NEW COURSE
ANE 140 – Sex, Death, and the Hebrew Bible
Semester: Spring
Offered: 2026
Instructor: Julia Rhyder
Meeting Time: T, Th 12:00-1:15pm
The Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament/Jewish Tanakh) continues to play a major role in contemporary debates surrounding matters of sex and death. In this course, students will explore key texts of the Hebrew Bible that concern reproduction, sexual norms, collective violence, and the afterlife, while learning to situate these texts within their ancient Near Eastern context. Students will also engage with the reception history of the Hebrew Bible in relation to key issues such as abortion, marriage, the death penalty, and war.
This course will be highly interactive. We will analyze ancient artifacts and original works of art at the Harvard Art Museums and the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East. We will explore the tombs of the Giza Pyramids in 3D, viewed in Harvard’s Visualization Lab classroom. We will also visit the rare book collections of the Houghton library and the Cambridge Old Burial Ground. Throughout the semester, students will be introduced to relevant social theories that concern sex and death, learning to reflect critically on how such theoretical lenses might be applied to the study of ancient life and biblical interpretation.
No prior knowledge of the Bible or ancient history required.
For more details please visit the Harvard Course Catalog.