Archaeology and the Letters of Paul

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Salah Nasrallah
Keyword(s):  
Judith Butler ◽  
First Century ◽  
Giorgio Agamben ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
The Social ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
Feminist Historiography ◽  
The Many ◽  
Political Economic

Through case studies of archaeological materials from local contexts, Archaeology and the Letters of Paul illuminates the social, political, economic, and religious lives of those whom the apostle Paul addressed. Roman Ephesos, a likely setting for the household of Philemon, provides evidence of the slave trade. An inscription from Galatia seeks to restrain traveling Roman officials, illuminating how the travels of Paul, Cephas, and others may have disrupted communities. At Philippi, a donation list from a Silvanus cult provides evidence of abundant giving amid economic limitations, paralleling practices of local Christ followers. In Corinth, a landscape of grief includes monuments and bones, a context that illumines Corinthian practices of baptism on behalf of the dead and the provocative idea that one could live “as if not” mourning. Rome and the Letter to the Romans are the grounds to investigate ideas of time and race not only in the first century, when we find an Egyptian obelisk inserted as a timepiece into Augustus’s mausoleum complex, but also of Mussolini’s new Rome. Thessalonikē demonstrates how letters, legend, and cult are invented out of a love for Paul, after his death. The book articulates a method for bringing together biblical texts with archaeological remains in order to reconstruct the lives of the many adelphoi—brothers and sisters—whom Paul and his co-writers address. It is informed by feminist historiography and gains inspiration from thinkers like Claudia Rankine, Judith Butler, Giorgio Agamben, Wendy Brown, and Katie Lofton.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Laura Salah Nasrallah
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
The Social ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
Religious Lives ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Brothers And Sisters

The letters of the apostle Paul contain the earliest evidence we have of followers of Christ. Archaeology and the Letters of Paul is about these letters, and, even more, about the social, political, economic, and religious lives of those to whom and with whom Paul wrote. This book uses archaeological materials to consider specific, local contexts among the cities of the Roman Empire. It engages in the imaginative work of history, amassing details from archaeology to build cases of the rich, complicated, embroiled lives of those adelphoi, the brothers and sisters whom Paul addressed in his letters.

scholarly journals The Turn to Precarity in Twenty-First Century Fiction

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-29
Author(s):  
Jago Morrison
Keyword(s):  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Judith Butler ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Shift ◽  
The Social ◽  
Biographical Study ◽  
Way Finding ◽  
Twenty First Century

Abstract Recent years have seen several attempts by writers and critics to understand the changed sensibility in post-9/11 fiction through a variety of new -isms. This essay explores this cultural shift in a different way, finding a ‘turn to precarity’ in twenty-first century fiction characterised by a renewal of interest in the flow and foreclosure of affect, the resurgence of questions about vulnerability and our relationships to the other, and a heightened awareness of the social dynamics of seeing. The essay draws these tendencies together via the work of Judith Butler in Frames of War, in an analysis of Trezza Azzopardi’s quasi-biographical study of precarious life, Remember Me.

scholarly journals A Context for Complexism: Between Neoliberal Social Thought and Algorithmic Art

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 341-352
Author(s):  
Ricky D. Crano
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Computer Algorithms ◽  
New Science ◽  
Interdisciplinary Field ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Algorithmic Art ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Many ◽  
Complex Phenomena ◽  
Tools And Techniques

Abstract Among the many genres of visual art to emerge in the wake of computerisation, the subset of generative or algorithmic art known as complexism seems uniquely keyed to the social and technological mainsprings of everyday life in the twenty-first century. Complexism typically deploys computer algorithms to demonstrate how complex phenomena can emerge through the reiterative enactment of simple rulesets. The light and sound installations and the videos that complexist artists produce, alongside the discourses surrounding the works, stand out as singularly contemporary, not necessarily for their exploitation of now-ubiquitous telematic tools and techniques, but for their deep commitment to the trailblazing problems, methods, and hypotheses set out by the new science of complexity. Practitioners of and commentators on complexism (the work and writings of Philip Galanter feature most prominently here) persistently invoke this booming interdisciplinary field of complexity research. Against this trend, I argue that for all the leverage the tools and terms of complexity science supply to complexist art, the concept of complexity itself remains surprisingly vague and shorn of any historical sensibility. One preliminary aim of this essay is to bring more theoretical rigour to the artists’ use of this concept by beginning to fill in the missing backstory. From there, I move to complicate this genealogy by introducing a somewhat controversial figure-the social theorist, political economist, and legal philosopher Friedrich Hayek, who had posited similar problems concerning the emergence and maintenance of complex, self-organized systems as early as the 1930s, and whose theoretical solutions to these problems were instrumental to what historians and sociologists have subsequently described as capitalism’s late “neoliberal turn.”

