"Art, Music, and Politics in the Book of Revelation"

Speaker(s): Elaine H. Pagels (Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion, Princeton University)

Who wrote the Book of Revelation? Why did he write it as he did? And why—and how—do people still read it today? These are the questions that catalyzed the writing of Elaine Pagels’ most recent book, which explores the astonishing cultural influence of the arguably strangest book in the Bible. In this talk, Pagels will show its interpretations in painting, art, music, and politics—from the 2nd century through the crusades and religious wars of Europe to contemporary times— and include images from Hieronymus Bosch and William Blake through contemporary African-American art.

ELAINE H. PAGELS
Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion, Princeton
Elaine Pagels received a PhD from Harvard and taught at Barnard before joining the Princeton faculty in 1982 and receiving a MacArthur Fellowship. Her book, The Gnostic Gospels, received the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Modern Library named it one of the “100 Best Books of the 20th Century.” Her other books includeBeyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas; and Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation.