RELI 188
Devils and Demons in Christianity
Martin Schongauer (1448-14910: Temptation of St. Anthony
Asst. Professor Dayna S.
Kalleres
Office: Literature building #330
Email: dkalleres@ucsd.edu
Phone: 858.534.2279
Reader: John J. McGraw
Class Location: WLH 2209,
subject to change
Class Time: MWF 11-11:50
Office Hours: TBA
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
From the beginning of the religion we now call Christianity, Christians
have stood in contradistinction to an “Other”—an opposite usually
characterized as malevolent, immoral, irrational, and also demonic. The
history of this religion is littered with dualistic constructs of the
Christian Self vs. a Demonic Other: Christianity vs. “Paganism”,
Judaism, heresy, Papist Catholicism, witchcraft, secularism,
liberalism, western colonialism, and so forth. In this class we shall
investigate how the survival and expansion of Christianity has depended
upon demons and devils. In the exorcism, expulsion, condemnation,
interrogation, identification, and renunciation of demons, Christianity
grew steadily from a small, persecuted group of disenfranchised people
to a powerful, worldwide religion. In that process, those whom
Christians have identified as demonic or demon possessed have often met
with a violent end. This class considers the role devils and demons
have played in the construction of Christian identity from the first to
the twenty-first century, from the ancient Mediterranean to modern day
North America as well as Africa and Sri Lanka. This is a class, then,
that investigates violence in Christianity—violent words and deeds
against those viewed as a demonic other throughout history. By the end
of the quarter, many of you will encounter very different forms of
Christianity then you may be familiar with now. Rather than a
Christianity comfortably and unconsciously pervading western culture,
we shall uncover and discuss religious communities that have struggled
combatively and aggressively against other religious forms in an effort
to survive, expand, and dominate.
COURSE MATERIALS:
There are no books or course readers for this class. Instead, all the
readings are available on the course website: kalleres.com/RELI188.
This website is a vital resource. In addition to including the syllabus
and course readings; it also offers the following: any study guides or
class outlines or power point slides; in depth information and
guidelines for written assignments; some helpful links related to
course material. ALSO, any updates, changes to scheduled reading, or
general announcements will be posted on this site!! So check it
regularly!
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
During class time I will give a lecture but we, as a class, will also
discuss the material assigned. Therefore it is very important that you
come to class prepared to talk about the readings – in fact, this will
be part of your grade. There are no exams in this class; instead you
will hand in a number of writing assignments, each of which will serve
to showcase your close and critical consideration of the texts and
issues we discuss in class.
GRADES:
Course Participation (10%). Attendance is required, and it will be
taken regularly. More than four absences, regardless if it is a
previously explained absence, will culminate in a lower participation
grade. Likewise chronic tardiness will also result in a participation
grade reduction. There will be discussion in this class, and everyone
is expected to complete the reading for an assigned date before that
class meeting as well as bring their reading materials to class
(notice, I have now written this for the second time! So, clearly, I
mean it!!)
Reader Response Journal (20%) You are expected to keep a reader
response journal throughout the quarter in which you express your
critical reactions to both the reading material as well as an
anthropological and sociological consideration of the aspects of
religious identity introduced in the texts. We shall collect these five
times during the quarter. Each collection is worth up to 4%. Due dates:
Oct. 4, 18, Nov. 1, 15, 29.
Four Essays (5 pages, 17.5% each). You are to submit one essay for each
section. These essays involve a consideration of a text or comparison
of texts we have discussed in which you provide a critical analysis of
that text(s)’ use of the demonic in the construction of religious
identity and religious difference. More information regarding these
assignments shall be provided soon. Due dates: Oct. 6, 25, Nov. 10,
Dec. 3.
SCHEDULE OF READINGS
Part I — Introduction to Demonology in the Ancient Mediterranean World
1. Sept. 24 (Friday)
Introduction to the Course
2. Sept. 27 (Monday)
Greco-Roman Demonology I—Literature and Philosophy
Readings: Hesiod, Work and Days 109-139. Plato, Cratylus 397D-398C,
Symposium 202E-203A; Republic IV 427B-C. Plutarch, Obsolescence of
Oracles 10-15, 48, 51; Isis and Osiris 26. Apuleius, Apology 43.
3. Sept. 29 (Wednesday)
Greco-Roman Demonology II—Ritual Practice
Readings: Magic Spells PGM IV. 1-42, 42-195,1596-1715, 2441-2621, 300785; PGM CI.1-53; Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana III.38,
IV.20
4. Oct. 1 (Friday)
Jewish Demonology I
Genesis 6:1-4. I Enoch 6, 19:9, 40, 53, 56, 69. Jubilees 1:8-18; 7:234; 10-11:6; 15:9-33; 22:1-18. Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs,
Levi 18; Zebulun 9; cf. Simeon 6.
5. Oct. 4 (Monday)
Jewish Demonology II
Skim the book of Job; Testaments of Twelve Patriarchs, Reuben 2-3,
Benjamin 3; Simeon 3; Asher 6. The Manual of Discipline. Josephus,
Antiquities 8.2.5.