scholarly journals VICTORIAN LITERATURE AND THE VARIETY OF RELIGIOUS FORMS

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 517-529
Author(s):  
Mark Knight
Keyword(s):  
Jacques Derrida ◽  
Victorian Literature ◽  
Charles Taylor ◽  
Judith Butler ◽  
Center Of Gravity ◽  
First Century ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Giorgio Agamben ◽  
Religious Thought ◽  
Stanley Fish

Literary studies is not theonly discipline to show a new enthusiasm for religion in the opening decades of the twenty-first century. When Stanley Fish suggested back in 2005 that religion might become the new theoretical center of gravity in the humanities, his declaration was cited frequently and may have proved a little too convenient for those, like myself, who wanted to see a major theoretical realignment in the humanities’ attitude to religion. But, the reality is that Fish is just one of a number of other prominent theorists in the last twenty years or so to have shown a new appreciation for the theoretical resources that religious thought makes available. Although the term religion is understood very differently across thinkers such as Giorgio Agamben, Judith Butler, Jacques Derrida, Bruno Latour, Sabo Mahmood, Charles Taylor, and Slavoj Žižek, they share a refusal to accept crude notions of the secularization thesis, with its commitment to seeing religion as an irrelevance in the modern world, and are instead determined to see religion as more than just an antiquated ideology that needs to be unmasked.

Cosmopolitanism

2010 ◽  
pp. 90-107
Author(s):  
Robert A. Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Social Institutions ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Human Ability ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Reality ◽  
Relevant Group ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Political Economic

Cosmopolitanism is the view that the relevant ethical community is all of humanity. In this chapter, I will examine three somewhat different cosmopolitan theories: The pluralist theory of Thomas Pogge (2002), the social contract theory of Charles Beitz (1979 and 1999), and the utilitarian theory of Peter Singer (2004). All theories hold that humanity as a whole is the relevant ethical community for global ethics. All theories also hold that ethical principles are essentially principles for individuals. Taking the individual as ethically primary may be what makes cosmopolitanism plausible. Human reality for these theorists is just individual human beings endowed with moral principles. But it is not an accidental fact that human beings live in society. Like ants, termites, lions and chimpanzees, they have evolved so that living in groups is not optional for them. The many benefits produced by social institutions, whether formal or informal, depend on our human ability to forgo self-interest in the interest of the relevant group. The group principles—ethical, political, economic—allowing us to do this are not optional either, especially those having to do with nations. So to begin with it seems that cosmopolitan theories may have too limited a view of human reality. However, I will give these theories a chance. The main questions I will ask of each theory are: The rationale for basing ethics on individuals as members of the group all of humanity; and the plausibility of each theory as a basis for transnational ethics.

scholarly journals Die tempel-metafoor in Efesiërs 2:11–22 as deel van identiteitsvorming van die gelowige in-groep

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aletta Vrey
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
First Century ◽  
Christian Identity ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Temple

