This is the first meeting of a multi-session course.
FRIDAYS 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Jan. 30, Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27, March 6, 13, 27, April 3, 10, 2015

Can a movie probe more deeply into theology than other works? Can it show the strengths and weaknesses of religious thought more directly, more dramatically? This seminar probes theology and film, examining movies with strong Christian themes. We will use film criticism and literary and art theories to look at and interpret movies that address the spiritual dimensions of life. The class will study classic directors like Buñuel, Pasolini, and Zeffirelli, tease out new meaning from familiar texts such as A Man for All Seasons and The Matrix, and make brief forays into many less familiar works and genres: Gladiator to Battlestar Galactica, an episode of Yes, Prime Minister, and one from the standup comedy of “executive transvestite” Eddie Izzard. Thoughtful analysis of a movie opens discussion up to multiple meanings, and we will think through films that question, explore, and compare ideas.

RICHARD POSS is an Associate Professor in Astronomy and former Director of the Humanities Program at the University of Arizona.  His research examines the role of astronomical themes in European poetry, and he has published articles on Petrarch, Dante, Veronica Gambara, Walt Whitman, and on the exploration of Mars.  He teaches courses on the history of astronomy and the relations between astronomy and the arts, and is a frequent instructor in the Humanities Seminars Program.  He is co-founder of the popular lecture series “Astrobiology and the Sacred: Implications of Life Beyond Earth,” sponsored by a grant from the Templeton Foundation.  He has won a variety of major university teaching awards, including the UA Foundation Leicester and Kathryn Sherrill Creative Teaching Award, the Provost’s General Education Teaching Award, and several Humanities Seminars Superior Teaching Awards.