THEOREL 215 Danger and Desire: The Bible and Visual Culture - Course Outlines

Course Prescription

Explores how biblical themes of sexuality, gender, sin, and desire are represented in the visual arts, including fine art, advertising, and film. Students will learn how artists’ cultural contexts shape and inspire their visual interpretations of the Bible, and how these interpretations have influenced cultural discourses of gender and sexuality throughout history.

Course Overview

Over the centuries, biblical characters, themes and stories have been represented time and again in the visual arts, including fine art, advertising, media, music videos and film. From the earliest mosaics of biblical themes unearthed in Jerusalem and Rome to contemporary film, advertising and music videos, there is an endless fascination among artists to engage with biblical traditions in visual form.

This course explores these visual depictions of biblical texts, created over the centuries and up to the present day. In particular, it will focus on the themes of sexuality, gender, sin and desire – themes that appear throughout the Bible, and which have been a popular focus for artists working with the biblical traditions.

Students will learn the methods and theories required to study the biblical texts and their visual afterlives, tracing the ways that artistic engagements with the Bible can shine a new and captivating light on these ancient traditions. In addition, we will consider how artists’ own cultural contexts shape and inspire their visual interpretations of the Bible, and how these interpretations can influence cultural discourses of gender and sexuality.

Topics covered in this course will include artistic depictions of biblical femmes fatales such as Eve, Delilah and Salome, visualising the virgin-whore binary in portrayals of Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary, queering biblical masculinities in depictions of Jacob and David, Jesus in art and advertising, and biblical themes in contemporary street art.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I from the BA Schedule Restriction: THEOREL 212, 312, 315

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Learn the history and significance of visual exegesis as a method in biblical interpretation. (Capability 1.1)
Learn and apply the tools of visual exegesis to interpreting specific biblical passages and visual texts. (Capability 1.2)
Learn and apply feminist and queer theories in the study of gender and sexuality in the Bible and visual culture. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 2.1)
Become familiar with the scholarly literature written about the Bible in the visual arts, and be able to discuss this literature critically in both the classroom and written assignments. (Capability 1.1, 2.3, 4.1 and 4.2)
Develop and demonstrate the skills required to compose an engaging, well-written and well-argued essay that will appeal to both academic and wider readers. (Capability 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type	Percentage	Classification
Discussions	20%	Individual Coursework
Worksheet	30%	Individual Coursework
Essay	50%	Individual Coursework
3 types	100%

Module

Module topics will include:

Biblical femmes fatales - including weeks dedicated to Eve, Judith, Salome, Delilah in visual culture
Exploring the virgin-whore binary - the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene in visual culture
Queering biblical masculinities - the David traditions
Imaging the sacred - Jesus in art and advertising
Recovering the abject - Hagar and Ruth in art
Bathing beauties and the male gaze: Bathsheba and Susanna in art

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect each week to have 2 hours of lectures and a 1-hour tutorial, as well as (on average) 5 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 2 hours of work on assignments.

Digital Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page (https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894), which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Capability 1:	Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2:	Critical Thinking
Capability 4:	Communication and Engagement

THEOREL 215 : Danger and Desire: The Bible and Visual Culture

Arts

2020 Semester One (1203) (15 POINTS)