What are some good ways to study in college?

What are some ways to make the study of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) really fun for a non-religious college student?

• Fun topics? Fun passages? Fun in-class exercises, games, or homework? General ideas to help evoke a person's enthusiasm for a subject and for learning?

• Answer:

  Sign me up for this class!  I don't know the Hebrew Bible well enough to offer many useful specifics, but here are some broad themes that may be useful in planning the course. The question asks specifically about non-religious students.  Since they will be approaching the Old Testament for something other than spiritual guidance, I imagine they will be curious about one or more of these themes: Authors & Agendas.  Somebody wrote the Hebrew Bible's books and passages.  My clumsy understanding is that there were multiple authors, spanning quite a bit of time, and that some (all?) passages were re-written at various times.  So: what are the prevailing theories on who wrote them -- which individuals, or at least which organizations did they represent?  What do we think they were trying to accomplish? Social Function.  Here I'm thinking of the structural-functionalist school of anthropology, which contributed to scholarship the notion that social rituals arise and persist because they perform functions that a community deems valuable.  The Old Testament, if memory serves, is full of rules and proscriptions for living one's life.  What social functions did these rules play at the time?  What functions do they play today?  To pick one example, Leviticus 19:19 admonishes against wearing clothing made of two different types of material.  What the heck is the story there?  There's gotta be a story there.  Unpack that story!  And here, plunge headfirst into the most controversial Old Testament rules -- you know, the ones that websites listing "weirdest Biblical rules" etc. love to list -- those involving homosexuality, menstruation, etc.  These are the red meat that some people are genuinely fascinated with -- legitimately -- so embrace them as ways to explore whatever lies beneath them. Evolution.  How has the Hebrew Bible evolved over time?  (Some overlap with point 1).  When did the King James Bible purport to take a snapshot of the Hebrew Bible (and add the New Testament to it)?  Why?  Have Jews worldwide accepted the notion that the books are closed on the Hebrew Bible, so to speak, or does it continue to evolve? Context With Other Jewish Texts.  How has the Hebrew Bible related over time to other Jewish spiritual texts?  Is there a "hierarchy" of such texts, and where in it does the Old Testament fall? Context With Other Faiths' Practices.  Jews have been living side-by-side with Christians, Muslims and others for eons.  To what extent has that cohabitation (friendly and otherwise) affected the writing and re-writing of the Hebrew Bible?  Among other things, have there been any moments of anti-Jewish persecution during which the Hebrew Bible has significantly changed?  (I don't have anything in mind here; just curious whether the texts have changed in form or interpretation in response to times of stress). If this course is made available for viewing online, please seriously do let me/Quora know.