The Bible & Politics

Following our quarantine period, Political Studies fellows will convene for our first two courses, held over morning and afternoon sessions. Our afternoon session will explore the Biblical view of the human condition with readings from Genesis and Exodus. Fellows will bring together these Biblical stories with selections from ancient Greek texts to better appreciate the tensions — and affinities — between Athens and Jerusalem.

Image: Sébastien Bourdon, Adoration of the Golden Calf, 1616-71

Faculty

Antón Barba-Kay

Antón Barba-Kay is Associate Professor of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C. (He is also, at the moment, Visiting Professor of Humanities at Deep Springs College, in California.) He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought, with a dissertation on Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit. The bulk of his research has concentrated on the subjects of recognition and aesthetics in nineteenth-century German philosophy. He is also writing a book about the political and philosophical implications of the digital revolution.

Download the Full Syllabus

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Preview the Syllabus by Week/Session

Israel in Egypt

Readings:

Genesis 37–50 (broadly)
Exodus1–7:13 (closely)

Discussion Questions:

How does Israel come to be involved with Egypt? What are Egypt’s governing principles and laws? What are the origins of Israel’s (eventual) servitude?
Who is Moses? Who is Aaron? In what ways do they occupy distinct but complementary roles?
Who is the Lord? How does He declare Himself? How can Moses relate to Him?

Turning Plague into Song

Readings:

Exodus 7:14–15:21
Psalm 105 (especially for Question 3)

Discussion Questions:

What are the Lord’s “signs and portents”? What do they exhibit and how, in each case and in their order?
Why and how does Israel’s deliverance from Egypt help consolidate them as a people?
How is Moses’ song (15:1-21) connected to the task of founding?

The Ten Words (Decalogue)

Readings:

Exodus 15:22–20

Discussion Questions:

What does it mean for Israel to make a covenant with God? (Please revisit Genesis9, 15, 17 for comparison.) What is new here?
What is a law or “commandment” in the context of Exodus 20?
What can we see about God, man, Israel, and the relationships between these agents from this passage?

Laws & Dwelling

Readings:

Exodus 21–31
Leviticus 18–19

Discussion Questions:

What does it mean for these laws to establish Israel as a “holy nation” (19:6)? What is “holy” and what is “national” here? (Please look at Leviticus18–19 too.)
What are the laws in 21–24 – are they a sufficient, literal, conclusive body of regulations? Or are they exemplary and didactic (i.e., examples of the general kinds of statutes Israel should have)? Or should we read them in an altogether different way? What do they emphasize or not?
What is the Lord’s relationship to the Tabernacle? Is the Tabernacle for Israel or for the Lord?

Ruin & Restore

Readings:

Exodus 32–40
Psalms 95 & 106 (especially for Question 2)

Discussion Questions:

How should we understand the people’s fashioning of the Calf? Why do they do it, and what is its connection to the fashioning of the Tabernacle?
How should we understand the theme of rebellion and disobedience generally throughout Exodus? Is there a desire for slavery?
How does the Lord’s Presence develop throughout Exodus (cf. 13:21–2, 24:15–18, 40:34–38)? How is this development related to the development of Israel as a people?

Concluding Questions:

Why is the Lord involved with Israel and/or human beings at all? Is the Lord in history?
Is Israel a people by the end of Exodus? What is a people? Does every people have or embody its own law? Or does Exodus manifest the connection between people and law in a unique or special way?
What is the connection between a people and their foundation? Are there better and worse foundations? What is the relation between freedom, foundation, and law?

Alumni Spotlight

Amanda Wynter

Amanda Wynter has written for The Atlantic, and worked as an Atlantic Media Research Fellow at National Journal. She came to Political Studies from Georgetown University, where she majored in Government, with a minor in Political Philosophy.

“Hertog gives people the opportunity to think about politics for an extended period of time with other people who are also interested in doing the same thing. The mindset Hertog puts you in is specifically defined by developing a reverence for old texts while also looking at contemporary issues. The juxtaposition of those two activities is critical, and I don’t think students can get that in everyday college classes where you’re either focused on reading Plato in Ancient Greek or reading The Washington Post.”

Amanda Wynter

Current Position:

Product Manager, Google
Past:

FiscalNote, National Journal, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs
Education:

Georgetown University

HOW DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT THE HERTOG FOUNDATION? WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO APPLY?

A friend of mine at Georgetown from political theory circles was an alum of Political Studies, and he suggested that the Program was something I would really benefit from and enjoy. At the time, I had recently transferred schools within Georgetown from security studies to political philosophy, and Hertog looked like a chance to delve deeper into the examination of big political ideas. That aspect of the Program was definitely attractive to me, and it proved to be really valuable.

TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR CAREER PATH.

Eventually I want to go to graduate school, and ultimately I see myself teaching at the university level. Political Studies was my first glimpse of what a life in academia would look like. Spending time around graduate students and other university students interested in entering the academy was certainly informative and influential.

Right now, I’m working for a research team that looks at government affairs from a business perspective. Since I was a government major in school, working in government affairs now lines up well. But it was my time at Hertog that really put me on the first path towards looking at politics writ large.

WHAT STICKS OUT IN YOUR MEMORY ABOUT YOUR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE WITH POLITICAL STUDIES?

During Political Studies, I spent one of the weeks in the bioethics course. I found that really wrestling with questions of ethics and morality and the way that plays into policy was extremely valuable. I had never been exposed to such drastically different perspectives.

We had people there with views across the entire political spectrum, which I think is one of Hertog’s biggest accomplishments. Getting people who think completely different things into the same room and opening a dialogue is hard, but it was a hallmark of Political Studies. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people with whom to flesh out those ideas.

OVERALL, WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF POLITICAL STUDIES?

First and foremost, Hertog gives people the opportunity to think about politics for an extended period of time with other people who are also interested in doing the same thing. Though you have a similar experience in universities, the mindset Hertog puts you in is specifically defined by developing a reverence for old texts while also looking at contemporary issues.

The juxtaposition of those two activities is critical, and I don’t think students can get that in everyday college classes where you’re either focused on reading Plato in Ancient Greek or reading The Washington Post. Being able to do both at the same time, and furthermore, being expected to do both at the same time, is very important.

DO YOU THINK HERTOG PROGRAMS ARE BENEFICIAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED IN JOURNALISM?

Hertog is great for people interested in journalism. The crux of journalism is writing about ideas, and Hertog gets you thinking about big ideas. Political Studies also gives you exposure to important organizations and the different parts of DC, which is definitely beneficial.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS?

Hopefully by that time I’ll have finished a Ph.D. and won’t be struggling through lonely nights with Rousseau and ramen. The actual teaching part I would be willing to wait for—first, I want to either travel and explore cultures and political issues through different lenses, or work in a specific sector like education or technology.

Hands-on experience will give me better sense of how to look at certain topics, and thus enable me to teach others how to look at them. Whatever happens, I want to be reading good things, and talking to good people about them.