Between Text and Artifact: Integrating Archaeology in Biblical Studies Teaching (Archaeology and Biblical Studies)

KILLEBREW:BETWEENm:AVENANDEARnl 27

intellectualdevelopment.'l3AsDevermaintainsinthisarticle,andas1 have
longarguedinarchaeologycoursestailoredforstudentsofBible,material
cultureshouldalsobeconsidereda "language"witha vocabularyand
grammarthatcanbetranslatedandreadusingbotha hislOricalorliterary
approachinmuchthesamewayasbiblicalHebreworanyotherlanguage.
llatherthanmournthe"death"ofa narrowlydefined~biblicalarchaeology"
dominatedandcontrolledbya handfulofprominentbiblicalscholars,we
shouldrejoiceinthe"newandexpanded"versionofarchaeologywithits
broaderdefinition,diversityofinterpretation,andmoreinclusiveattitude.
Todaythe renewedandvibrantfieldof"biblicalarchaeology"mani-
festsitselfinmanydifferentpedagogicalsettings.Forthosewhoyearnfor
a returntothepast,anupdatedversionofarchaeologyinitsAlbrightian
traditionisstillbeingt.aughtat manyseminariesandcolleges.Coexisting
withmoretraditionalapproaches,Syro-Palestinianarchaeologyhasbeen
integratedintomanymoresecular-orientedcurriculaofNearEasternstud-
ies, biblicalstudies,Eastern Mediterraneansludies,andanthropological
programs.Whileitistruethatthe"greats"ofAmericanbiblicalarchaeology
havedepartedandthatfieldworkisnolongerdominatedbyAmericansCor
Olherforeign nationals),in its steadthere isa democratizationthat has
engendereda greaterdiversityofexpressionevidencedbyitsintegration
intoanumberofeducationalcurricula.Thehealthandpotentialfutureof
ourfieldcanbemeasuredbytheincreasingnumberofindividualswho
areparticipatingin professional archaeologyCASOR) and biblical (e.g.,
SBL)annualmeetings,includingsignificantnumbersofgraduatestudents.
However,weshouldnotundert.:stimate thechallengesthatweare
facing.Waninginstitutionalandgovernmentalfinancialsupportforarchae-
ologicalresearchhasbeenparalleledbyClllSineducationalbudgers.Over
the lastfewdecades,studentsaretakinga more practicalapproach to
highereducationand pursuinga curriculumorientedtospecificcareer
goalsandthejobmarket.Lastly,thereisanincreasingemphasisatmany
publicuniversitiesonteachinglargecoreorcrowd-pleasingcourseswith
studentenrollmentnumberinginthehundreds.Evenatliheralartscolleges
whereenrollmentsaremuchreduced,thereareadministrativepressuresto
keepthecoursefullyenrolled.
Therearealsoanumberofadditionalchallengesspecifictobiblical
studies.FewerandfewerstudentsareraisedintraditionalJudeo-Christian
traditions.Asa result,manystudents(eventhosewhogrowupinfamilies
thatsometimesattendchurchorsynagogue)havelittleornobackground

43 WilliamG.Dever.'OnListcnin,l.(to(heText-andtheArtifads:intbeEcbo(!sof

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SilbcrmCHl(ed,W.G.Dever:mdJ.E.Wright:Atlanta:ScholarsPress.1')97).t-23.