RELT20711
Jesus: From Jewish Messiah to Hollywood Idol
20
Semester 1
Undergraduate
Level 2
Todd Klutz
Unit coordinator
Religions & Theology
1
FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Middle part of Bachelors '
European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0
<p>This course unit focusses upon the portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth in a selection of early Christian Gospels (both canonical and apocryphal); in modern critical scholarship on Jesus as a historical figure; in a range of theological and philosophical writings from the time of earliest Christianity to the present; and in modern fiction and cinema. In addition to studying a variety of influential conceptualisations of Jesus across the centuries, this course unit raises important questions about the ways in which different presentations of Jesus relate to wider historical processes of intellectual, social, and cultural change. The unit therefore not only enables students to construct a broad historical context for intellectually responsible interpretation of portrayals of Jesus in a range of different contexts but also provides methodological tools for analysing particular presentations of Jesus in their respective contexts of production and reception.</p>
<p>This course unit focusses upon the portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth in a selection of early Christian Gospels (both canonical and apocryphal); in modern critical scholarship on Jesus as a historical figure; in a range of theological and philosophical writings from the time of earliest Christianity to the present; and in modern fiction and cinema. In addition to studying a variety of influential conceptualisations of Jesus across the centuries, this course unit raises important questions about the ways in which different presentations of Jesus relate to wider historical processes of intellectual, social, and cultural change. The unit therefore not only enables students to construct a broad historical context for intellectually responsible interpretation of portrayals of Jesus in a range of different contexts but also provides methodological tools for analysing particular presentations of Jesus in their respective contexts of production and reception.</p>
<p>To enable students to:</p><ul> <li> Acquire the knowledge, analytical skills, historical imagination, and aesthetic sensibilities essential for understanding Jesus of Nazareth;</li> <li> Understand how Jesus of Nazareth has been portrayed in discourses ranging from early Christian Gospels and doctrinal statements to modern philosophical reflections, fictional characterisations, and films. </li></ul>
<p>By the end of this course you should normally be able to:</p>
<ol> <li> Identify some of the particular historical and social situations that conditioned the composition and early transmission of ancient Gospel texts;</li> <li> Discuss the general continuities and discontinuities in language, culture, and religion between Jesus as a historical figure and subsequent portrayals of him in a range of different media;</li> <li> Describe several of the main schools of scholarly thought in modern life-of-Jesus research.</li></ol>
<ol> <li> Appreciate the distinctive features, contributions, and limitations of the various types of historical-critical, social-scientific, literary-critical, and semiotic methods that have been used in modern scholarship on Jesus and portrayals of him in the Gospels, various genres of theological and philosophical discourse, fiction, and film; </li> <li> Analyse and critically evaluate a wide range of representations of Jesus in terms of their aesthetic value, ethical consequences, and ideological assumptions.</li></ol>
<ol> <li> Communicate effectively in the written mode the results of critical reflection and research on a topic relevant to a given institutional context.</li></ol>
<ol> <li> Have sharpened your skills in independent research, critical thinking, and essay writing;</li> <li> Insight into how ideas can mutate in different historical and cultural contexts.</li></ol>
¿ Empathize with a range of different religious viewpoints and their ethical and cultural implications.
¿ Have the ability to frame critical and constructive arguments.
<div> <strong>WEEK 1<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Introduction</strong></div><div> 1<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>From the Gospels to Jesus.</div><div> What is a gospel? </div><div> </div><div> <strong>WEEKS 2-3<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Jesus of the Gospels</strong></div><div> 2a<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Literary structure of the Synoptic Gospels</div><div> 2b<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Literary structure of the Gospel of John</div><div> 3a<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus and the New Testament Apocrypha</div><div> 3b<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Fourfold Gospel</div><div> </div><div> <strong>WEEKS 4-7<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Historical Jesus</strong></div><div> 4a<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What do we know about Jesus? Assessing the evidence</div><div> 4b<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Jesus the Teacher: Kingdom of God and Parables</div><div> 5a<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus the Miracle Worker</div><div> 5b<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Jesus and the demonic<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div> 6a<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Crucifixion of Jesus</div><div> 6b<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Jesus Risen and Ascended?