1-(discussion board) Consider how rape is (mis)used and (mis)represented in movies and tv. This essay may serve as an entry point into the issue (and you can google similar essays): https://www.wired.com/2015/06/rape-scenes/
You may be familiar with rape scenes from the Game of Thrones or other tv shows or movies. You can google lists of examples (no list is exhaustive). Select an example of a rape scene. Note the source (name and date of movie or title of tv series with season, episode, year). Briefly describe the scene and its context. How does it compare to the criticisms describes in the above essay? Note you may discuss a written example from the Bible or novels and poetry (again, google lists, but here is a biblical one: Genesis 34; 2 Samuel 13; Genesis 19 // Judges 19 and arguably 2 Samuel 11).
(At least 200 words)
2. Read “Beth’s Psalm.” What evidence of trauma do you see in “Beth’s Psalm”? (Recall Herman’s three categories of symptoms.)
(At least 150 words)
3. Read Herman, Trauma and Recovery, chaps. 8–10. What evidence of recovery do you see in “Beth’s Psalm”?
(At least 100 words)
4. Read this article on victim-blaming:
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/1…
Why do people tend to blame victims for what happens to them?
(At least 100 words)
5. How does this blame manifest with rape victims in particular? Consider how defense attorneys defend clients accused of rape by impugning their accusers.
(At least 100 words)
6. Read 2 Samuel 13. How does the text either allow or prevent the reader from blaming Tamar for being raped?
(At least 100 words)
7. Consider the laws about rape in Deuteronomy. In what way can the biblical law be understood as a “solution” to the “problem” of rape? In other words, what sense can you make of this law? (at least 250 words)
8. Write a summary of Scholz’s chapter on acquaintance rape. Make it accurate and detailed (at least 400 words)
9. Consider the scenario provided on pp. 57-58 of the Reitan reading. How would you characterize this sexual encounter? Does it require a “middle ground” between consensual sex and rape (like “acquiescence”)? Explain how this scenario fits or does not fit into binary categories of sex (consensual v rape). (at least 300 words)
10. Download the app “U ASK DC” on your phone. It was created for college students in the DC area as a resource in the event of sexual assault. Explore the app and its content and functions. Write up a summary and review of the app for a review in the app store including how many stars you would give it out of five. (At least 300 words)
11. Consider Emily Yoffe’s article on the bad science behind the response to campus rape. Does the information in this article cohere with what you read previously (Feb 26) in van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score (chaps. 11-12) and “Thanks for the repressed memories”? If so, how do you make sense of all this information? If not, what view do you find most persuasive and why? (at least 300 words)
12. Thompson describes how Hosea was understood in past centuries in ways significantly different from modern commentators. He concludes with four principles for interpreting stories of sexual violence in the Bible. Identify one of the principles that you like or dislike and elaborate on it (lack of) value. Alternatively, propose your own principle different from his four. (At least 300 words)
13. This blog is relatively open. Consider the reporting of Emily Yaffe on campus rape and research recent developments. The Federal government recently released new Title IX regulations for colleges and universities. Do the new rules address previous concerns? Do they raise new problems? (At least 300 words)
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