Images of Mary Magdalene

in Religion, Literature, and the Arts

Religion 301a, Haverford College

Prof. Anne McGuire, Fall 2005 

 

This is the entry page for Religion 301a, the Reigion Department's Seminar in Religious Traditions in Cultural Context [Area A] for 2005. The Area A seminar is designed to cover religious traditions and the textual, historical, sociological and cultural contexts in which they develop and to engage in critical analysis of formative texts and issues that advance our notions of religious identities, origins, and ideas. The topic for Fall 2005 is Mary Magdalene in Religion, Literature, and the Arts.

The full course syllabus for this course is available only through Blackboard and within the Tri-College network at http://www.haverford.edu:8080/relg/relg301a/301a05.html. Students should check the full syllabus in preparation for every class and follow the links to any additional assigned or recommended materials.

Course Description

Course Description: Mary Magdalene in Religion, Literature, and the Arts. This seminar will focus on a critical examination of the varied representations of Mary Magdalene in religion, literature, and the arts. The central question of the seminar is not "Who was Mary Magdalene," but rather how can we read the images of the Magdalene as reflections of varying religious, social, & cultural norms? The figure of the Magdalene will serve as a lens through which to examine various issues and themes, including sexuality, gender, spirituality, the body, authority, sin, and salvation.

Readings in the course will focus on primary textual sources from antiquity, literary and artistic representations from the history of Christianity, and contemporary images of Mary Magdalene. Sources will include representations of Mary Magdalene in: the New Testament and non-canonical gospels, such as the Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Philip; post-New Testament legends, sermons, and stories about the Magdalene; artistic representations in medieval and Renaissance art; and images of Mary Magdalene in contemporary literature and film. The final selection of materials will depend in part on the material covered in our major secondary source, Mary Magdalen: Myth and Metaphor and in part on student interest.

Required Readings

These books are available for purchase in Haverford College Bookstore unless otherwise noted

• Susan Haskins, Mary Magdalen: Myth and Metaphor (out of print; available in Gest)
• Marvin Meyer, The Gospels of Mary: The Secret Tradition of Mary Magdalene, the Companion of Jesus
• Karen L. King, The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle
• Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, In Search of Mary Magdalene
• Jane Schaberg, The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene: Legends, Apocrpyha, and the Christian Testament
• Other readings will be available in class handouts, online, or from Magill Library Reserve
• Recommended for purchase: The Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha

  Course Outline

• Introduction to the Course: Mary Magdalene in the New Testament, the History of Christianity, and Contemporary Culture
• Mary Magdalene in Ancient Religious Texts: From the Gospel of Mark through Gregory the Great
• The Repentant Magdalene as a Model for Female Saints and Sinners (Readings may include Catherine of Siena, Margery Kempe, et al.)
• Images of Mary Magdalene in Medieval and Renaissance painting and sculpture
• The Sexualized and Repentant Magdalens of England, Ireland, and Western Europe
• Mary Magdalene in Twentieth Century Literature and Film
• The Resurrection and Reconstruction of Mary Magdalene in Contemporary Scholarship and Religious Thought

  Course Requirements

• Participation in class discussion (10%). This is a seminar course. All students are expected to come prepared to participate in discussion, to make presentations in class, and to respond actively to others' comments and reports.
• Three seminar papers of 4-6 pages (60%). A draft of these papers should be prepared by the Tuesday evening before class and made available on Blackboard. Papers will be revised and turned in by the next class.
  • At least one of these should be a textual analysis and at least one should be analysis of an artistic image.
  • Students will work together for group presentations on artistic images.
• A final research paper of 15-18 pages (30%).

Syllabus of Readings

W 9/1 Introduction to the Course: Images of Mary Magdalene and The Earliest Sources

• Handout: New Testament Passages in which Mary Magdalene Appears; Synopsis of the Four Gospels Accounts of the Crucifixion, Empty Tomb, and Resurrection Stories

W 9/8 Mary Magdalene in New Testament and Other Early Christian Sources

• Handouts from 9/1: New Testament Passages
• M. Meyer, The Gospels of Mary, 1-15
  • Read the passages collected in Meyer in their larger literary contexts in the New Testament (NRSV): Those writing papers may select to write on the depiction of Mary Magdalene and other Disciples in Mark, Luke, or John; or they may compare the depiction of Mary Magdalene in 2-3 of the Gospels.
  • The Gospel of Mark: Focus on 5:21-43; 6:7-13; 7:24-30; 8:34-9:8; 14:3-9; 15:40-16:8 (original ending; see also the longer ending, 16:9-20)
  • The Gospel of Luke: Focus on 1-2; 7:36-50; 8:1-3; 10:38-42; 23:44-24:12; 24:13-53
  • The Gospel of Matthew: Focus on Matthew 27:55-28:20
  • The Gospel of John: Focus on 11-12 (Mary of Bethany and her siblings Martha and Lazarus), 13; 19:25b-20:18
• Haskins, Mary Magdalen: Myth and Metaphor, 1-29

For further reading assignments, see the full syllabus within the Tri-Co network at: http://www.haverford.edu:8080/relg/relg301a/301a05.html. [under construction].