Proposal for Research Paper Assignment
Proposal for Research Paper Assignment
Topic: I will be writing on depictions and images of “magic” in the Early Christian and Late Antique periods.
Statement: In this paper, I plan on arguing that these images of “magic” and the construction of “Jesus as magician” was a deliberate action in art to sway the illiterate pagan masses towards trusting Christianity more in these periods. By contextualizing the “magic” as something holy and biblical, early Christians would have gained more influence over the pagan Roman world through not dismissing a vital part of their beliefs.
Annotated Bibliography
Ankarloo, Bengt, and Stuart Clark. Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Ancient Greece and Rome. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999.
This source is similar to the sourcebook from Ogden, except that it goes much more in depth on the Late Antiquity period, as well as the interactions with Christian redefinitions of Roman paganism. I’ll be using this book in particular to discuss the demonization of pagan figures while Christian figures were being uplifted as magical.
Huskinson, Janet. “Some Pagan Mythological Figures and Their Significance in Early Christian Art.” Papers of the British School at Rome 42 (1974): 68-97. Accessed November 4, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40310729.
This article’s gaze is narrowed in on the depictions and appearances of pagan figures in early Christian art and what messages were being conveyed through their use. This article is going to be incredibly useful for discussing the deliberate changes these early Christians made in how “magic” and paganism was understood in these periods.
Jefferson, Lee M. “Jesus the Magician?: Why Jesus Holds a Wand in Early Christian Art.” Biblical Archaeology Review 46, no. 4 (Fall 2020): 41–47. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.depaul.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLAn4776139&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
This follow-up to his previous article below is more dedicated to unpacking the reasoning as to why Jesus was depicted with a staff and the intent behind doing so, as opposed to outlining instances of it occurring. Both of Jefferson’s articles are crucial towards building my argument of “Jesus as magician”.
Jefferson, Lee M. “The Staff of Jesus in Early Christian Art.” Religion & the Arts 14, no. 3 (May 2010): 221–51. doi:10.1163/156852910X494411.
This article surveys early Christian art in Rome during the 3rd and 4th centuries with a focus on Jesus (and Moses and Peter) being shown holding a magic staff or wand. Jefferson discusses the impact of these depictions in the Roman world. I would be using this to unpack counterarguments of “Jesus as magician”.
Ogden, Daniel. Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook. Oxford, NY: Oxford Univ. Press, 2009.
This sourcebook is one I ended up purchasing after taking a history class on witchcraft here at DePaul because I found it so useful to have translated ancient texts on these subjects. For this paper I will be using a lot of these primary sources in discussing the 4th century laws about magic, as well as to establish a pagan iconography to better situation these Christian depictions of magic.
Spier, Jeffrey. “Early Christian Gems and Their Rediscovery.” Studies in the History of Art 54 (1997): 32-43. Accessed November 4, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42622183.
This article discusses the forms and icons of Early Christian artwork that has been found again in past decades. This is of great value to me to be able to differentiate between a Christian form and a Christian-pagan hybrid form that would include “magic”. Additionally, it gives me a more in-depth understanding of the smaller and more personal objects associated with early Christian art, which I would love to have in combination with the knowledge of larger pieces such as mosaics or sarcophagi that we’ve already discussed.