**Oct. 4 — Hand in Reader-Response no. 1**
Part II — Intra-Religious Conflict
6. Oct. 6 (Wednesday)
New Testament I: Exorcism
Readings: Lucian, Lover of Lies, 16; cf. 17, 31. New Testament—Mk 1:2128 (compare Lk 4:31-37); Mk 5:1-20 (compare Lk 8:26-39); Mk 9:14-29; Lk
11:14-26; Acts 16:16-24; 19:11-20.
**October 6—First Essay Due—In Class**
7. Oct. 8 (Friday)
New Testament II—Temptation & Pauline Demonology
Readings: Lk 4.1-13; Ephesians 6; 2Cor 11:13-15; Rom. 1.
8. Oct. 11 (Monday)
New Testament III—Satan and the Antichrist
Readings: 1John 4:1-6, Revelations (skim).
9. Oct. 13 (Wednesday)
Anti-Pagan Demonology I
Readings: The Octavius of Minucius Felix, 26-7. Tertullian, Apology 35;
On Idolatry 1, 9, 15. Origen, Contra Celsum 7.65, 69; 8.31, 33. Justin
Martyr, First Apology 12.
10. Oct. 15 (Friday)
Anti-Pagan Demonology II
Readings: Eusebius, In Preparation for the Gospel, 5.1-17; Oration in
Praise of Constantine 2.3, 5.3, 13.4; Demonstratio Evangelica 3.6.
Augustine, City of God, 8.19, 22;10.9; De Doctrina Christiana,
2.20.30ff, On the Divination of Demons, 3.7, 5.9.
11. Oct. 18 (Monday)
Christian Conversion and Exorcism
Readings: John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions, selections. Cyril of
Jerusalem, Baptismal Instructions, selections.
** Oct. 18 — Hand in Reader Response no. 2**
12. Oct. 20 (Wednesday)
Anti-Judaizing Demonology I—Parting of the Ways
Readings: John Chrysostom, Adv. Judaeos Sermons, selections; Augustine,
Contra Judaeos literature, selections.
Oct. 22 (Friday) –no class
13. Oct. 25 (Monday)
Anti-Judaizing Demonology II—Dehumanizing the Religious Other
Readings: Luther Luther's Works, Volume 47: The Christian in Society
IV, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971). pp 268-293.
(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/antisemitism/Luther_on_Jews.html); A selection of readings demonizing Jews
in the Later Middle Ages.
**October 25 — Second Essay Due in Class**
Part III — Inter-Religious Conflict
14. Oct. 27 (Wednesday)
Demonizing Heretics
Readings: Irenaeus, Against the Heresies; 1.13, 27.1-4. Justin Martyr,
First Apology 14. Cyril of Jerusalem, Baptismal Instructions 6:13ff.
15. Oct. 29 (Friday)
Monks & Demons I—Spiritual Combat
Readings; Athanasius, Life of Antony, 4-14. Apophthegmata Patrum 5.27;
Palladius Lausiac History 23; Life of Syncletica, 104-114.
16. Nov. 1 (Monday)
Monks and Demons II—Exorcistic Authority
Readings: Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Monks of Syria on Macedonius and Peter
the Galatian. The Syriac Life of Simeon the Stylite, selections. The
Life of Theodore of Sykeon 18.
** Nov. 1— Hand in Reader Response no. 3 **
17. Nov. 3 (Wednesday)
Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Medieval Catholicism
Readings: Sarah Ferber, Demon Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern
France (2004), selections.
18. Nov. 5 (Friday)
Witchcraft and Demonology
[Readings: Malleus Maleficarum, selections].
19. Nov. 8 (Monday)
Demons and Devils during the Protestant Reformation: Polemic in Image
and Text [Readings: TBA].
Part IV — Modern Christianities & Demonology
20. Nov. 10 (Wednesday)
Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches in Ghana
Readings: Selections from Birgit Meyer, Translating the Devil: Religion
and Modernity Among the Ewe in Ghana (1999).
**Nov. 10 — Third Essay Due in Class**
21. Nov. 12 (Friday)
Exorcistic Catholic Shrines in Sri Lanka
Readings: Selections from R. L. Stirrat Power and Religiosity in a
Post-Colonial Setting (1992).
22. Nov. 15 (Monday)
Topic and Reading To Be Announced
Guest Lecturer: John McGraw
** Nov. 15 – Hand in Reader Response no. 4**
23. Nov. 17 (Wednesday)
Demonology in Modern Greece
Readings: Selections from Charles Stewart, Demons and the Devil: Moral
Imagination in Modern Greece (1995).
Nov. 19-26 – No Class
24. Nov. 29 (Monday)
The Rise of Hero-Priest Exorcists in America
Readings: Malachi Martin, Hostage to the Devil selections. See The
Exorcist, on reserve in the Library.
** Nov. 29 — Hand in Reader Response no. 5**
25. Dec. 1 (Wednesday)
Deliverance Ministries in Contemporary American Christianity
Readings: Don Basham, Deliver us from Evil (1972), Frank and Ida Mae
Hammand, Pigs in the Parlor.
26. Dec. 3 (Friday)
The Commodification of Demons in America
Website and youtube videos: Bob Larsen, the Real Exorcist.
**Dec. 3 — Fourth Essay Due in Class**