HHE 183 Honors Elective—Spring 2013
3 Credits
Thur. 3:00-5:30 pm
Room: Pratt 319
Prof. Bernard Schweizer
email: schweizerb@yahoo.com
Office H445
Office Hrs: Tue/Thur 11 am-1:00 pm
Fascination Satan: The Devil Across the Ages in Religion & Art
This course will explore the meaning Satan (aka Lucifer, aka Sammael) in religious
traditions, literary texts, art, and pop culture. The principal artists to be studied include
John Milton, Mark Twain, Mikhail Bulgakov, Charles Baudelaire, Elie Wiesel, James Morrow,
and others. We will consistently approach our subject from four complementary
perspectives:
1. Artistic adaptations of Satan (all of the assigned primary texts)
2. Scholarly analyses of these artistic adaptations
3. Historical inquiries into the development of the figure of Lucifer/Satan in the context of
Jewish, Christian, as well as “heretical” belief systems (Pagels, Russell, Matthews).
4. Pop-cultural uses of Satan, including manifestations of organized Satanism
This interdisciplinary course weaves together strands of inquiry ranging from religious
history, to theology, to philosophy, to literary history and criticism, to art history, to the
history of ideas. Among the topics to be explored are: Satanism; Satan and comedy;
theodicy (or the Problem of Evil); Satan as muse & culture hero; Satan and liberation; Satan
and witch-craft; Gnosticism and the demiurge; Satan and misotheism; Satan in Jewish and
Christian contexts.
The religious background of Satan is anything but straight-forward: in Kabbalistic
traditions, Satan is seen as an agent of God; in the Old Testament his functions include
being God’s messenger or acting as a (sometimes salutary) obstruction. The identification
of Satan as a purely evil opponent of God only came into focus around the time of Jesus’ life.
Since then, the image of Satan has remained in flux. While he is the embodiment of evil and
sin in traditional Christian lore, in some Western literary traditions, notably in
Romanticism, Satan comes off as a political liberator and a culture hero. And don’t forget
that rock ’n’ roll was originally called the “Devil’s music.” The reception of Satan includes
these as well as many other aspects across the ages.
Assigned Primary Texts:
- from Paradise Lost by John Milton
- From The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake
- The Temptation of Christ: Matthew 4:1-11
- The Book of Job
- Baudelaire, “The Litany of Satan”
- Mark Twain, The Mysterious Stranger
- R.L. Stevenson, “Markheim”
- Anatole France, Revolt of the Angels*
- Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita*
- Elie Wiesel, The Trial of God*
- James Morrow, Blameless in Abaddon*
Assigned Secondary Texts:
- Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern Age by Jeffrey B. Russell *
- Excerpts from Satan: The Early Christian Tradition by Jeffrey Burton Russell
- Excerpts from Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages by Jeffrey Burton Russell
- “The Social History of Satan”; excerpt from Elaine Pagels, The Origins of Satan
- “Character Profile;” from Harold Bloom’s Major Literary Characters: Satan
- “Satan” by C.S. Lewis
- Excerpts from Chris Mathews, Modern Satanism: Anatomy of a Radical Subculture
* These books need to be purchased. The LIU bookstore stocks all these titles. All other
selections will be provided in a Course Pack.
Field trip:
We will go to the MET to study pictorial representations of Satan. I will make contact with
curators at the MET to organize a docent-led tour of the relevant sections of the MET that
have rich offerings in the subject.
Assignments & Grading:
1. Write a two-page summary of the field trip to the MET. What did you discover about
representations of Satan in religious iconography and painting? 10%
2. Presentation I—Historical & Conceptual Background.
Every student selects a passage from Jeffrey Burton Russell’s book Mephistopheles
or from Chris Matthew’s Modern Satanism (on Reserve Shelf) that interests him or
her.
How to locate your passage? You have two methods at your disposal:
A) Browse both books from cover to cover and stop where you get really “hooked”
on a certain turn of the topic. Whatever turns you on, that’s the passage you want to
present to the class.
