Honors Seminar update

Oxford College of Emory University Library

The Honors Seminar is going extremely well. Students have been exploring various receptions of "their" parable and have decided which reception on which to focus for the first major section of their project. Here are some examples:

The Rich Fool: the focus will be on five striking images representing the parable, including a mural from a monastery on Mt. Tabor, two modern representations--one from the U.S. and one from Kazakhstan--and others resembling Orthodox icons. The student will investigate personal and cultural contexts, the amount of guidance as far as how the representation is "guided"--from monologic to dialogic--and the "rhetorical effect of these images.

Workers in the Vineyard: The focus is on the history of reception in one of its "trajectories," that is, through the interpretations of early Christians like Irenaeus on through interpretations in the Islamic hadith. The allegorical interpretations have a fascinating history and development, and a detailed analysis of the texts yields much insight as well. The Muslim texts have a great amount of continuity and discontinuity with early Christian interpretations. 

Talents: The focus on this project's initial section is on two 17th Dutch images: an etching by Jan Luyken and a painting by Willem de Poorter, placing the works in the context of both the artists' and the historical (in a variety of ways) contexts. 

Rich Man and Lazarus: The focus in the initial part of the project is on a ballad on the parable that was licensed by "Master John Wallye" and "Mistress Toye" in 1557/58. The "genealogy" of the ballad, including a previous Latin one, will be part of the focus, as will a detailed exegesis of both lyrics and music.