RELS 121 The History of the Devil
This course is a transdisciplinary study of depictions of the devil and demons in art, literature, popular culture, and religious discourse, from antiquity to the contemporary period. Specific topics will include pre-Judeo-Christian representations of the Devil in Greece and Mesopotamia, various devilish figures, like Lilith, Beelzebub, Lucifer, Samael, Asmodeus, , how the devil is visualized, performs, and thinks (e.g. Milton’s Paradise Lost, Dante’s Inferno, Shelley’s Frankenstein), The Devils of the ‘New World’ (colonialism and the vilification of the ‘heathen’), and aspects and representations of Satanism in the contemporary period (Dungeons & Dragons, Halloween, and Horror films). As we engage in this course, we will also be thinking about how the Devil is a placeholder/boogeyman for a racialized, sexualized, gendered, and/or disabled Other. Who is described as ‘the Devil,’ ‘the Devil incarnate,’ or ‘devilish’? How do these concerns over the consorts of the Devil, the Antichrist, Demons, and Hell reflect cultural and social biases and prejudices, and how do communities challenge these devilish associations from within and without?
Core Requirements Met
- Global Connections
- Pre-1800