Module: Sacred Texts in Comparative Perspective

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Sacred Texts in Comparative Perspective
Module Code	RET1067 (ITS: No Code Yet)
Faculty	Theology, Philosophy & Music	School	Humanities & Social Sciences
NFQ level	9	Credit Rating	10

Description

This module explores the phenomena of sacred texts or scriptures across some of the world's major religious traditions. Using comparative methods, the module investigates the sacred texts of Judaism (the Tanakh), Christianity (the Bible), Islam (the Qur'an), Sikhism (the Guru Granth Sahib), and Hinduism (the Vedas). Along with an introduction to these sacred texts in their respective religious traditions, the module will explore issues that are relevant across the different traditions, including the relationship of texts and interpretive traditions, translation, materiality, performance, and critical study of these collections.

Learning Outcomes

1. Reflect critically on the concept of scripture as a category for analysis;
2. Understand core issues related to the development and content of the sacred texts under discussion, including the Tanakh, Bible, Qur'an, Guru Granth, and Vedas;
3. Demonstrate critical awareness of how translation and interpretive traditions relate to scriptural texts and traditions;
4. Critically engage with the key issues related to scriptures including materiality, performance, and critical study.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	24	No Description
Class Presentation	20	No Description
Assignment Completion	50	No Description
Independent Study	156	No Description
Total Workload: 250

Section Breakdown
CRN	12298	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Bradford Anderson	Module Teacher

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Participation	n/a	10%	n/a
Presentation	n/a	30%	n/a
Essay	n/a	60%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Reflecting on the phenomena of scriptures

Scriptural texts and interpretive traditions - canon and archive

Sacred texts and translation

Material forms of scriptures // iconicity of sacred texts

Performative aspects of scriptures

Scriptures and critical study

Tanakh / Judaism

Bible / Christianity

Qur'an / Islam

Guru Granth Sahib / Sikhism

Vedas / Hinduism

Indicative Reading List

Books:

James Watts: 2020, Books as Bodies and as Sacred Beings, Equinox,
Kristina Myrvold: 2010, The Death of Sacred Texts: Ritual Disposal and Renovation of Texts in World Religions, Ashgate,
James Watts: 2013, Iconic Books and Texts, Equinox,
K. van der Toorn: 1997, The Image and the Book: Iconic Cults, Aniconism and the Rise of Book Religion in Israel and the Ancient Near East, Peeters,
James Watts: 2018, Sensing Sacred Texts, Equinox,
James Bielo: 2009, The Social Life of Scriptures: Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Biblicism, Rutgers University Press,
Vincent Wimbush: 2008, Theorizing Scriptures: New Critical Orientations to a Cultural Phenomenon, Rutgers University Press,
Aichele, George: 2001, The Control of Biblical Meaning: Canon as Semiotic Mechanism, Trinity,
Robert Alter: 2000, Canon and Creativity: Modern Writing and the Authority of Scripture, Yale,
Armstrong, Karen: 2019, The Lost Art of Scripture: Rescuing the Sacred Texts, Random House,
Bradford Anderson: 2020, From Scrolls to Scrolling: Sacred Texts, Materiality, and Dynamic Media Cultures, de Gruyter,
Levering, M.: 1989, Rethinking Scripture: Essay from a Comparative Perspective, SUNY Press,
Graham, William A.: 1987, Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion, Cambridge University Press,
Brian Malley: 2004, How the Bible Works: An Anthropological Study of Evangelical Biblicism, AltaMira,
Peters, F. E.: 2007, The Voice, the Word, the Books: The Sacred Scripture of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Princeton,
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell: 1993, What is Scripture?,

Articles:

Bradford Anderson: 2019, "Scriptures, Materiality and the Digital Turn." Postscripts 10 (2019), 38-52., 511808
2008: "Canon and Archive." In Cultural Memory Studies 97-107., 511809, 1
“The End of the Word as We Know It: The Cultural Iconicity of the Bible in the Twilight of Print Culture,” Postscripts 6 (2010), 165-184: 511810, 1, Graham, William A.
511811: 1, Myrvold, Kristina, 2010, “Engaging with the Guru: Sikh Beliefs and Practices of Guru Granth Sahib,” Postscripts 6 (2010), 201-224,
1: Parmenter, Dorina, 2009, “The Bible as Icon: Myths of the Divine Origins of Scripture,” in Jewish and Christian Scripture as Artifact and Canon (ed. Craig A. Evans and H. Daniel Zacharias; London: T. & T. Clark, 2009), 298-31,

Other Resources

None