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Duke University

Psalms and the Arts

The Psalms offer a path to express a range of human emotion and to encounter God in a new way. In times of great joy or deep grief, how might the Psalms help shape who we are – and who we are to one another? This course invites you to learn from experts in biblical interpretation and the arts to deepen your personal and communal engagement with the Psalms and the arts. In this course, you will meditate on psalms and artworks, engage with the Psalms theologically, explore artful interpretations of the Psalms, and examine the role of the Psalms in the life of the church. At the heart of the course and each session is a series of conversations with artists and scholars who give attention to the Psalms in their professional work and in their worship and prayer practice. This course is valuable for church leaders and members—individually or in community—who want to read and interpret scripture in conversation with the arts. You do not need to have a formal theological education to enroll in this course.

Status: Aesthetics
Status: Performing Arts
BeginnerCourse7 hours

Featured reviews

RR

5.0Reviewed Jan 1, 2026

An amazing juxtaposition of art, dance, music, and commentary to create a meditative space to reflect on the Psalms examined in the course. There shoud be more courses like this one.

JN

4.0Reviewed Jan 25, 2026

An easy-going course that helps you explore the emotions within the Psalms and understand how different artistic expressions can reflect our thoughts and prayers to God.

CS

5.0Reviewed Jan 8, 2026

This course helped me with self realization of how trivial my concerns are compared to others that have it worse than me.

SL

5.0Reviewed Dec 22, 2025

This course is very helpful for better appreciating the psalmists and understanding their thoughts and perspectives, including the world of suffering.

All reviews

Showing: 9 of 9

Duane Lookingbill
5.0
Reviewed Mar 23, 2026
Reginald Raymer
5.0
Reviewed Jan 2, 2026
D. W.
5.0
Reviewed Apr 20, 2026
Saw Leir Larr
5.0
Reviewed Dec 22, 2025
Carl Stalla
5.0
Reviewed Jan 9, 2026
Salvatore Loria
5.0
Reviewed Mar 18, 2026
anna sabucco
5.0
Reviewed Feb 10, 2026
Jefferson A. Nascimento
4.0
Reviewed Jan 26, 2026
Jarenda Blonique Rahming
3.0
Reviewed Jan 20, 2026