Praying with Art: Visual Literacy for Enhancing Christian Prayer (DS9306C)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

Content

This unit will provide students with the analytic and reflective tools to use visual art to engage in and nurture reflection and prayer in the Christian Tradition. This includes Lectio/Visio Divina, Ignatian Imaginative Prayer, Visual Labyrinth, Spiritual Reading/Gazing, Meditation and other types of prayer. Drawing on a rich treasury of art both religious and secular, this unit will cover major theological themes, and a range of human responses to art. By studying the elements of visual literacy, students will be encouraged to find new ways to tap into the divine, to grasp and be grasped by the truth of God.

Unit code: DS9306C

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Spirituality

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Investigate and articulate a range of theoretical approaches and theological themes revealed through visual art
2.

Demonstrate understanding of the link between the artists’ inspiration for their art and our experience of prayer.

3.

Critically analyse the way artists have made use of their art to provide viewers with new insights leading to authentic transformation.
4.

Synthesise their learning to show how engaging with art enhances and shapes the strategies, content, structure and methodology for leading prayer in a range of contexts.

5.

Give a critical evaluation of the role and importance of Australian art for Australian Christians.

6.

Define, plan and undertake a topic of research, such as praying with children, teenagers, school staff or parish groups, in a critically rigorous, sustained and self-directed manner in relation to one of the topics of this unit

Pedagogy

Face-to-face; tutorials; discussions

Indicative Bibliography

  • Brewer, Christopher R. Art that Tells the Story: Gospel Through Shared Experience. Dallastown PA: Hearts & Minds Books, 2011.
  • Crumlin, Rosemary. Beyond Belief: Modern Art and the Religious. Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, 1998.
  • Dyrness, William A. Visual Faith: Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2001.
  • Hodge, Susie, and Art Quake, The Most Disruptive Works in Modern Art. London: Frances Lincoln Publishing, 2021.
  • Jensen, Robin M. The Substance of Things Seen: Art, Faith, and the Christian Community. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2004.
  • Jungmann, Joseph. Christian Prayer Through the Centuries. New York/Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1969/2007.
  • Kapikian, Catherine. Art in Service of the Sacred. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2006.
  • Fujimura, Makoto. Art and Faith: A Theology of Making. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2021.
  • O’ Grady, Ron. Christ For All People: Celebrating a World of Christian Art. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2001.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay 3500 50.0
Essay 3500 50.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 16 Aug, 2022

Unit record last updated: 2022-08-16 17:20:48 +1000