Mary Magdalene: Saint, Sinner, Slut, or Superstar?

(4 Credits)

This interdisciplinary seminar follows Mary Magdalene across scripture, theology, legend, art history, literature, film, gender theory, and contemporary spirituality to ask two central questions: how did this first-century woman become one of the most important figures in cultural history? How does she still matter? Representations of Mary Magdalene begin with the canonical Gospels and early Christian writings before turning to patristic (and misogynistic) interpretations that conflate her with other biblical women and shape her legacy for centuries. Apocryphal texts such as the Gospel of Mary open alternative visions of authority, discipleship, and gender in early Christianity. Medieval saints' tales and visual culture transform her into a penitent saint, while Renaissance and Baroque artists both eroticize and spiritualize her body in equal measure. Victorian literature recasts her as a fallen woman, and modern novels, films, and feminist theology reclaim her as a figure of resistance and spiritual power. Finally, New Age and alternative spiritual movements reinvent the Magdalene through ideas of sex positivity and goddess traditions. Students will analyze primary texts and visual works alongside scholarship in religious studies, literary analysis, art history, and gender studies. The course will include museum visits.