|
Lecturer(s)
|
-
Visi Tamás, doc. Ph.D., M.A.
|
|
Course content
|
"The Second Temple period started in the fifth century BCE, when Jews returning from the Babylonian exile rebuilt their ancient sanctuary in Jerusalem (="Second Temple"), and lasted until 70 CE, when the Romans destroyed it. Our image of this important period of Jewish history is greatly influenced - whether we like this fact or not - by popular movies that attempt to visualize the age with its tensions, conflicts, and inventions always pointing out a "message" for the present. These movies - usually focusing on the life of Jesus of Nazareth - are capable of molding the popular perception of Jews, not only as they existed in Jesus' times but as they exist presently as well. In this seminar the image of Judaism and Jews suggested by Hollywood movies (as well as their British parody, Life of Brian) will be compared with historical research. Starting from seemingly inessential details (for example how the cloths of a Jewish high priest looked like) the selected movies will be analyzed in terms of historical accuracy and ideological agendas. Selected movies: - Ben-Hur (1959, William Wyler) - Jesus Christ Superstar (1973, Norman Jewison) - The Last Temptation of Christ (1988, Martin Scorcese) - The Passion of the Christ (2004, Mel Gibson) - Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979, Terry Jones) The course is given In English and in collaboration with the Kurt and Ursula Schubert Center for Jewish Studies at Palacký University Olomouc and Paideia - The Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden."
|
|
Learning activities and teaching methods
|
|
Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook)
|
|
Learning outcomes
|
Spreading knowledge about Second Temple Judaism in the face of Hollywood visualization of the age.
Familiarity with the basic historical sources, concepts and debated issues of the period. Ability to formulate learned opinions about the historical veracity of Hollywood movies on the basis of firm factual knowledge.
|
|
Prerequisites
|
This seminar is for all the students of the Jewish Studies and for all the other students who would be interested.
|
|
Assessment methods and criteria
|
Essay
Students are expected to read the assigned secondary literature from week to week and to participate actively in discussions about primary texts and movies. At the end of the semester a short essay (4-5 pages) in English or Czech or Hebrew or Hungarian about one of the movies or one of the historical topics as represented in several movies evaluating the latter in the light of historical research.
|
|
Recommended literature
|
-
Geza Vermes. Jesus the Jew.
-
různé edice. Nový zákon.
|