The Bible in the Arts and the Contemporary World

From antiquity to the present day, biblical characters, narratives and themes have been represented in a multiplicity of literary, visual and performing arts including, creative writing, illustration, fine art, pop art, theatre, film and television, music, and even architecture. That such expressions are subject to a diverse range of social, aesthetic and theological influences is reflected in both the individual research and collaborative projects in this area.

Dr Zohar Hadromi-Allouche

My research interest covers the discursive relationship between the Hebrew Bible and Qur’an. I examine the construction of biblical characters and episodes in the Qur’an, as well as the implication of reading the Bible through a qur’anic prism. This research has led to several research projects, such as an article on Qur’an 93 as a response to Psalm 22 (JIQSA 3, 2019).

Dr David Shepherd

My longstanding interest in the representation of the Bible in moving images has focused most recently on the cinematic tradition beyond Hollywood (Images of the Word, 2008) and increasingly that of the “Silent Era” (The Bible on Silent Film, 2013 and The Silents of Jesus, 2016).  A growing awareness of the indebtedness of the biblical film to precursors in the visual and performing arts has led to my most recent project, a collaboration with the School of Drama focused on Bertolt Brecht’s play fragments of the Life of David (see below).  Proposals for doctoral research in these and related areas are welcome.  For more information or to get in touch, visit my staff page.