 |
|
|
|
| Class
Prep |
|
|
|
Was
Jesus a Feminist? The Gospels as Evidence
 The Gospel of Mark is an important source of information about the historical
Jesus because it is generally considered to be the earliest gospel written, most
likely around the years 65–75 C.E. -
- As you read
this earliest gospel, you'll be looking for two types of evidence of gender constructs. First, you'll look at how women are represented in the gospel, like the hemorrhaging woman depicted in the catacomb fresco to the right. Using this template, list the women as they come up, putting chapter:vs in the left column, the name or other identifying characteristics of the woman in a central column, and a description in the right column of what she does, whether she speaks, and how Jesus treats her.
-
- While you're making that list, you'll also be keeping track of how Mark maps Jesus' gender. Using this template listing the four characteristics of the Roman masculine ideal, identify what you consider to be the best examples of Jesus conforming to the ideal and NOT conforming to the ideal. The Roman masculine ideal at the time Mark wrote his gospel focused on the following four traits or virtues:
-
- Confident public speaker. A mature Roman man was expected to be able to address and hold the attention of crowds of people. He was expected to speak boldly and frankly about his ideas and positions, and to some extent, to be able to persuade others of his ideas. In Rome, young aristocratic adolescent men underwent a ritual that initiated them into manhood, whereby they would don the toga of an adult man and stand on the rostrum or podium in the forum (decorated with the prows or rostra [beaks] of ships that Rome had conquered) and address the assembled crowd. When reading Mark's gospel, ask yourself when Jesus speaks boldly and to whom, and when he does not, and to whom.
- Pietas. This is a Latin term that we translate "piety," but it meant more than devotion to gods. In the Roman world, pietas refers to the duty and obedience that men were expected to show to the gods, their family and their country. The great epic of imperial Rome, Virgil's Aeneid, uses the epithet for Rome's founding father "pius Aeneas," to reflect that this virtue lies at the core of the value system for all Roman men. Does Mark depict Jesus demonstrating duty and obedience to God? to religious institutions like the Temple? to his country Israel? to his own father and family?
- Self-control. Self-control refers to the ability to control the passions (lust, anger) as well as to regulate one's behavior and moderate things like eating, drinking alcohol, sleeping, working, etc. This attribute is impossible for slaves to do, because they are not free and hence not under their own control. Ask yourself whether Jesus is able to control his passions, whether anyone criticizes him for "excessive" behavior, and whether he (or other humans) are in control of his person or powers.
- Control of others. The Roman Republic and later Empire were built on military victory. Rome prized the courage, skill, power, and sacrifice that brought success in battle, and a free man extended and exercised this control in his family and in public service.
Try do do this on your own, before reading Gleason's short piece on Jesus' masculinity.
-
-
- Assigned Readings
-
- Primary: Gospel of Mark (CG; on Camino if you do not yet have the course textbook)
-
- Secondary: Maud W. Gleason, "By Whose Gender Standards (If Anybody's) Was Jesus a Real Man?" in New Testament Masculinities (ed. Stephen D. Moore and Janice Capel Anderson; Atlanta/Leiden: Society of Biblical Literature E. J. Brill, 2003) 325-7 (Camino); online class prep
-
- Prepare for class discussion: (1) A list of the women mentioned in Mark’s gospel, by chapter:verse, name, and action they perform. (2) A discussion of how Mark’s Jesus fits and/or does not fit the four features of the Roman masculine ideal presented in the last class and above (include ch:vs references to back-up claims). This will not be turned in, so it doesn’t need to be typed; but it will be checked. Templates for this assignment are available above.
-
- Slides for Lecture
-
-
- Further Reading
-
- Corley, Kathleen. Private Women, Public Meals: Social Conflict in the Synoptic Tradition. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1993.
-
- --------. Women and the Historical Jesus: Feminist Myths of Christian Origins. Sonoma, California: Polebridge, 2002.
-
- D'Angelo, Mary Rose. "(Re)Presentations of Women in the Gospels: John and Mark." In Women and Christian Origins (ed. Ross Shepard Kraemer and Mary Rose D'Angelo; New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) 129-49.
-
- Jones, F. Stanley, ed. Which Mary?: The Marys of Early Christian Tradition. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2002.
-
- Levine, Amy-Jill and Marianne Blickenstaff, eds. A Feminist Companion to Mark, Feminist Companion to the New Testament and Early Christian Writings 2. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001.
-
-
- Links
-
- Byzantine St. Stephans: A Biocultural
Reconstruction of Urban Monastic Life - A project jointly sponsored by
the École Biblique et Archéologique Française in Jerusalem
and the University of Notre Dame, this is a great example of what paleo-anthropology
can contribute to our understanding of religious ritual and practice. The Byzantine
period is a bit late for our class, but the principles of historical and cultural
reconstruction are relevant.
- Women
in Early Christianity: The New Discoveries - Part of the recent PBS Frontline
Series, From Jesus to Christ, this page is an interview with Dr. Karen King, an
expert in gnosticism and early Christianity.
-
-
- Sources
-
- Photograph: The Hemorrhaging Woman, Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter, Rome. Scanned from André Grabar, Die Kunst des frühen Christentums, 4th ed. (Munich: Beck, 1967); reproduced online at Wikimedia Commons, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Healing_of_a_bleeding_women_Marcellinus-Peter-Catacomb.jpg, 16 January 2013.
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
