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THEO3781: Performative Theology

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Type	Open
Level	3
Credits	20
Availability	Available in 2024/2025
Module Cap	None.
Location	Durham
Department	Theology and Religion

Prerequisites

Preliminary knowledge of Christian theology, and an informed interest in literature and the arts.

Corequisites

None

Excluded Combinations of Modules

None

Aims

To understand the role of the arts (particularly the literary arts) in the development of theological ideas.
To develop close reading skills.
To understand the interaction between some areas of literary theory and Christian theology.

Content

This module will examine the relationship between form and content in the creation of theological meaning, located specifically in Christian theology. It will refer to work across the arts, including visual arts, film and music, but will focus principally on literary forms. A close reading of texts including confession, first-person account, epistle, diary, journal, memoir, song, poem, and new media, will show that by subverting accepted theological forms, or by creating new forms out of circumstantial necessity or opportunity, theological meaning is not merely conveyed by the literary forms in which it is written, but is in part created by them.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

Familiarity with a range of works in different forms will enable the reader both to expand their grasp of layers of meaning in theological texts, and to make a theological reading of texts not usually included in the theological canon.

Subject-specific Skills:

Ability to identify and discuss texts in terms of genre, voice, orality.

Key Skills:

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

Lectures will examine specific texts in relationship to their literary form, the exploration of key theological themes in interrelated art forms, and reading and interpretation methods.
Seminars will include student presentations (which count as summative work), and will allow for a range of readings of any given text to be explored.
Final summative essays (with an option of creative writing) will assess subject-specific knowledge and understanding.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total	Monitored
Lectures	20	1 per week in the first two terms	1 hour	20	Yes
Seminars	10	1 per fortnight	1 hour	10	Yes
Preparation and Reading				170
Total				200

Summative Assessment

Component: Assessment		Component Weighting: 100%
Element	Length / Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Seminar Presentation	10 minute presentation	33
Summative essay or piece of creative writing	3000 words	67

Formative Assessment

EITHER one essay, 1500 words OR one 1000-word piece written in one of the forms studied (e.g. memoir, personal essay) with an accompanying 500 word statement on the aims and assessment of that piece of writing.

More information

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