Module THEO3411: JESUS IN FICTION AND FILM

Department: Theology and Religion

THEO3411: JESUS IN FICTION AND FILM

Prerequisites

• THEO1121 Introduction to the New Testament or equivalent.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• Following upon the first level module, 'Introduction to the New Testament' (THEO1121), and the second level module, 'Jesus and the Gospel Tradition' (THEO2331), both of which were historical in orientation, this third level module will focus on literary approaches to New Testament texts, and on their reception history. The general aims and specific objectives of the module are as follows:
• To provide knowledge and understanding of the influence of the New Testament in fiction and film.
• To introduce students to literary approaches to the study of the New Testament in order to reach an understanding of how biblical texts function as literature (rather than history).
• To study in turn the relationship between New Testament texts and later literary and cinematic texts that can be read as creative interpretations and re-workings of the original.
• To introduce students, in addition, to critical approaches to film in order to examine the treatment of New Testament texts in a cinematic medium.
• A specific objective will be to examine literary representations of Jesus in the canonical Gospels and in the Apocalypse of John and to study their reception and intertextual connection with later selected 'lives' of Jesus in fiction and film.
• A supplementary objective will be to examine other forms of representation (e.g. characterization and representations of gender and ethnicity) in the selected literary and filmic 'lives' in conjunction with their precursor (New Testament) texts.

Content

• This module will examine representations of Jesus in the New Testament (in particular the canonical Gospels and the Apocalypse of John) and selected Lives of Jesus in fiction and film.
• The module explores how the literary and filmic texts have used their biblical sources, how the biblical sources have been adapted, and, in the process of their acculturation, how these fictional transformations of biblical texts, within their respective media, illuminate the concerns of their authors, readerships or audience as well as various aspects of their social context or ideology.
• Approaching the New Testament from a literary (rather than a historical) point of view (and with an emphasis on how New Testament texts function as literature), and using the tools of literary and film criticism, as well as intertextual analysis, study will be directed, in the first term, to the canonical Gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke and John), to the Apocalypse of John (in relation to D. H. Lawrence's Apocalypse), and to three fiction lives of Jesus based upon the Gospels: N. Kazantzakis' The Last Temptation ; G. Theissen's The Shadow of the Galilean and M. Roberts' The Wild Girl. In the second term, attention will turn to film lives of Jesus, with special reference to three in particular: P. Pasolini's The Gospel according to St Matthew, M. Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ and D. Arcand's Jesus of Montreal.

Learning Outcomes

• On completion of the module, the student should have:
• acquired knowledge and understanding of the New Testament (in particular the canonical Gospels and the Apocalypse of John), and of the later literary and filmic texts studied, and should be able to appreciate how the New Testament texts function as literature, as well as how they have been received in later fiction and film.

• The student will have practised cognitive skills of analysis, synthesis, and the critical evaluation of texts, both literary and cinematic.
• The student will have developed and practised exegetical skills, analyzing texts (both literary and cinematic) critically, interpreting their meaning within their contexts, and presenting the results of exegesis in a lucid and coherent form.
• In particular, by focusing (principally but not exclusively) on literary and cinematic representations of Jesus, the student will have developed skills in intertextual analysis by exploring how the literary and filmic texts have used their biblical sources, how the biblical sources have been adapted, and, in the process of their acculturation, how these fictional transformations of biblical texts, within their respective media, illuminate the concerns of their authors, readerships or audience as well as various aspects of their social context or ideology.

• The student will have practised structured written communication.
• The student will have practised and developed their skills in the acquisition and evaluation of information from written sources.
• The student will have practised and developed their skills in oral communication.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures are intended to develop the student's subject-specific knowledge and understanding by providing a broad overview and a detailed introduction to the issues and concepts. Skills-based lectures will be included, and will introduce/develop techniques for the written presentation of textual and filmic exegesis. Seminars, which will be based on primary related texts and films, as well as suggested secondary reading, will both foster the student's cognitive and exegetical skills and provide an opportunity for the development of skills in oral communication through fuller discussion and debate of the topics covered in the lectures. Summative essays will both develop (through feedback) and assess subject-specific understanding, cognitive and exegetical skills, and key skills of written communication and acquisition of information. An unseen examination will assess all stated learning outcomes (other than oral communication).

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Preparation for seminars Two seminar preparations (one per term) Two essays (2,500) words (one per term)

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University