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Babel: Political Rhetoric of a Confused Legacy

Elizabeth Williams — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 18:46:32 +0000

Babel: Political Rhetoric of a Confused Legacy Elizabeth Williams Tue, 06/20/2023 - 12:46

�鶹ӰԺ the Book:

In Babel: Political Rhetoric of a Confused Legacy, Samuel L. Boyd offers a new reading of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9. Using recent insights on the rhetoric of Neo-Assyrian politics and its ideology of governance as well as advances in biblical studies, Boyd shows how the Tower of Babel was not originally about a tower, Babylon, or the advent of multilingualism, at least in the earliest phases of the history and literary context of the story. Rather, the narrative was a critique against the Assyrian empire using themes of human overreach found in many places in Genesis 1-11.

Boyd clarifies how idioms of Assyrian governance could have found their way into the biblical text, and how the Hebrew of Genesis 11:1-9 itself leads to a different translation of the passage than found in versions of the Bible, one that does not involve language. This new reading sheds light on how the story became about language. Boyd argues that this new understanding of Babel also illuminates aspects of the call of Abram when the Tower of Babel is interpreted as a story about something other than the origin of multilingualism. Finally, he frames the historical-critical research on the biblical passage and its reception in ancient Jewish, Christian, and Islamic sources with the uses of the Tower of Babel in modern politics of language and nationalism. He demonstrates how and why Genesis 11:1-9 has become so useful, in often detrimental ways, to the modern nation-state. Boyd explores this intellectual history of the passage into current events in the twenty-first century and offers perspectives on how a new reading of the Tower of Babel can speak to the current cultural and political moment and offer correctives on the uses and abuses of the Bible in the public sphere.

�鶹ӰԺ the Author:

Sam is a scholar of biblical texts and the ancient Near East. He researches the Bible through various critical methods and in light of wider historical contexts to understand both the production of these documents as well as their history of interpretation. His particular areas of research include the development of the Pentateuch (or first five books of the Hebrew Bible), legal hermeneutics in the ancient Near East, language ideology in the ancient world, and ritual theory applied to biblical texts. He also has interests in archaeology, Semitic philology and linguistics, and Late Antiquity (Rabbinic biblical interpretation, Ethiopic Christianity, and the advent of Islam).

Podcast with Dr.Boyd discussing his new book

Praise for Babel: Political Rhetoric of a Confused Legacy

"Samuel Boyd's refreshing new study of the Tower of Babel, one of the literary jewels of the Bible, is astonishing in its scope and originality. It is a tour de force: a demonstration of how much interpretive novelty may still be achieved when all of a dynamic scholar's many areas of expertise are brought to bear on even the most familiar of texts." --Joel Baden, Yale Divinity School

"It's rare that a scholar can navigate so deftly from the ancient settings of a biblical text's composition through the many stages of its reception, including our contemporary moment. But that is exactly what Samuel Boyd does in this absorbing and readable account of the Tower of Babel story. Moving among language, religion, politics, art, popular culture, and more, Babel accomplishes precisely what it intends: to explain the enduring influence of a biblical story and what that influence reveals about its many interpreters. This is a book for anyone interested in the Bible and its continued relevance." --Jeffrey Stackert, University of Chicago Divinity School

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The School of Hillah and the Formation of Twelver Shi‘i Islamic Tradition

Elizabeth Williams — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 19:22:58 +0000

The School of Hillah and the Formation of Twelver Shi‘i Islamic Tradition Elizabeth Williams Thu, 06/15/2023 - 13:22

�鶹ӰԺ the Book:

Against the background of long-standing narratives in which Twelver Shi'ism is viewed as fundamentally authoritarian, The School of Hillah and the Formation of Twelver Shi'i Islamic Tradition builds upon recent scholarship in the fields of Religious Studies, Anthropology, and History to argue that Twelver Shi'ism is better understood as a discursive tradition. At a conceptual level, this solves the basic problem of how to integrate the extraordinary diversity of Twelver Shi'ism across time and space into a single historical category without engaging in a normative assessment of its underlying essence. Furthermore, in light of this conception of tradition, the School of Hillah stands out as a seminal period in the archive of Twelver Shi'ism, though it has seldom been recognized as such in European-language scholarship. Insofar as it gave birth to a conversation that would prove capable of encompassing the dynamism of Twelver Shi'ism, the School of Hillah should be considered the formative period of Twelver Shi'i tradition. Moreover, when the tradition is conceptualized in this manner, it is a bulwark against the very authoritarianism by which Twelver Shi'ism has been characterized for so long.

�鶹ӰԺ the Author:

Aun Hasan Ali is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the �鶹ӰԺ. He received his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from McGill University. His research revolves around Shi'i intellectual history, especially law and legal theory.

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The Matter of Wonder: Abhinavagupta’s Panentheism and New Materialism

Elizabeth Williams — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 19:35:52 +0000

The Matter of Wonder: Abhinavagupta’s Panentheism and New Materialism Elizabeth Williams Mon, 02/06/2023 - 12:35

�鶹ӰԺ the Book:

In the early 11th century, the Kashmiri philosopher Abhinavagupta proposed panentheism-seeing the divine as both immanent in the world and at the same time as transcendent--as a way to reclaim the material world as something real, something solid. His theology understood the world itself, with its manifold inhabitants--from gods to humans to insects down to the merest rock-as part of the unfolding of a single conscious reality, Siva. This conscious singularity-the word "god" here does not quite do it justice--with its capacity to choose and will, pervades all through, top to bottom; as Abhinavagupta writes, "even down to a worm -- when they do their own deeds, that which is to be done first stirs in the heart." His panentheism proposed an answer to a familiar conundrum, one we still grapple with today: Consciousness is so unlike matter. How does consciousness actually connect to the materiality of our world? To put this in more familar twenty-first-century terms, how does mind connect to body?

These questions drive Loriliai Biernacki's The Matter of Wonder: Abhinavagupta's Panentheism and New Materialism. Biernacki draws on Abhinavagupta's thought--and particularly his yet-untranslated, philosophical magnum opus, the Isvara Pratyabhijña Vivrti Vimarsini--to think through contemporary issues such as the looming prospect of machine AI, ideas about information, and our ecological crises. She argues that Abhinavagupta's panentheism can help us understand our current world and can contribute to a New Materialist re-envisioning of the relationship that humans have with matter.

�鶹ӰԺ the Author:

Loriliai Biernacki is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado at �鶹ӰԺ. Her research interests include Hinduism, gender, New Materialism, and the interface between religion and science. Her first book, Renowned Goddess of Desire: Women, Sex and Speech in Tantra (2007) won the Kayden Award in 2008. She is co-editor of God's Body: Panentheism across the World's Religious Traditions (2013).

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Listen to Prof. Brian Catlos talk about his new book

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 19:01:58 +0000

Listen to Prof. Brian Catlos talk about his new book Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/02/2022 - 13:01

Professor Catlos was interviewed on the New Books Network, regarding his new text book and source anthology, The Sea in the Middle: The Mediterranean World, 650-1650 and Texts from the Middle: Documents from the Mediterranean World, 650-1650 on the New Books Network. Listen here: https://newbooksnetwork.com/the-sea-in-the-middle

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Voices from Larung Gar: Shaping Buddhism for the Twenty-First Century

Elizabeth Williams — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 19:39:19 +0000

Voices from Larung Gar: Shaping Buddhism for the Twenty-First Century Elizabeth Williams Tue, 04/06/2021 - 13:39

�鶹ӰԺ the Book:

Voices from Larung Gar is the first collection of talks and writings by the leading voices of Larung Gar, the largest Buddhist institution on the Tibetan plateau. The book offers a compelling vision for Buddhism in the twenty-first century by some of the most erudite, creative, and influential Tibetan Buddhist luminaries today. In everyday language, these leaders delve into an array of contemporary issues, including science, ethics, gender equity, and animal welfare.

This collection features contributions from a range of prominent figures who are forging dynamic, modern paths forward for an ancient tradition. Included are the internationally renowned Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, founder of Larung Gar, his distinguished successors Khenpos Sodargye and Tsultrim Lodro, and erudite nuns holding the scholarly title Khenmo, who are becoming known for their impressive publishing projects. Larung Gar is thus one of Tibetan Buddhism’s most vital communities, actively balancing cultural preservation and innovation.

�鶹ӰԺ the Editor:

Holly Gayley, Associate Professor of Buddhist Studies, is a scholar and translator of contemporary Buddhist literature in Tibet. She is author of Love Letters from Golok: A Tantric Couple in Modern Tibet, co-editor of A Gathering of Brilliant Moons: Practice Advice from the Rime Masters of Tibet, and translator of Inseparable Across Lifetimes: The Lives and Love Letters of Namtrul Rinpoche and Khandro Tāre Lhamo.

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Kingdoms of Faith A New History of Islamic Spain

Elizabeth Williams — Mon, 14 May 2018 16:43:54 +0000

Kingdoms of Faith A New History of Islamic Spain Elizabeth Williams Mon, 05/14/2018 - 10:43

�鶹ӰԺ the Book:

A magisterial, myth-dispelling history of Islamic Spain spanning the millennium between the founding of Islam in the seventh century and the final expulsion of Spain’s Muslims in the seventeenth

In Kingdoms of Faith, award-winning historian Brian A. Catlos rewrites the history of Islamic Spain from the ground up, evoking the cultural splendor of al-Andalus, while offering an authoritative new interpretation of the forces that shaped it.

Prior accounts have portrayed Islamic Spain as a paradise of enlightened tolerance or the site where civilizations clashed. Catlos taps a wide array of primary sources to paint a more complex portrait, showing how Muslims, Christians, and Jews together built a sophisticated civilization that transformed the Western world, even as they waged relentless war against each other and their coreligionists. Religion was often the language of conflict, but seldom its cause — a lesson we would do well to learn in our own time.

�鶹ӰԺ the Author:

Brian A. Catlos is a professor of religious studies at the University of Colorado at �鶹ӰԺ. His books have won numerous awards, including the American Historical Association’s Premio del Rey Award and John E. Fagg Prize. Catlos lives in �鶹ӰԺ, Colorado, and Barcelona, Spain.

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Moses Mendelssohn's Living Script Philosophy, Practice, History, Judaism

Elizabeth Williams — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 17:33:08 +0000

Moses Mendelssohn's Living Script Philosophy, Practice, History, Judaism Elizabeth Williams Thu, 01/14/2016 - 10:33

�鶹ӰԺ the Book:

Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786) is often described as the founder of modern Jewish thought and as a leading philosopher of the late Enlightenment. One of Mendelssohn's main concerns was how to conceive of the relationship between Judaism, philosophy, and the civic life of a modern state. Elias Sacks explores Mendelssohn's landmark account of Jewish practice—Judaism's "living script," to use his famous phrase—to present a broader reading of Mendelssohn's writings and extend inquiry into conversations about modernity and religion. By studying Mendelssohn's thought in these dimensions, Sacks suggests that he shows a deep concern with history. Sacks affords a view of a foundational moment in Jewish modernity and forwards new ways of thinking about ritual practice, the development of traditions, and the role of religion in society.

�鶹ӰԺ the Author:

Elias Sacks is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Jewish Studies at the �鶹ӰԺ.

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William James, Pragmatism, and American Culture

Elizabeth Williams — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 22:11:28 +0000

William James, Pragmatism, and American Culture Elizabeth Williams Wed, 01/13/2016 - 15:11

�鶹ӰԺ the Book:

William James, Pragmatism, and American Culture focuses on the work of William James and the relationship between the development of pragmatism and its historical, cultural, and political roots in 19th-century America. Deborah Whitehead reads pragmatism through the intersecting themes of narrative, gender, nation, politics, and religion. As she considers how pragmatism helps to explain the United States to itself, Whitehead articulates a contemporary pragmatism and shows how it has become a powerful and influential discourse in American intellectual and popular culture.

�鶹ӰԺ the Author:

Deborah Whitehead's research engages two primary areas: 1) the philosophical tradition of American pragmatism, its history and contemporary implications, particularly the work of William James and the late twentieth century revival of pragmatism; 2) religion and media studies, with a current project underway on contemporary U.S. evangelicals’ adoption of various new media forms. Within the field of religious studies, she focuses on religion and American culture, using textual analysis to explore ways that religious and cultural discourses intersect and the kinds of public claims that these discourses make, in contexts ranging from philosophical texts, historical documents, legal texts, and popular culture, to media and new technologies. She specializes in the history of Protestant thought in the U.S. from the post-Civil War era to the present.

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