RELIGION AND ITS MONSTERS
REL 300
Dr. Matthew G. Condon
mgcondon@iupui.edu
317/278-1326
Spring 2009
TR 12:00-1:15
BS 3012
Sec: 23636
Office hours (CA 335):
MTWR 2:00-3:00, and
by appointment
Monster, you are
an abomination.
I love you.
– Marquis de Sade, Juliette
Medusa (1598-1599)
Lucifer Preparing Some New Evil (1860s?),
Caravaggio
Gustave Doré
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
What can we learn about religion when we approach it through its monsters? What do monstrous stories
– whether myth, legend, or fiction – reveal about the sacred? In what ways is a monster sacred and the
sacred monstrous? This class will explore the monster as the religious embodiment of the horror of
human existence. Our emphasis will be upon Western religious traditions (Judaism and Christianity), but
the course will cover a very diverse range of imaginative expressions including early Middle Eastern
myths of chaos gods, Greek myth and Latin tragedy, Jewish monsters, medieval Christian epic poetry,
legends, and architecture, 19th c. Gothic novels, and paintings, sculpture, and modern film. Through our
examination of fantastic imaginative expressions in their historical contexts, we will explore religious
attempts to try to come to terms with – or even tame – the monstrous side of the sacred.
SUMMARY OF COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
● Class participation and discussion (30%).
● 10 pairs of discussion paragraph/questions (40%).
● Final paper: 30% (7-10 pages).
REQUIRED TEXTS
Beowulf (trans. Kevin Crossley-Holland, Oxford University Press)
Inferno, Dante Alighieri (trans. Robin Kirkpatrick, Penguin Classics)
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, James Hogg (Oxford)
ADDITIONAL REQUIRED READINGS:
Most of the readings for this course are available in either PDF files or Word documents, which I will
make available to you via OnCourse and subsequently by means of a Reader. You will need the
appropriate software to open these files from home (Adobe Acrobat or Foxit; either is available to be
downloaded at http://iuware.iu.edu/list.aspx?id=131), as well as a relatively fast modem. I recommended
that you access these readings from campus and either print them out immediately or download them to a
disk for later printing.
Recommended Texts (supplemental texts—recommended but not required)
Academic accounts:
Religion and Its Monsters, Timothy K. Beal
Monster Theory: Reading Culture, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen
The History of Hell, Alice K. Turner
A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels…, Carol K. Mack and Dinah Mack
Classic accounts:
Paradise Lost, John Milton
Notre-Dame of Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Victor Hugo
Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson
Dracula, Bram Stoker
The „unheimlich‟…belongs to the realm of the frightening,
of what evokes fear and dread…repulsion and distress…
arousing uneasy, fearful horror…[merging] with the
„demonic‟ and the „gruesome‟
– Freud, ―The Uncanny‖
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
● To investigate the variety of ways in which the monstrous has been given imaginative expression
throughout the history of EuroAmerican culture, especially in its Jewish-Christian traditions
● To explore and to provide sufficient grounding in the dynamics of religion and the monstrous so that
students can sharpen their abilities to reason and argue persuasively about religious and social
matters
● To apply socio-historical awareness, interdisciplinary reflection, and aesthetic discrimination in
exploring, both appreciatively and critically, formative themes in our cultural heritage
● To sharpen students‘ abilities to reason and argue persuasively and clearly, particularly in light of the
uncanny, the fantastic, and horror of religion
● To improve students‘ analytical and interpretive skills as students of the humanities
SKILLS AND EXPECTATIONS:
This course stresses analysis and interpretation of mythical, historical, and literary narratives. These
analytical and interpretive skills are crucial not only for the study of religion, but also for effective
speaking, writing, and thinking. Students are expected to come to class having read the assigned material
for that day and must also prepare questions and observations about specific texts. Submitted discussion
questions and class discussions make up the bulk of the graded work in this class.
In all written assignments, students are expected to engage the readings critically and to develop clear
and compelling theses and arguments.