The temple metaphor in Ephesians 2:11–22 as part of identity formation of the believing in-group. One of the basic human needs is to belong, feel accepted and be part of a group. During the first century people from different backgrounds believed in Jesus, consequently unity among believers became a challenge. The inclusive heart of God, the atonement of Christ and the Holy Spirit unites believers from different backgrounds and groups. This article examines spiritual unity as part of the believers’ identity as portrayed by the temple metaphor in Ephesians 2:11–22. Christians should acknowledge their differences, as the author of Ephesians clearly does, without causing division in the group. Identity formation is linked to group membership, therefore the identity of the early Christian group is examined, to determine the influence it still has on the present-day unity among believers. We divide our society into groups and tend to discriminate against those that are different from us. These phenomena were part of the social interaction of Christians in the first century. To better understand the social functioning of the ancient Mediterranean world, this article uses Social Identity Theory to identify and compare the groups in Ephesians. The Jews and Gentiles were the out-groups. In the context of the letter, Gentiles were Artemis-worshippers. The Christians formed the in-group. The identity of the out-groups, to which Christians previously belonged, should be considered to determine the identity of the in-group. The metaphor of the spiritual temple identifies believers as becoming part of the temple at the time of their conversion. Unlike the Jewish temple and the temple of Artemis, which were physical buildings with exclusive membership, the temple of the Holy Spirit is an inclusive unity of believers. The Jewish temple was part of the identity of the Jews, the Artemis temple gave identity to the city of Ephesus and the spiritual temple identifies the unity of the Christian in-group. The Christian-identity, whether in the first century or in contemporary society, is unifying and inclusive regardless of our differences. According to the author of Ephesians Christ-founded and Spirit-driven identity should determine Christian thinking and actions.Contribution: The temple of Artemis and the Jewish temple were places of religious, political, economic and social status and power. The temple of Ephesians 2, however, becomes a spiritual force to which every believer has access apart from political, economic, social, ethnic and gender status. Christian identity and unity are rooted in the redemptive work of Christ.

Conflitto e violenza in ambito individuale e gruppale

GRUPPI ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 81-94
Author(s):  
Renato de Polo
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Experimental Work ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
The Many ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Two Populations

- Starting from an analysis of the psychoanalytic acceptation of the word "conflict", the author focuses on one of the major social-political conflicts that are currently taking place in our world. First of all, the analysis aims to evaluate what place psychoanalytic competence can take in the social sphere, differentiating this approach from other traditional points of view: i.e. political, economic, cultural, and so on. In order to give an example of the use of this specific competence, Robi Friedman was invited as a speaker. This colleague carried out experimental work with a group comprised of Israelis and Palestinians, on the theme of the mutual traumas experienced in the many conflicts that have broken out between the two populations. With Robi Friedman, the dialogue unfolding in the text allows us to identify not only the possibilities that present themselves when psychological-psychoanalytic competence is involved, but also the limits that have to be taken into consideration by those who mean to use this competence. Throughout the analysis, some significant hypotheses are put forward as to the reasons that make a conflict unsolvable. In addition, the film Munich, by Spielberg, will provide us with further effective documentation on this topic.Key words: conflict, Israelis, Palestinians, Fornari, Friedman, primary paranoia.Parole chiave: conflitto, israeliani, palestinesi, Fornari, Friedman, paranoia primaria

Border crossing: Grayson Perry’s queerly utopian English journey

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 129-148
Author(s):  
Graham H. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Judith Butler ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
First Century ◽  
Violent Death ◽  
Artistic Identity ◽  
Fictional Character ◽  
The Social ◽  
Contemporary Artist ◽  
Rake's Progress ◽  
The Relationship

In 2012, British contemporary artist Grayson Perry undertook a journey from Sunderland in northern England to the Cotswolds in the south. His stated aim was to explore the relationship between class and taste in twenty-first-century Britain. This journey was screened on the United Kingdom’s Channel 4 as a three-part documentary entitled All in the Best Possible Taste. Throughout his journey, Perry uses his observations and interactions with those he meets to produce a series of six large tapestries, The Vanity of Small Differences (2012). These tapestries, inspired by Hogarth’s series of paintings entitled A Rake’s Progress (1733), trace the meteoric rise, and tragic fall, of a fictional character Tim Rakewell, whose ascension through the social ranks ends in a rather violent death (this narrative echoes that of Hogarth’s equally fictional Tom Rakewell). In my article, I analyse Perry’s documentary, and in particular the artwork, which he produces as a part of that documentary, using concepts borrowed from Pierre Bourdieu, Judith Butler, Michel Maffesoli and Louis Marin, among others. I argue that Perry’s purported exploration of the relationship between British (or rather English) class and taste is in fact primarily concerned with two other things: first, Perry’s own status as a contemporary artist – a desire to portray himself as a ‘latter-day Hogarth’, if you will; and second, contemporary art’s capacity to be both relevant to society and popular among members of that society. Ultimately then, via his performative exploration of subjectivity in this documentary and indeed elsewhere in his work, Perry ‘queers’ not just masculinity, but also, and perhaps more importantly, received notions of national, social and artistic identity.

