HEAVEN HELL & JUDGMENT SPRING 2016
ENG 375/ AHI 318
Mondays, 7:00 - 9:40 P.M., Natural Sciences Complex 215
SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Diane Christian,
Office Hours: Monday after class, Wednesday 12-2, & by appointment, Clemens 610
Teaching Assistants:
Dr. Rene Rojas, , hours M 4:45 - 6, Baldy walkway & by appointment
Sunday Moultonwakefield, , hours M 5-6:45 Clemen 612 and by appointment
Content: Heaven Hell & Judgment considers great verbal and visual texts of eternal reward and punishmen--images and stories of heaven, hell, and moral judgment from ancient Sumer and Egypt to modern film. We will study the Sumerian goddess Inanna's descent to the great below, the Egyptian weighing of the soul, classical underworlds in Homer and Plato and Virgil, blessed places and judgment scenes. We'll also consider Hebrew and Christian biblical texts, especially the Apocalypse or Revelation, medieval illuminations, Romanesque churches, Dante's Inferno and Paradiso, Signorelli’s and Michelangelo’s and Bosch’s paintings of last things, Milton’s Paradise Lost and Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven & Hell. We’ll end with the classic film A Matter of Life and Death, released in America as Stairway to Heaven.
Books:
Required:
Heaven Hell & Judgment, a photocopied course book containing assigned readings and a glossary, may be purchased at Queen City Imaging, 3100 Main Street.
The Holy Bible. You may use any text. The King James versionis online as are many others including the Revised Standare Version (easier to read)
The Divine Comedy, Dante, tr. Mandelbaum. Knopf Everyman, hard cover. You may use other translations, also available online.
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Blake. Available online.
Recommended:
The History of Hell. Turner. Harcourt Brace, paper.
Heaven: A History. McDannell & Lang. Yale, paper.
Inanna. Wolkstein & Kramer. Harper, paper.
Images:The images studied in class are available at this location on line:
To access the images on line, use a web browser (e.g. Explorer, Netscape) and go to the above location. Click “Images” Hit ENTER. You should then be able to access the images which are arranged by week and outlined on the ON-LINE IMAGES SCHEDULE. To enlarge an image, click on it.
Examinations: Quizzes will be given in class on February 15, March 28, and May 2. Each counts for 20% of your grade.
Paper: A paper analyzing the film A Matter of Life and Death (Am. release Stairway to Heaven) and bringing to bear all the material of the course will be due by 5 P.M. Monday May 9. No extensions.
The paper comprises 40% of your grade.
HEAVEN HELL & JUDGMENT
Readings marked with *** are included in the photocopy text Heaven Hell & Judgment
Jan 25:***"The Descent of Inanna from the Great Above to the Great Below" (Sumer)
***"The Feather of Maat"(Egypt) [texts distributed first class also]
Feb 1:Bibletexts: From the Hebrew Bible (called the Old Testament in the Christian Bible) read Genesis chapters 1-3, Ecclesiastes, and Daniel chapters 7 - 12
From the Christian New Testament read The Gospel According to Matthew and the Apocalypse (also called Revelation). Some texts will also be distributed.
Feb 8:***Homer. The Odyssey, tr. Fitzgerald. Books XI, XII, XXIV
***Virgil. The Aeneid, tr. Fitzgerald. Book VI
***Plato and Greek Underworld References as excerpted
Feb 15:Apocalypse (Revelation), and medieval Apocalypse illuminations. FIRST QUIZ.
Feb 22:Medieval Last Judgments, biblical texts and church sculpture and painting.
***Texts Matthew 13:36-50; Matthew 25; Mark 9:36-49; Luke 19-21; 1Corinthians 15; 1Thessalonians 4:15-17; Hebrews 1 - 5.
Feb 29:***Visions of Tondal (text) and images online at
Dante’s Inferno
Mar 7:Dante'sInferno, Purgatorio
Mar 14:No class. Spring break.
Mar 21:Dante'sPurgatorio, Paradiso.
Mar 28:Dante'sParadiso. SECOND QUIZ.
Apr 4: Signorelli' s paintings of the Last Things. Michelangelo's "Last Judgment"
Apr 11: Hieronymus Bosch's "Last Judgment"
***Milton, Paradise Lost, Books I - III, X, and selections.
Apr 18: Blake's The Marriage of Heaven & Hell. Use textbook for images.
Apr 25: Film A Matter of Life and Death (American release title Stairway to Heaven).
May 1: Summary. THIRD QUIZ (The THIRD QUIZ may also be taken Fri. May 13 at 7:15 p.m. in Natural Sciences Complex 215.)
May 9: Paper Due in HH&J-marked box in Clemens 306 before 5 P.M. NO EXTENSIONS.