Description
The widow Judith takes on an invading army with her wiles. Joseph falls in love with his Egyptian wife. Jesus tames dragons. Visions of heaven, hell, and the Last Judgment. All of these appear in works known as “apocrypha.” Usually, this term refers to works that didn’t make it into Jewish or Christian bibles, except many of those “banned books” have been accepted by diverse communities across time and cultures.
In this one-night class, Dr. Brandon W. Hawk will define what “apocrypha” are and why they matter for understanding the Bible as well as the histories of Judaism and Christianity.
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Topics Covered:
- Definitions of “apocrypha” and related terms
- Examples of apocryphal literature
- The significance of apocrypha for Jewish & Christian studies
- The importance of apocrypha for modern readers
- Where to find apocrypha on your own
This Class Includes:
- One-night live class
- Live Q&A session
- Link to class recording
- Downloadable class slides
Your Instructor:
Brandon W. Hawk is Professor of English at Rhode Island College. Most of his interests in research and teaching encompass what might be called transmission studies: the afterlives of texts, including circulation, translations, adaptations, and re-presentations in various cultures and media. Brandon has written a variety of pieces about pop culture uses of the Middle Ages and apocrypha for his website, The Public Medievalist, Forces of Geek, The Washington Post, and The Conversation. His books include Preaching Apocrypha in Anglo-Saxon England (University of Toronto Press, 2018), The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Nativity of Mary (Cascade Books, 2019), and Apocrypha for Beginners: A Guide to Understanding and Exploring Scriptures Beyond the Bible (Rockridge Press, 2021).
