NOTE: All information from the folkhögskola will be sent in Swedish.
JESUS CHRIST HOLLYWOOD SUPERSTAR: SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISM IN HOLLYWOOD MOVIES
The Second Temple period started in the fifth century BCE, when Jews returning from the Babylonian exile rebuilt their ancient sanctuary in Jerusalem (=”Second Temple”), and lasted until 70 CE, when the Romans destroyed it. Our image of this important period of Jewish history is greatly influenced – whether we like this fact or not – by popular movies that attempt to visualize the age with its tensions, conflicts, and inventions always pointing out a “message” for the present. These movies – usually focusing on the life of Jesus of Nazareth – are capable of molding the popular perception of Jews, not only as they existed in Jesus’ times but as they exist presently as well.
In this seminar the image of Judaism and Jews suggested by Hollywood movies (as well as their British parody, Life of Brian) will be compared with historical research. Starting from seemingly inessential details (for example how the cloths of a Jewish high priest looked like) the selected movies will be analyzed in terms of historical accuracy and ideological agendas.
Selected movies:
- Ben-Hur (1959, William Wyler)
- Jesus Christ Superstar (1973, Norman Jewison)
- The Last Temptation of Christ (1988, Martin Scorcese)
- The Passion of the Christ (2004, Mel Gibson)
- Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979, Terry Jones)
The course is given In English and in collaboration with the Kurt and Ursula Schubert Center for Jewish Studies at Palacký University Olomouc and Paideia – The Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.
Prior knowledge
To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.
Course material
Course material is included in the cost for this course.
About the teacher
Tamás Visi is Associate Professor at the Kurt and Ursula Schubert Center for Jewish Studies at Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic. He earned his doctorate at the Central European University, Budapest in 2006. He was a Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2012, and a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies in 2022.
Recent publications: “The ‘Meteorological’ Interpretation of the Creation Narrative from John Philoponus to Saadia Gaon,” Aleph 21 (2021): 209-278; “The Chronology of John the Baptist and the Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth,” Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus 18 (2020): 3-34; “Jewish Physicians in Late Medieval Ashkenaz,” Social History of Medicine 32 (2019): 670-690.
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