The New Perspective • Volume 33, Issue 8 • 02/02/10

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Carroll University

Vol. 33 Issue 8

February 2, 2010

Carroll plans trips to Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit

Curriculum proposal

Tina Ljujic

submitted for feedback

Staff Writer

The Dead Sea Scrolls that helped tell the 2,000-year-old story of the Holy Land and shaped current views of Judaism, Christianity and Islam can be observed at the Milwaukee Public Museum for a limited time. The exhibit gives an overview of the history of the Holy Land before diving into the discovery and exploration of the scrolls themselves. The history includes a mixture of both the Old and New Testaments. The largest temporary exhibit that has ever taken place at the museum boasts a display of the actual scrolls along with other biblical artifacts such as ancient oil lamps and burial boxes (or ossuaries) which add to the illustrations of the historic story. The scrolls date back to 250 BCE – 50 CE, and are mainly pieces from the Hebrew Bible, religious writings and rules for government. According to the historical background the exhibit provided, the discovery is attributed to a Bedouin shepherd named Muhammad edh-Dibh who stumbled across the opening of a cave in 1947. He heard pottery break when he threw a rock in, and decided to enter it. He hoped to find treasure in the jars and began to break them. The tenth jar revealed the first scroll; a treasure far more valuable than edh-Dibh realized. Six more scrolls were uncovered and all seven were eventually sold through antiques dealers. One dealer revealed a scroll to Professor Eleazar Sukenik of the Hebrew University. Sukenik realized its importance, and worked with William Brownlee, a Professor of Religion at Claremont, and Milwaukee native John Trever, a biblical scholar and archeaologist, on deciphering their meanings. The excavation of the first of the eleven caves that the scrolls were found in began in 1947. Over 70 scrolls were found in fragments in this cave, and the remaining ten caves revealed tens of thousands of additional fragments. It took ten years to piece the fragments together. A reproduction of the only complete biblical book “The Great Isaiah Scroll” is the first

Melissa Graham scroll on display in the exhibit. A larger, dark room held fragments of the actual scrolls that are early forms of biblical books, such as Genesis and Exodus. As of now, viewers of these ancient artifacts have enjoyed what they have seen. “I liked the exhibit,” said Meryle of Elm Grove, Wis. “My favorite part was the old bibles and the new one that is being made.” Various bibles were on display toward the end of the exhibit including six enormous pages of a hand-crafted illuminated bible, called the St. John’s Bible. This work-in-progress was commissioned by the monks of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minn. It is the first of its kind to be commissioned in over 500 years and will be comprised of over 1,500 pages. While many enjoyed the exhibit, some patrons did have mixed feelings about the length of the experience. “I felt it was a little too long,” said Martha Sheldon of Mass. “I wish I had just sped through the history and got straight to the scrolls. But I still liked it, and everything was explained very well.” Tickets for the exhibit can be purchased online or at the museum, and student and senior discounts are available with the proper identification. Carroll University’s History Club is currently planning a trip to see the exhibit on Feb. 6. The cost is $5 per student and a signup sheet will be available at the Campus Center info desk. “It looks like it will be an interesting trip,” said History Club Treasurer Amy Williams. “I for one am excited beyond belief!” The historical significance of the scrolls alone would be enough to draw the attention of the History Club, but the religious significance involved certainly can’t go unnoticed. Furthermore, Carroll’s Presbyterian affiliation makes a case for attending the exhibit, due simply to religious ancestry. The Milwaukee Public Museum is located at 800 W. Wells St. in Milwaukee. Please call 414-223-4676 for more information.

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The Jeselsohn Stone – “Gabriel’s Revelation.”

From the collection of Dr. David and Jemima Jeselsohn, Zurich

Bedouin and Scroll Jar.

Courtesy of the Manchester Museum

MPM exhibit image.

Courtesy of the Milwaukee Public Museum

The Gen Ed Committee has submitted their proposal to Provost Dr. Joanne Passaro and Senior Staff for feedback. It is the result of over a year’s work and is still a work in progress. Committee Chair Dr. James Grimshaw leads professors and students to reform the general curriculum of Carroll. Thematically, they are aiming to approach the sciences, fine arts, social sciences and humanities from a cultural context. Under the proposal, graduates would be able to critically consider philosophical, ethical and religious positions ; those of other cultures as well as their own. From freshmen to seniors, students would experience change across the board. FYS may be replaced by a Cultural (freshman) Seminar their first semester and a culturally oriented Writing Seminar during the second semester. Undergraduates may also face a modern language requirement and a cross-cultural experience requirement. With preparation and reflection, the cross-cultural experience can be domestic or international and can include study abroad programs, NCEPs, service learning courses, internships and student-teaching. The rationale points to Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data reports that show Carroll students would benefit from more engagement opportunities with differing races, ethnicities, religions and politics. This, however, has become an issue for some students. “I think that it would be a great experience and a great requirement seeing that the school wants to expand itself internationally; however, people’s ability to afford the trip would be a problem,” said freshman Angela Wisniewski. “Me for example, as much as I would love to study abroad and the amazing experience it would be, [I] simply cannot afford it.” Liberal Studies Programs (LSPs) may also be revamped into five core distributions among the fine arts, humanities, religion/philosophy/ethics, social sciences and natural sciences. Students must take one course in each of the four areas beyond their major. For example, Chemistry majors do not take a natural science distribution but must take four other core courses. The third course must be an upper level course and include an emphasis on writing with in-depth analysis. Also, students would need to take a course with a cross-cultural emphasis. GEN ED page 2

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