3/31/2025 7:51:07 AM	RELS 6.66 Course Outline as of Fall 2025	Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION
Discipline and Nbr:  RELS 6.66	Title:  HISTORY OF SATAN
Full Title:  History of Satan
Last Reviewed:3/10/2025

Units		Course Hours per Week			Nbr of Weeks	Course Hours Total
Maximum	3.00	Lecture Scheduled	3.00		17.5 max.	Lecture Scheduled	52.50
Minimum	3.00	Lab Scheduled	0		6 min.	Lab Scheduled	0
		Contact DHR	0			Contact DHR	0
		Contact Total	3.00			Contact Total	52.50
		Non-contact DHR	0			Non-contact DHR Total	0

Total Out of Class Hours:  105.00

Total Student Learning Hours: 157.50

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade or P/NP
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly:  HUMAN10.66

Catalog Description:

Students will learn about the evolution of the character of Satan, or "The Devil," from its origins in Biblical literature to its analogs in the ancient Near East. It will examine the development of Satan's role across Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, highlighting the influence of neighboring religions. Additionally, the course will consider the portrayal of Satan in significant literary works and the impact of social movements during the Medieval, Renaissance, and modern periods.

Prerequisites/Corequisites:

Recommended Preparation:
Eligibility for ENGL C1000 or equivalent

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description:

Students will learn about the evolution of the character of Satan, or "The Devil," from its origins in Biblical literature to its analogs in the ancient Near East. It will examine the development of Satan's role across Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, highlighting the influence of neighboring religions. Additionally, the course will consider the portrayal of Satan in significant literary works and the impact of social movements during the Medieval, Renaissance, and modern periods.

(Grade or P/NP)
Prerequisites:
Recommended:Eligibility for ENGL C1000 or equivalent
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:CSU;UC.
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:		Effective:	Fall 2008	Inactive:
Area:	E	Humanities
CSU GE:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	C2	Humanities		Fall 2008
IGETC:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	3B	Humanities		Fall 2008
CSU Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 2008	Inactive:
UC Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 2008	Inactive:
C-ID:

Certificate/Major Applicable: Major Applicable Course

COURSE CONTENT

Student Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Analyze religious, literary, and artistic portraits of the Satan character in relation to their historical, geographical, social, and cultural contexts.

2. Name the sources of the major evolutionary stages of Satan's development and list them in chronological order.

3. Critique and evaluate explanatory appeals to the existence and activity of "The Devil."

 

Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

 

1. Compare and contrast various images and concepts about Satan from different historical periods and sources.

2. Identify the period and source for the depiction of "The Devil" in modern film, theatre, literature, and cartoons.

3. Describe Satan's evolution as a character and the cultural contexts that shaped it.

4. Analyze artistic and religious depictions of "The Devil" within historical, social, and cultural contexts.

5. Integrate ideas, patterns, and information from ancient literature, modern literature, painting, sculpture, film, drama, and comics.

6. Demonstrate the etymology of the various names of "The Devil."

7. Apply methods of analysis to depictions of Satan from the humanities, as well as social and behavioral sciences.

Topics and Scope

I.   Satan in the Hebrew Bible

II.  Ahriman in Zoroastrian texts

III. The Devil/Demons/Satan in the New Testament

    A. Gospels

    B. Pauline literature

    C. The Apocalypse

IV.  Post-Biblical Jewish and Christian depictions

V.   Early Christian iconography of Satan

VI.  Iblis in the Qur'an

VII. Medieval, Renaissance and Restoration literature, fiction and non-fiction such as:

    A. Dante's Inferno

    B. Milton's Paradise lost

    C. Goethe's Faust

    D. Kramer & Sprenger's Malleus Maleficarum

     E. Cotton Mather's Wonders of the Invisible World

VIII. Selections from modern literature, film and television, theatre, and comic strips, such as:

    A. C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters

    B. Anne Rice's Memnoch the Devil

    C. Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry

    D. Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ

    E. Archibald MacLeish's J.B.

    F. Stephen Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

    G. Anton Szandor's The Satanic Bible

    H. Lucifer

IX. Social movements and cultural concepts centering on Witchcraft, Satanic Conspiracies, and

     the pursuit of evil, and Satan as ruler of nature such as

    A. Blood Libels involving Jews and Christians

    B. Witch hunts such as in Salem, Mass, 1692

    C. The identification of Satan and demons with nature in Puritan thought and ecological critique

    D. Exorcism and Multiple Personality Disorder diagnosis and therapy

     E. The Satanic Panic of the 1980's and 1990's

    F. QAnon

Assignments:

