BA Religions, Theology and Ethics

From the Bible to the billboard, Eve has been shaping Western thinking on sin, sexuality and gender for over three thousand years. This level 2 unit offers a wide-ranging examination of the evolution of Eve, the first woman of the Bible, from antiquity to modernity in Judaism, Christianity, and secular culture. By the end of this course you will have a broad knowledge of the myriad afterlives of Eve in theology, literature, art, and popular culture and the implications these interpretations have had for the developments of concepts of “woman” and human nature in the West. Topics may  include ‘Goddess in the Garden – Eve in the Ancient Near East’, ‘Pandora’s Pal: Eve’s Early Evolution to Femme Fatale’, ‘Tripping Up: Gnostic Interpretations of Eve’s Fall into Knowledge’, ‘Original Sinner: Gendering Sin in the Middle Ages’ ‘The First Woman Question: Eve and the Querelle des Femmes’, ‘Imagining Eve: Painting the Fall’ and ‘New World, New Woman: Eve at the Movies’. Students on this module will have the opportunity to examine the interpretation of Genesis 1—4 in a considerable breadth of primary and secondary sources, examining theological and literary texts, as well as the visual arts and popular culture.

• To examine ways in which Eve has been constructed in a variety of Jewish, Christian and secular traditions, past and present
• To help students acquire the knowledge, analytical skills, and historical imagination essential for a critical understanding of Eve
• To develop interdisciplinary skills in critical evaluation of a range of sources from different historical periods and different disciplines

• demonstrate an awareness of the complex and varied history of interpretation of Eve
• demonstrate critical understanding of how texts, images and traditions can be used to interpret the significance of Eve
• demonstrate knowledge of the impact of Genesis 1-4 on Western conceptions of sin, sexuality and gender.

• construct an argument in written form and oral form
• locate and retrieve relevant information from primary sources and secondary material
• assimilate and summarise large quantities of evidence

• present the results of their work in a professional manner with appropriate reference to sources and modern published scholarship
• present the results of their work in an accessible way for the general public
• conduct bibliographic searches
• use e-resources and gain knowledge to research methods and resources

• construct an argument in oral and written form
• produce materials appropriate to specific audiences
• conduct independent research
• manage time and resources
• engage in critical discussion

• Various authors, ‘Eve’, in Christine Helmer et al. (eds.), Encyclopedia of the Bible Online (2014). Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. Retrieved 14 Jan. 2017, from http://www.degruyter.com.manchester.idm.oclc.org/view/EBR/MainLemma_6769
• Becking, Bob, and Susanne. Hennecke. Out of Paradise: Eve and Adam and Their Interpreters (Hebrew Bible Monographs ; 30. Sheffield: Sheffied Phoenix Press, 2011)
• Morris, Paul and Sawyer, Deborah (eds.) A Walk in the Garden: Biblical, Iconographical and Literary Images of Eden (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series, 136. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1992)