U. S. Department of Education Title VI Project: "The Middle East and Cross-Regional Connections"
The Garden of Eden and The Flood Narratives from The Fertile Crescent of Ancient Mesopotamia

Sharon Rees Eiferman
seiferman@ccp.edu
Department of English
Community College of Philadelphia

l. Unit Title: The Garden of Eden and The Flood Narratives from The Fertile Crescent of Ancient Mesopotamia

2. Course: English 102, English Composition

3. Nature of Course and Target Audience:
At Community College of Philadelphia, English 102 is primarily research paper based. These research papers emerge from the study of many academic disciplines. Therefore, it seems to me that English 102 is, as Erika Lindemann would suggest, a course based on a "system of social actions" (289). Students must learn to think, to write, and to do research in disciplines they must master "to succeed in academia" (299).

4. Unit Goals:
As I discovered in teaching English 101, the prerequisite to English 102, many of our students are ignorant of the central texts that have influenced their culture and the world in which they live. I propose to teach my fall English 102 class based on the fertile crescent of ancient Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization. Research papers would emerge from the study of literature, history, religion, archaeology and other disciplines we will encounter in our classroom work. This would fulfill the multi-disciplinary goal of the class as well as encouraging cultural literacy.

5. Introduction to Material /Background Knowledge Required
The entire 15 weeks of the semester will be devoted to Middle Eastern study. But the final 11 weeks of the class will tackle documentation skills, note taking skills, and rough draft strategies, as well as conferencing with students on their individual papers.
In the first four weeks, we will study the primary texts from which student papers will emerge. There will be two main focus points. First, we will study the temptation story in the Garden of Eden. The Garden is thought to have been in ancient Mesopotamia. As we read the Bible story, I want to examine several characteristics of biblical narrative as well as teaching students the literary devices the Bible uses, such as wordplay, understatement, repetition , ambiguity, and symmetry (Rosenberg 37-47).
However, the Garden temptation story also exists in various Suras in the Koran. Therefore, we will study two primary texts-the Bible and the Koran. There are similarities and differences to be noted. The chief distinction is that in the Koran, Adam and Eve sin by consensus. Fault does not rest on Eve's rib. Also, the error of temptation is punished by exile from the garden. There is no equivalent of a biblical curse from God. Still from medieval Islam on, the weight of this disobedience rested with Eve alone. An interesting research question would be "why?"

The second unit of instruction will involve study of the universal flood story in the Bible and in the Mesopotamian epic Gilgamesh. Once again, there are similarities and differences. Among the similarities would be the salvation of Noah and his family as well as Utnapishtam and his family, the divine instruction to build an ark, and the sending forth of birds to test for receding waters. But there are significant differences. Here is an interesting one. In Gilgamesh, the god Enlil sends the flood so that he can get a good night's sleep; humanity has multiplied enough that they are making too much noise. In the Noah story, God causes the flood so that the human race can have a new start-free of depravity. What can we learn about Mesopotamian theology and Judaic-
Christian theology from these stories? What does the Koran have to say about the flood? We will also look at the relevant Suras. What does archaeology reveal about the possibility of a universal flood? Finally, a research paper could emerge on the beginning of writing-ancient cuneiform tablets such as the ones on which the Mesopotamian epic was uncovered.

6. Student Readings and Other Learning Material:
a. The New Oxford Annotated Bible, chapters 1-3 and 6-8.
b. Gilgamesh-the flood chapter
c. The Penguin Koran-Sura 7 and 20.
d. Who Wrote the Bible by Richard Elliott Friedman, pp.14-49.
e. Women in the Qur'an: Traditions and Interpretations by Barbar Freyer Stowasser , pp 25-27.
f. "Depatriarchalizing the Biblical Interpretation" by Phyllis Tribble.
G. The Bedford Guide to Research Papers by Jean Johnson.

7. Pre-Reading Assignments
Study Questions for the Bible Fall Story:
a. Where is Eden located?
b. How would you explain the knowledge Adam and Eve gain when they eat of the forbidden tree?
c. Does God prohibit Adam and Eve from eating of the Tree of Life? Why or why not?
d. Does God speak directly to Eve about the prohibition on eating from the Tree of Knowledge? Why is this important?
e. In 3-19, after Adam and Eve sin, God questions them both, but not the snake? Why?
f. What does the serpent symbolize?
g. How does the serpent convince Eve to sin?
h. Why does Adam eat the fruit? Do you feel that Adam and Eve sin equally?
i. How does God punish the serpent, Adam, and Eve?
j. Why are there two stories of Eve's creation? In which story does Eve seem more equal to Adam? Why? We will discuss the two authors of these stories.

Study Guide for the Flood Stories:
In the Bible and in Gilgamesh, compare the following issues:
a. Why does God/the Gods send the flood?
b. Why does God warn Noah? Why does Ea warn Utpanishtim?
c. What instructions are given to survive in both stories?
d. How long does the flood last in both stories? Recalling our discussion of Friedman, why do you think there are two different time frames in the Bible story?
e. Where does the ark land?
f. What birds are sent out?
g. What's God's reaction to the sacrifice?
h. What future decision does God come to about man's destruction?