Assignments:

1. Weekly reading assignments of between 20-50 pages

2. A research paper (1500 - 2000 words)

3. Short essays on selected passages or works of art (500 -1000 words), such as, personal reflection papers and critical interpretations

3. Quizzes (3 - 9)

4. Final Exam Cumulative

5. Additional assignments as determined by instructor may include: Museum visits, field trips, oral presentations, debates or interview reports

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.

Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.		Writing 30 - 60%
Research paper and essays
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.		Problem Solving 0 - 0%
None
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.		Skill Demonstrations 0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.		Exams 25 - 50%
Quizzes, final
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.		Other Category 10 - 20%
Participation, additional assignments (if assigned)

Representative Textbooks and Materials:

Textbooks:

Satanism: A Reader. Faxneld, Per and Johan Nilsson, eds. Oxford University Press, 2023

Satanism. Laycock, Joseph P. Cambridge University Press, 2024

Sourcery: The History of Satan with Fresh Readings of Primary Sources. Thompson, Eric M. Kendall Hunt, 2023

 

Secondary Scholarship:

The Enemy Within: A Short History of Witch-Hunting. Demos, John. Penguin, 2008 (classic)

The Invention of Satanism. Dryendal, Asbjøn, et al. Oxford University Press, 2016 (classic)

Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media. Ellis, Bill. University Press of Kentucky, 2000. (classic).

Evil Incarnate: Rumors of Demonic Conspiracy and Satanic Abuse in History. Frankfurter, David. Princeton University Press, 2008. (classic).

The Witch: A History of Fear from the Ancient Times to the Present. Hutton, Ronald. Yale University Press, 2017. (classic).

Satanic Panic: Pop-Cultural Paranoia in the 1980s. Janisse, Ker-La & Paul Corupe, eds. Spectacular Optical Publications, 2015. (classic).

Satan: A Biography. Kelly, Henry Ansgar. Cambridge University Press, 2006 (classic)

Speak of the Devil: How the Satanic Temple is Changing the Way We Talk about Religion. Laycock, Jospeh P. Oxford University Press, 2020. (classic).

A History of the Devil from the Middle Ages to the Present. Muchembled, Robert, Jean Burrell, trans. Polity Press, 2003. (classic).

The Origin of Satan. Pagels, Elaine. Random House, 1995. (classic).

Satan in America: The Devil We Know. Poole, W. Scott. Rowman & Littlefield, 2010. (classic).

The Satan: How God's Executioner Became the Enemy. Stokes, Ryan E. Eerdmans, 2019. (classic).

The Birth of Satan. Wray, T.J. & Gregory Mobley. Palgrave McMillan, 2005. (classic).

 

Documentaries:

How the Devil Got His Horns: A Diabolical Tale. Gallagher, Dominic, dir. Film Rise, 2012. (classic).

Hail Satan? Lane, Penny, dir. Magnolia Pictures, 2019. (classic).

 

Primary Sources:

Inferno. Alighieri, Dante. Mark Musa, trans. Penguin, 1984. (classic).

The Satanic Bible. Lavey, Anton Szander. William Morrow Paperbacks, 1969. (classic).

The Hammer of the Witches: A Complete Translation of the Malleus Maleficarum. Mackay, Christopher S. Cambridge University Press, 2009. (classic).

Dr. Faustus. Marlowe, Christopher. Thomas Croft, ed. Dover, 1994. (classic).

Paradise Lost. Milton, John. John Pullman, ed. Oxford University Press, 2005. (classic).

Michelle Remembers: The True Story of a Year-Long Contest Between Innocence and Evil. Smith, Michelle & Lawrence Prader. St. Martin's Press, 1980. (classic).

Print PDF