Units timetabled for 2013 and 2014 are provisional only, and details of semester and time will change. The official timetable for each year is released on 1 September of the prior year.

Archived unit descriptions for 2011 are available here.

Re-Visioning Biblical Interpretation: The Bible and Art

Unit Code: 
BS/CH/DT4550
RTI: 
Yarra Theological Union
Unit Value: 
15 points

This unit studies the relationship between biblical text and its portrayal in visual culture over the last two thousand years. Various Old and New Testament texts and their visual interpretations will be explored. Objects (in a variety of media including painting, sculpture, print and digital) will be chosen from a wide range of periods and cultures. Content chosen will be drawn from the following themes: Creation; Sin; Sexuality; Liberation; Pilgrimage; Divinity; Mariology; Christology, Birth and Infancy Narratives; Evil; Gender.

Learning Outcomes: 

Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate appropriate research skills
  2. Demonstrate appropriate level of skill in the chosen specialisation
  3. Demonstrate understanding of the various lenses (i.e. historical, literary, theological, spiritual) through which the interpreter perceives biblical text and visual culture
  4. Demonstrate ability to bring biblical text and visual culture into hermeneutical dialogue
  5. Demonstrate critical theological engagement with the intersection between ‘interpreter’ and ‘text’.
Lecturer/s: 
Howard Wallace
Timetabling
Semester: 
Semester 2
Day: 
Tuesday
Time: 
5:00 - 8:00
Location: 
Yarra Theological Union
Unit Frequency: 
Biennial
Years Offered: 
2009
Years Offered: 
2011
Years Offered: 
2013
Notes: 

This unit is hosted at Yarra Theological Union in Box Hill, and taught by Merryl Blair, Merrill Kitchen, Catherine McCahill, Claire Renkin, and Howard Wallace.

Unit Fields
Courses: 
Master of Arts (Theology)
Courses: 
Master of Theological Studies
Courses: 
Postgraduate
Field: 
Field B Biblical Studies
Field: 
Field C Christian Thought and History
Field: 
Field D Theology: Mission and Ministry
Disciplines: 
Biblical Studies
Disciplines: 
Church History
Disciplines: 
Pastoral Theology and Ministry Studies
Department Name: 
Department of Biblical Studies
Mode of Teaching: 
Semester
Teaching Methods: 

Seminars, lectures, student presentation and journaling, visits to galleries and sacred sites

Workload
Number of timetabled hours per week: 
3
Expected personal study hours per week: 
9
Total workload hours per week: 
12
Total workload hours for unit: 
144
Assessment
Assessment TypeWeightingLearning Outcomes Assessed
Assessment Type: 

EITHER 1 x 6000 word essay OR An original piece of work (e.g. visual art or multi-media presentation) relating to and interpreting a biblical text; with an accompanying research essay of 4000 words; a critical conversation on the process and achievement of learning outcomes

Weighting: 
100%
Learning Outcomes Assessed: 
all
Recommended reading: 

* = set texts recommended for purchase

Doug Adams and Diane Apostolos-Cappadona (eds).Art and Religious Studies.  New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1987.      

Diane Apostolos-Cappadona (ed.)Art, Creativity and the Sacred. New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1984

J. Cheryl Exum and Ela Nutu (eds). Between the text and the Canvas: The Bible and Art in Dialogue. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2007.

Masao Takenaka and Ron O’Grady (eds).The Bible through Asian Eyes. Auckland: Pace Publications, 1991

Crumlin, Rosemary. Images of Religion in Australian Art, Kensington: Bat Books, 1988.      

Heidi J. Hornik and Mikeal C. Parsons (eds).Illuminating Luke. 2 vols. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2003.      

Jensen, Robin Margaret. Understanding Early Christian Art, London: Routledge, 2000.      

Kessler, Herbert L. Spiritual Seeing: Picturing God’s Invisibility in Medieval Art, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000.

McGregor, Neil. Seeing Salvation. Images of Christ in Art, London: BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2000      

Tucker, Amy. Visual Literacy, Boston: McGraw Hill, 2002.

© United Faculty of Theology, 2008-2012.