Provisioning Firearms in Latin America: Historical Development and Societal Consequences

2021 ◽  
pp. 027614672110659
Author(s):  
Terrence H. Witkowski
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
First Century ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Many ◽  
Independence Movements

For hundreds of years, the systems provisioning firearms to Latin America states, insurgents, markets, and criminals have had important societal consequences. The constant supply of guns has accelerated widespread violence at an individual level that in the aggregate has facilitated colonial rule, brutal institutions of slavery, numerous insurrections and border wars and, in more recent times, drug trafficking and the social disruption of communities. Firearms also have enabled national independence movements, hunting for necessary sustenance, physical protection from animal and human predators, and the enjoyment of shooting sports past and present. This article provides an account of Latin American firearms provisioning from the time of European arrival and conquest into the twenty-first century and considers some of the many ensuing societal effects. Historical research, a key component of the macromarketing domain, provides a broader understanding of firearms and gun cultures in the region.

PENSAMENTO POLÍTICO EM GIORGIO AGAMBEN

Professare ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Claudemir Aparecido Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Political Freedom ◽  
State Of Exception ◽  
The Political ◽  
State Control ◽  
Giorgio Agamben ◽  
Modern Democracy ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
The Social

<p class="resumoabstract">O professor Giorgio Agamben tem elaborado críticas à engenhosa estrutura política ocidental moderna. Avalia os mecanismos de controle estatal, nos quais os denomina ‘dispositivos’, cuja força está na imbricação às normas jurídico-teológicas com seus similares ritos e liturgias. Suas ocorrências e legitimidade preponderam no tecido social cuja organização sistêmica se põe quase como elemento natural e não cultural. O texto tem por objetivo explorar a concepção política de Agamben sobre a política contemporânea, especialmente considerando seu livro: ‘Estado de Exceção’, cuja investigação apresenta a possibilidade de atenuação dos direitos de cidadania e o enfraquecimento da prática da liberdade política e o processo de relação dos indivíduos no meio social através da redução das subjetividades ‘autênticas’. Analisamos ainda a transferência do mundo sacro elaborado pelos teólogos católicos presente na modernidade à política cuja democracia moderna faz do homem (sujeito) tornar-se objeto do poder político. Faz também, reflexão dos conceitos de subjetivação e dessubjetivação relacionando-os às implicações políticas do homem moderno. A pesquisa é bibliográfica com ênfase na análise dos conceitos elaborados por Agamben, especialmente quanto ao ‘dispositivo’. Conclui que o indivíduo ocidental, de modo geral, sofre o processo de dessubjetivação e está ‘nu’, indefeso e alienado politicamente. Ele precisa voltar-se ao processo de ‘profanação’ dos dispositivos para libertar-se das vinculações orientadoras que forçosamente o descaracteriza enquanto ser ativo e livre.</p><p class="resumoabstract"><strong>Palavras-chave</strong>: Política. Liberdade. Subjetivação.</p><h3>ABSTRACT</h3><p class="resumoabstract">Professor Giorgio Agamben has been criticizing the ingenious modern Western political structure. It evaluates the mechanisms of state control, in which it calls them 'devices', whose strength lies in the overlap with legal-theological norms with their similar rites and liturgies. Its occurrences and legitimacy preponderate in the social fabric whose systemic organization is almost as a natural and not a cultural element. The text aims to explore Agamben's political conception of contemporary politics, especially considering his book 'State of Exception', whose research presents the possibility of attenuating citizenship rights and weakening the practice of political freedom and the individuals in the social environment through the reduction of 'authentic' subjectivities. We also analyze the transfer of the sacred world elaborated by the Catholic theologians present in the modernity to the politics whose modern democracy makes of the man - subject - to become object of the political power. It also reflects on the concepts of subjectivation and desubjectivation, relating them to the political implications of modern man. The research is bibliographical with emphasis in the analysis of the concepts elaborated by Agamben, especially with regard to the 'device'. He concludes that the Western individual, in general, suffers the process of desubjectivation and is 'naked', defenseless and politically alienated. He must turn to the process of 'desecration' of devices to free himself from the guiding bindings that forcibly demeanes him while being active and free.</p><p class="resumoabstract"><strong>Keywords</strong>: Politics. Freedom. Subjectivity. </p><p> </p>

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