Study Guide for the Fall Suras in the Koran:
1. In Sura 20, with whom does God make a covenant? Who is not mentioned here? Is this important? Why or why not?
2. What is a covenant?
3. What warning does Allah give Adam about Satan?
4. Does God give Adam a similar warning in the Bible? Is this important? Why or why not?
5. In the Koran, the tempter is explicitly called Satan? How does this compare to the Bible?
6. Do some research on how Islam, Judaism, and Christianity view Satan.
7. In the Koran, can you tell who eats the fruit first. Is this important? Why or why not?
8. Compare Allah's words to humanity after the fall to God's words to Adam and Eve after the fall. How do they differ? How are they alike?
9. Can you tell if Islam would refer to the human eating of the fruit is a fall? Is this important? Why or why not?
10. In Sura 7, what is Satan's motivation for seducing humanity away from God?
11. In Sura 7, how does Satan seduce the human pair? How does this differ from the Bible, and how is it similar?
12, In Sura 7, who eats first of the tree? Can you tell? Is this important? Why or why not?
13. Again, examine Allah's words of punishment to the human couple. How do they differ from Sura 20 and from the Bible?

8. Classroom Activities and Outside Activities:
Classroom activities will range from lecture to Socratic questioning to individual conferences on research papers. I will show a short video on Noah that appeared on the Discovery Channel and also arrange for a speaker from the Middle East Department at Penn on ancient Mesopotamia.

9. Writing assignments:

Research Paper Topics for English 102
1. Abraham was born in the ancient Mesopotamian city of Iraq. Research this city at the time of Abraham. Thesis Question: What was the existing religion of this city at that time?

Ancient Mesopotamia is considered the birth place of civilization. Why? Research this question. Possible question: What do anthropologists consider the necessary ingredients for civilization?

2. Gilgamesh was written in cuneiform. Research this. Possible questions: 1. How was cuneiform used in ancient society? 2. What assistance does computer technology offer in deciphering cuneiform tablets?

3. The Garden of Eden is said to have been in ancient Iraq. Research this. Research question: What evidence exists for this possibility?

4. Ancient Babylon is the home of the world's first legal text-the Code of Hammurabi. Research this. Question: How has this Code influenced western law?

5. Gilgamesh is the story of an epic hero. Research question: What do mythologists see as the basic components of the Hero's story?

6. Gilgamesh tells of many gods. Research theology in Mesopotamia at this time. Research question: What is the relationship between the gods at this time?

7. Research the history of ancient Assyria and Sumeria. Question: How did these two cultures interact?

8. The Garden temptation story is central to three great religions of the world. Questions: Compare and contrast Islam and Christianity on the question of original sin? Or compare and contrast how Judaism and Christianity view the nature of fallen humanity?

9. In the Garden Story, Eve has been seen as an archetype of the woman as enchantress. Research this. Questions: What does psychology have to say about female archetypes? How was the archetype of woman as enchantress used in Greek classical literature?

10. The Eden temptation story has been seen in Christian and Jewish theology as laying blame mainly on Eve. Research this. Questions: What do contemporary feminist theological re-readings of the text say?

11. In the Koranic Suras that cover the temptation story, Eve (Hawwa in Islam) is not the one who seduces Adam into sin. However, beginning with Medieval Islam, the woman gets the blame. Research this. Questions:1. During the prophet Muhammed;s life, how were women viewed? What caused the shift in the reading of the temptation story from the original words of the Koran?

Note: I will consider other research paper questions based on the material we have discussed if you can make a case for them and secure my approval.

10. Bibliography for Instructors:

Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative. New York: Basic Books, 1981.
Fry, Northrop. The Great Code: The Bible and Literature. New York: Harcourt, Brace,
Jovanowich, 1982.
Leach, Edmund. Genesis as Myth and Other Essays. London: The Chaucer Press, 1969.
Pritchard, James A, Ancient Near Eastern Texts. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1969.
Zornberg, Avivah Ghottlieb. Genesis: The Beginning of Desire. Philadelphia: The
Jewish Publication Society, 1995.

Some Recommended Readings for Students in the Middle East section of English 102

1. Ancient Mesopotamian Myths edited by Stephanie Dalley.

2. Women in the Qur'an: Traditions and Interpretations by Barbara Freyer Stowasser.

3. Qur'an and Woman by Amina Wadu-Muhsin.

4. Islam: The View from the Edge by Richard Bulliet.

5. Islam: A Short History by Karen Armstrong.

6. Primal Myths: Creating the World by Barbara C. Sproul.

7. Back to the Sources: Reading the Classical Texts edited by Barry W. Holtz.

Works Cited

Lindeman, |Erica. "Three Views of English 101." College English 57.3 (Mar. 1995):
287-303.
Rosenberg, Joel. "Biblical Narrative." Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish
Texts. New York: Summit Booksm 1984, 31-82