B) look at the books’ chapter headings or comb the indexes and select a passage that
intersects with your interests: e.g. in the index of Mephistopheles, look up “Mark
Twain,” or “Paradise Lost,” or “Witchcraft”; or go to the sub-chapter on “The Devil
and Heavy Metal” in Modern Satanism, etc., then read the relevant passage and
present its gist to the class, summarizing and-where necessary—clarifying it. You
must indicate on blackboard.com at least TWO DAYS in advance of your
presentation what passage from Russell or Matthews you plan to address. 10%
3. Presentation II—Fascination Satan.
Find a pop culture adaptation or current-news issue that involves Satan in a major
way and describe this finding to the class. For example, discuss the use of Satanist
motifs in Vampire stories, Werewolf movies, tales of Exorcism, etc. 20%
4. Write a research paper about the figure of Satan in at least two different works (they
can be a mix of literary, pictorial, and pop art or focus on one of these media only).
You can focus on lycanthropy (werewolves), or the Romantic idealization of Satan,
on Satan in Comic Books, etc. A more elaborate assignment will be handed out
during the semester. 30%
5. Final exam: 30%
Schedule
Date
Jan. 24
Jan. 31
Feb. 7
Primary Text
Pages
Secondary Text
Devil’s Potpourri:
Chris Matthews
- Bloom’s definition of Satan
(Modern Satanism)
as a fictional character
- Christ’s temptations in the
wilderness
- song by The Waifs
- Gorgoroth in concert
- Satan on South Park
- Santorum on Satan (2008)
- Blake “Marriage of Heaven
& Hell”
1. Excerpt from Paradise Lost Entire
2. C.S. Lewis,
selection “Satan”
3. Russell
(Mephistopheles)
1. The Mysterious Stranger
1-88
2. Elaine Pagels
Feb. 14
1. Mysterious Stranger
2. “Markheim”
Feb. 21
Feb. 28
1. Revolt of the Angels
2. “The Litany of Satan” by
Charles Baudelaire
1. Revolt of the Angels
Mar. 7
Field Trip to MET
Mar.
21
Mar.
28
Spring Break
1. Master & Margarita
1. Master & Margarita
2. Excerpt from Faust by
Goethe (“Walpurgis Night”)
Visit by Charles Matz
Apr. 4
1. Master & Margarita
2. Trial of God
Apr. 11 1. Trial of God
2. The Book of Job
Visit by Joseph Filonowitz
Apr. 18 1. Blameless in Abaddon
Apr. 25 1. Blameless in Abaddon
Visit by James Morrow
May 2
1. Blameless in Abaddon
89-140
3. Russell (Lucifer)
Entire
Selection
5-108
3. Russell (Lucifer)
109-208
Pages
xvi-xviii
Entire
Selection
179-187
Entire
selection
296-301
32-41
2. Russell
(Mephistopheles)
1. Russell
(Mephistopheles)
169-187
3-109
2. Russell (Lucifer)
76-91
110-235
3. Matthews (from
Modern Satanism)
187-213
236-335
Act I
Acts
II & III
3. Faulstick on
Process theodicy
Entire
Selection
1-126
129-250
2. Russell (Satan)
2. Russell (Satan)
15-18
23-29
253-404
Learning Objectives:
GENERAL GOALS
Students will be able to:
1. Comprehend and interpret texts and understand their rhetorical situations and
contexts.
a. Grasp meaning at the level of vocabulary, content, and structure of a text.
b. Develop a coherent interpretation of texts across various genres through close
reading.
2. Demonstrate familiarity with major bodies of knowledge and theories pertaining to the
course subject.
a. Place authors and texts in historical, socio-cultural, generic, and aesthetic contexts.
b. Apply literary terminology and concepts to the interpretation and production of
texts.
3. Demonstrate proficiency in research skills and information literacy.
a. Evaluate and use primary and secondary sources in a variety of formats (written,
visual, aural, etc.).
b. Synthesize information appropriately and skillfully.
4. Apply the above knowledge and skills in a pre-professional setting.
a. Present ideas and arguments orally in class discussions and formal presentations.
b. Write, revise and edit college-level documents, using a variety of compositional
strategies
SPECIFIC GOALS
Students will be able to:
• Understand the religious and cultural trajectory of the concept of Satan over time in
different contexts.
• Link certain artistic manifestations of Satan with specific cultural developments and
movements.
• Learn about the meanings of Satan in the Bible.
• Learn what Satanism is—both what Satanists themselves say about it and as what their
enemies say.
• Read texts critically and analytically, trying to dig beneath the surface of the Satanic figure
to detect relevant connotations and subtextual meanings.
• Make connections between texts, distinguishing the different strands of Satanic lore.
• Read literary interpretations of the assigned texts carefully and critically.
• Trace popular manifestations of Satan to historical precedents.