Dr. Amy Cottrill, Denson N. Franklin Professor of Religion, has experienced a new level of engagement in the classroom through a surprise Hebrew 101 course in fall 2021, thanks to Birmingham-Southern students’ persistent interest in the ancient language.

Before the fall 2021 term, Thornton Muncher, a senior literature, religion, and mythology major, came to Cottrill in hope of taking elementary biblical Hebrew. Cottrill began to plan out the course as an independent study. However, Muncher encouraged other students to enroll in the course – with what Cottrill says is “a way of infecting other people with his enthusiasm” – and she could not say no to the request.

“It was gratifying to have a student request to study an ancient language,” Cottrill says, “and then to have so many students join the class and dive in so enthusiastically. It was a highpoint of the term for me.”

Along with Muncher, 10 other students took the fall course: seniors Grace Glasgow, Cassie Ruiz, David Reeves, and Katlin Schultz; juniors AnnaMarie Armstrong, Collin Cortinas, Casey Gilreath, Connor Kolaczek, and Kailey Walters; and sophomore Kendall Johnson.

This fall marked the third time Cottrill has taught biblical Hebrew at BSC – following the course offerings in fall 2017 and spring 2018 – and she did not intend to teach it this year. Now, after a successful fall term, several students are continuing to study Hebrew through an additional spring 102 course.

“I have loved learning biblical Hebrew because our study of the language and class translations have revealed how multifaceted scriptures of the Hebrew Bible are,” Muncher says. “By studying an ancient language, we are given a way to connect with the people, cultures, and texts of antiquity that would otherwise be inaccessible to us.”

The course introduces students to basic Hebrew grammar so they can begin to read Hebrew texts, especially primary texts and other literature originally written in Hebrew. Giving students a new lens for the complexities within biblical scholarship, Cottrill’s class has been influential to religion majors in the class as well as BSC students outside of the Department of Religion who are studying psychology, biology, history, philosophy, health sciences, and English.

“I’m so glad I decided to take Hebrew,” says Ruiz, a religion major. “It has completely changed the way I think about religion and the world around me.”

Cottrill looks forward to continuing the language course this academic year, especially since her students have made the class possible based on their own passions and initiative.

“It speaks well of these students and their bravery – because Hebrew is not easy! – but it also indicates something important about the educational environment of BSC,” Cottrill says. “These students were intellectually curious, and they asked to learn something that was important to them. I love that BSC is a place that empowers students to actively pursue their interests and take academic risks.”