23 November Research Seminar Marian Kelsey

Bewitching the Bible: biblical retellings in modern fantasy.

23 November 2022: Dr Marian Kelsey, Department of Theology, University of Nottingham.

 Abtract:

 Most of the Bible is in the form of narrative, which means it is in essence storytelling. As stories, they are made to be told, and retold, and retold again. Biblical stories are often re-tellings of older stories, and many of the biblical stories have themselves been retold in literature written after it. As genres, fantasy and science fiction frequently explore the nature and the boundaries of society. When these genres retell biblical stories, they often gravitate towards the creation and end-of-the-world narratives as stories about the establishment, destruction and re-making of society. The retellings revise the biblical narratives in order to resolve perceived challenges inherent in the original texts. By doing so, they use the biblical stories to address the society in which the retellings take place.

Please contact Richard Bell for more information: 

Research seminars 2022-23 (all at 16.00-17.30, A02)