The following percentile scale will be used to determine grades: 100-90 = A; 89-80 = B; 79-70 = C; 6960 = D; 59 and below = F. The top and bottom two numbers within each grade bracket correspond to
plus and minus grade designations (e.g., 89-88 = B+, 81-80 = B-).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
This course expects a high level of engagement and personal responsibility for reading, discussing, and
drawing connections regarding the assigned material. Careful preparation and critical reflection upon the
assigned readings, attendance, and active participation in class discussion is essential for your success.
You are expected to engage and to think about the materials we read for this course. Class time will
involve some lecture but mostly directed discussion. Lectures will incorporate discussion questions
submitted to me the night before we meet; the lectures will provide the necessary context (given the
course objectives) and highlight issues for discussion and analysis. You must come to class prepared to
discuss the readings, as I will routinely call on you to contribute to class discussions. The submission of
discussion questions will assist in your preparation for the class.
A good many things go around
in the dark besides Santa Claus
– Herbert Hoover
1. Participation and Discussion (30%). Attendance is absolutely essential for you to learn the material
presented in this class. Because this course depends heavily on class discussion and the close reading
of texts, I must take attendance daily. You should notify me well in advance if you expect to miss a
class. You are permitted two absences without question; after that, your course grade will be lowered
one-third letter grade for each subsequent absence – except in cases of documented emergencies.
Since class discussion is so crucial to your success in this class, I‘ve added ―CLASS
DISCUSSION GENERAL GUIDELINES‖ below for further information.
2. Paragraph/Questions (40%). At least ten times this semester, you will submit a pair of paragraphs
with questions before we meet. You may skip any text, but everyone must submit discussion
questions on either Freud or Todorov.
These paragraph/questions MUST demonstrate you have read the assignment (citing page
numbers, for example) and that you have seriously thought about it. Each paragraph/question must
be grammatically correct, at least four full sentences, followed by a clearly formulated question.
I will reply to your e-mail within an hour of your submission.
These will be graded on the following scale: 10=perfect, 9=excellent, 8=good, 7=okay. If your
submissions do not merit credit, I will inform you immediately, so be sure to check your e-mail
afterwards so that you can resubmit.
Good questions might ask about a key term or theme or difficult passage, challenge an author on
a particular point, or raise a broader issue about a reading. In any event, these questions are meant to
be reflective and thoughtful, so do not just submit to me the first ones that occur to you
You must e-mail me your discussion paragraph/questions by 6 pm the evening before we meet
AND you must attend the class. Late submissions will not be accepted, nor will submissions for days
you miss a class. NO EXCEPTIONS. I recommend you bring a copy of it with you to class.
The purpose of these assignments is three-fold: a) to guide and deepen your reading; b) to provide
a structure and common ground for class discussion; and c) to connect the course materials with the
world outside of the classroom.
You are assigned to either Group A (each Tuesday) or Group B (each Thursday):
Group A: Last names beginning A-K
Group B: Last names beginning L-Z
You may submit more than eight times for extra credit. If you prefer not to speak in class, then I
strongly encourage you to submit additional discussion questions.
3. Final Paper (30%). Students are to write a 7-10 page research paper (double-spaced, normal font and
margins). This assignment requires that you explore a religious theme or issue in one or more of the
texts treated in this course. It may be an intensive examination of a couple of questions one text
brings up, or a comparative treatment of one theme in two or more texts. More will be said about the
assignment in class.
**You are encouraged and most welcome to discuss with me any ideas you may have.
POLICIES ON DUE DATES AND PAPER SUBMISSIONS:
All assignments must be submitted on or before the due dates. There will be no exceptions (other than
extraordinary circumstances and with my prior approval). Students should save hard copies of all the
written work submitted (including discussion questions).
PLAGIARISM AND THE INTERNET
University Statement on Plagiarism: ―Plagiarism is the use of the work of others without properly
crediting the actual source of the ideas, words, sentences, paragraphs, entire articles, music or pictures.
