need to be presented in this
order, though context should probably come first).
Here is a model example of a critical reading question. Yours do not need to look exactly like this, but
you can think of this as a general description of length and components:
Genesis 3 presents a strange narrative of a snake tempting Eve by offering her fruit that supposedly will
bring the knowledge of good and evil. Eve, of course, eats the fruit and Adam does as well. Then, they
suddenly realize that they are naked and try to cover themselves. They first cover themselves with
leaves, but then God provides skins for clothing after confronting and chastising them for eating the
fruit. Although the author provides very little commentary on the episode, this part of the story seems
like an explanation for why humans often wear clothes. My question is, does the story present wearing
clothes as a good or a bad thing? The story presents God making clothes for Adam and Eve, but it
contains no mention of the idea that humans should wear clothes. Furthermore, before Adam and Eve
eat the fruit the narrative almost seems to suggest that being naked was good. Usually people assume
that not wearing clothes is immodest or against the Bible somehow, but is that what the story is
teaching? This question is important to me because clothes are a major part of our lives, and shaming
people for either wearing too little clothing or the wrong type of clothing is a major part of most social
cultures.
Here you are free to add your own opinion/interpretation/further argument as you wish. Just make sure
you have these vital components. I am happy to take a look at your questions prior to posting to make
sure that you have everything necessary for full credit