</div><div> 7a<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Quest of the Historical Jesus</div><div> 7b<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Many Lives of Jesus (survey of the lives of Jesus from Renan to Crossan)</div><div> </div><div> <strong>WEEKS 8-10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Theological Jesus: From Jesus to Christ</strong></div><div> 8a<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Orthodox Christ (the Nicene and Chalcedonian Jesus)</div><div> 8b<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Jesus of the Philosophers: the Kantian and Hegelian Jesus</div><div> 9a<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus in 20th and 21st Century Theology (1): Barth’s dialectical theology, Bonhoeffer’s Jesus as ‘the man for others’, Tillich’s Jesus as New Being, the Postmodernist Jesus.</div><div> 9b<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Jesus in 20th Century Theology (2): The Jesus of the Oppressed (the feminist, liberationist, and postcolonial Jesus)</div><div> </div><div> <strong>WEEK 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Jesus as Cultural Icon</strong></div><div> 10a<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Literary transformations of the Gospels:</div><div> Wallace, Ben Hur; Kazantzakis, Last Temptation; Dan Brown novels; Left Behind novels, etc.</div><div> 10b<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Cinematic Jesus</div><div> Greatest Story Ever Told, Life of Brian, Passion of the Christ.</div><div> </div><div> <div> <strong>WEEK 11: CONCLUSION</strong></div> <div> 11a<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Who was Jesus of Nazareth? </div> <div> 11b<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Review and Revision</div></div><p> </p>
<p>In addition to a programme of interactive lectures and participation-intensive seminars, a Blackboard presence for the course unit will be used not only to provide standard information such as the main course unit handout and past examination papers but also to give electronic access to readings and video materials essential for informed participation in the seminar meetings, questions for use in preparing for seminars, and copies of PowerPoint presentations used in class. The course unit will therefore conform to Blackboard minimum requirements.</p><p> </p><p>There will also be one dedicated consultation hour per week for this unit (day and time tbc). </p>
0
Other
100%
<p><span style="font-size: 12px"> </span></p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width:266px;"> <p>Assessment task</p></td> <td style="width:114px;"> <p>Formative or Summative</p></td> <td style="width:121px;"> <p>Length</p></td> <td style="width:140px;"> <p>Weighting within unit (if summative)</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:266px;"> <p>Essay on a topic pertaining to the historical Jesus or one of the early Christian Gospels</p></td> <td style="width:114px;"> <p>Formative</p></td> <td style="width:121px;"> <p>1500 words</p></td> <td style="width:140px;"> <p> </p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:266px;"> <p>Essay on a topic pertaining to the theological Christ or Christ as cultural icon</p></td> <td style="width:114px;"> <p>Summative</p></td> <td style="width:121px;"> <p>2500 words</p></td> <td style="width:140px;"> <p>50%</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:266px;"> <p>Examination</p></td> <td style="width:114px;"> <p>Summative</p></td> <td style="width:121px;"> <p>2 hours</p></td> <td style="width:140px;"> <p>50%</p></td> </tr> </tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p>
<p> </p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:662px;" width="662"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width:321px;"> <p>Feedback method</p></td> <td style="width:340px;"> <p>Formative or Summative</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:321px;"> <p>Completed proforma for academic essays</p></td> <td style="width:340px;"> <p>Formative</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:321px;"> <p>Completed proforma for academic essays</p></td> <td style="width:340px;"> <p>Summative</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:321px;height:7px;"> <p>Use of dedicated consultation hour for meeting with student(s), meetings made by arrangement outside the consultation hour, and email exchange.</p></td> <td style="width:340px;height:7px;"> <p>Formative</p></td> </tr> </tbody></table><p> </p>
Y
<p style="margin-left:22.7pt;">Adams, Edward. <em>Parallel Lives of Jesus: A Guide to the Four Gospels</em>. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.</p><p style="margin-left:24.95pt;">Burridge, R. A. <em>What Are the Gospels? A Comparison with Graeco-Roman Biography.</em> Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.</p><p style="margin-left:24.95pt;">Craffert, Pieter F. <em>The Life of a Galilean Shaman: Jesus of Nazareth in Anthropological-Historical Perspective</em>. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 2008.</p><p style="margin-left:24.95pt;">Crossan, J. D. <em>The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant</em>. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991.</p><p style="margin-left:24.95pt;">Goodacre, Mark. <em>Thomas and the Gospels: The Making of an Apocryphal Text</em>. London: SPCK, 2012.</p><p style="margin-left:24.95pt;">McGrath, Alister. <em>Christian Theology: An Introduction</em>. 3<sup>rd</sup> edn. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2001.</p><p style="margin-left:24.95pt;">Sanders, E. P., and Margaret Davies. <em>Studying the Synoptic Gospels</em>. London: SCM, 1989. </p><p style="margin-left:24.95pt;">Stanton, Graham. <em>The Gospels and Jesus</em>. 2<sup>nd</sup> edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. </p>
Lectures
22
Seminars
11
0
167
<p><strong>Blackboard:</strong></p><p>The Blackboard site for this unit will facilitate student engagement with the assessed journal exercises, in addition to enabling students to access easily a wide range of online resources for study of Jesus, the Gospels, and related materials.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Other scheduled teaching and learning activities:</strong></p><p>1 dedicated consultation hour per week</p><p> </p><p> </p>