Using the work of other students, with or without their permission, is plagiarism if there is no indication
of the source of the original work. Plagiarism, a form of cheating, is a serious offense and will be
severely punished. When plagiarism is suspected, the instructor will inform the student of the charge; the
student has the right to respond to the allegations. If a student is charged with plagiarism, procedures
outlined in the IUPUI ‗Student Rights and Responsibilities‘ statement will be followed. Students have
the right to appeal any charge to the Academic Affairs Committee.‖
Today the most common abuses of plagiarism involve the use of the internet. The world-wide-web
offers vast resources and information about the issues and readings discussed in class. But the quality of
this information is uneven at best; much of it is dated, biased, or simply wrong. If you make use of any
sources on the internet, you are responsible for evaluating the quality of the material. You should be
aware that relying on flawed information will lower your grade on the discussion questions and the final
paper. In addition to citing books and articles, you must also cite every website you consult in your
assigned writings. If you fail to give proper documentation for all references you use, I will return
your paper with ―No Grade.‖ In order to get a grade for the paper, you will have to add the necessary
references and sign a release form allowing me to use the anti-plagiarism software ―Turnitin.com‖ to
ensure that all the work in your paper is your own. For full information regarding student academic
misconduct and the responsibilities of students, see http://registrar.iupui.edu/misconduct.html
Plagiarism will result in an “F” for the course and other necessary academic penalties.
USEFUL WEBSITES:
―ARTstor‖ (digital library of over a million works of art), http://www.artstor.org/index.shtml
―Gustave Doré Art Images‖ (exhaustive collection from the 19th c. master illustrator, including his
illustrations to Dante‘s Inferno and Milton‘s Paradise Lost), http://dore.artpassions.net
―Medea in Art‖ (small collection of modern oil paintings of the infamous witch),
http://personal.centenary.edu/~cmanning/medeaart.html
―The Medea Homepage‖ (good gateway site to all things Medea), http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~shale/
humanities/literature/world_literature/medea.html
―Lilith‖ (a good gateway site to all things Lilith), http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topics/Lilith/lilith.html
―Project Gutenberg‖ (large collection of eBooks), http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Category:Religion_Bookshelf
―Internet Resources for Religious Studies‖ (huge collection of leading academic sites in RS),
http://www.library.ucsb.edu/subjects/religion/religion.html
―The Internet Sacred Text Archive‖ (free archive of ―electronic texts about religion, mythology, legends
and folklore, and occult and esoteric topics‖), http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm
―Bible Gateway‖ (handy resource, works like a codex) http://www.biblegateway.com/
―American Academy of Religion‖ (website of global body of RS scholars), http://www.aarweb.org/
The old world is dying away,
and the new world struggles to come forth:
now is the time of monsters
– attributed to Antonio Gramsci
READINGS
Jan 13
Jan 15
Introductory remarks, etc.
Jumpstart Reading Day—No Class Meeting
I. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS
Jan 20
Sigmund Freud, ―The Uncanny‖ (OnCourse)
Jan 22
Tzveten Todorov, The Fantastic (chs. 2-3) (OnCourse)
II. MONSTERS OF ANTIQUITY
Jan 27
―Giants, Sphinx, Pegasus and Chimæra, Centaurs, Griffin, and Pygmies,‖ from Bulfinch‟s
Mythology
On Leviathan & Behemoth, from Tree of Souls
Jan 29 &
Feb 3, 5
Beowulf
(Recommended: Chaos Gods in Egyptian, Sumerian, Akkadian, and Ugaritic Myths)
Feb 5
Seneca, Medea
Feb 10
On Lilith, from Tree of Souls
On Medusa: Ovid, Lucan, and Freud
Feb 12
Stephen R. Wilk, ―Gorgons and Gargoyles‖
III. MONSTERS OF THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD
Feb 17, 19, 24, 26 Dante Alighieri, Inferno
Alice K. Turner, ―Dante‘s Inferno‖
On Lucifer, Satan, et al., from Tree of Souls
Mar 3 & 5
John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book One
Alice K. Turner, ―Paradise Lost‖
Mar 10
Luther Link, ―The Name of the Devil‖
Luther Link, ―What the Devil Looks Like‖
Mar 10: 6pm Movie: ―Bram Stoker‘s Dracula,‖ dir. Francis Ford Coppola
Mar 12
On Vampires, Dybbuks, Demons, from Tree of Souls
Darren Oldridge, ―The Roaming Dead‖
MARCH 16-20, SPRING BREAK
Mar 24
Lorraine Daston and Katherine Park, ―Monsters: A Case Study‖
Mar 26
Saint Augustine on witchery
Darren Oldridge, ―Werewolves and Flying Witches‖
(Recommended: H. Kramer and J. Sprenger, Malleus Maleficarum (selections)
Mar 31
Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantegruel (selections)
Mar 31: 6pm Movie: To be determined
IV. MODERN AND GOTHIC MONSTERS
Apr 2 & 7
Yudl Rosenberg, The Golem (1909)
on the Golem, from Tree of Souls
Alice K. Turner, ―Mystery Plays‖
Apr 9, 14, 16
James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
Apr 21
Arthur Machen, ―The Great God Pan‖
Apr 23
H.P. Lovecraft, ―The Call of Cthulhu‖
Apr 28
Apr 30
TBA
TBA
To a new world of gods and monsters!
– Dr. Pretorius, mad scientist,
Bride of Frankenstein
CLASS DISCUSSION GENERAL GUIDELINES
Discussion must be informed by the texts we are reading. Simply spouting off your own opinions is
simply unhelpful. That is not to say that articulating your views is to be avoided. I hope that the critical
analysis of the texts emphasized in this class sharpens your views and ethical imagination. Since
informed discussion begins before class, you need to come to class prepared to raise questions and make
observations about the authors‘ views, arguments, approaches, ideas, and terms. Also you should be
ready to think about how various authors relate to each other and to the religious and/or philosophical
traditions in which they operate. Always be ready to point the class to relevant passages.
Discussion must also be reflective, both on the texts and on the contributions of other students.
Discussion involves the exchange and development of ideas. That means you need to listen to other
students and help support or clarify their contributions by making additional observations and
connections or by raising critical objections and questions. In addition to reflecting on what other
students have to say, I want you to reflect on the texts by continuously asking questions of them as you
read them. The task of submitting discussion questions is designed to facilitate this kind of
reflection.
Here are general guidelines about how I will grade in-class contributions to discussion:
A student who receives an ―A‖ for her participation typically comes to class with passages to discuss
and with questions about the readings already in mind. She introduces these passages and raises her
issues for other members to discuss. She also listens to contrary opinions and engages other students
in a discussion of ideas. She responds to the comments of others with ideas that carry the discussion
to a higher level or more deeply into the text. She is under no obligation to change her opinions to fit
the consensus of the class, but she respects the ideas of others and discusses the issues before the class
with a mind to discovering areas of agreement and disagreement. An ―A‖ student, in short, engages
in a lively, cordial, and thoughtful exchange of ideas.
A student who receives a ―B‖ for her participation typically has completed all of the reading
assignments on time, but does not always come to class with passages and questions in mind. She
waits passively for others to raise interesting issues. Other ―B‖ discussants are courteous and
articulate, but they do not always engage other students in discussion of their ideas. Instead, they
articulate their own ideas without relating their comments to the general direction of the discussion.
A ―B‖ student may occasionally participate in an exchange of ideas but sometimes frustrates that
exchange either through silence or through a lack of engagement with other participants.
A student who receives a ―C‖ for discussion typically attends every class and listens attentively, but
refuses to be drawn into discussion, even though she may have read the assignments in advance. A
student who receives a grade lower than ―C‖ fails to bring readings to class and/or is consistently
unprepared and/or argumentative.
ADDENDA
Students with Special Needs: If you have special needs because of some type of disability, I
urge you to register with the Adaptive Educational Services office and use the assistance they
offer. I am, of course, glad to work with AES. Visit their website at http://life.iupui.edu/aes/
The Student Advocate Office will answer your questions, direct you to the appropriate
departments and people, familiarize you with university policies and procedures, and give you
guidance as you look at ways to solve problems and make choices. For more information, visit
them in UC002 or contact them at 278-7594, at stuadvoc@iupui.edu, or at
http://www.life.iupui.edu/advocate/
Disruptive students may face disciplinary action according to University policy. Visit
http://www.iupui.edu/code/ for more information.