Memory and Identity in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity: A Conversation with Barry Schwartz (Semeia Studies Book 78)

Essential reading for scholars and students interested in sociology and biblical studies In this collection scholars of biblical texts and rabbinics engage the work of Barry Schwartz, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology at the University of Georgia. Schwartz provides an introductory essay on the study of collective memory. Articles that follow integrate his work into the study of early Jewish and Christian texts. The volume concludes with a response from Schwartz that continues this warm and fruitful dialogue between fields. The contributors are Jeffrey E. Brickle, Dennis C. Duling, Steven D. Fraade, Gabriella Gelardini, Chris Keith, Alan Kirk, Tim Langille, Carol A. Newsom, Rafael Rodriguez, Barry Schwartz, Frederick S. Tappenden, and Tom Thatcher. Features: Articles that integrate the study of collective memory and social psychology into religious studies Essays from Barry Schwartz Theories applied rather than left as abstract principles Tom Thatcher is Professor of Biblical Studies and Chief Academic Officer at Cincinnati Christian University. He is the author or editor of numerous books and articles on the Johannine literature and early Christian media culture, including Why John Wrote a Gospel (Westminster John Knox, 2006), Jesus, the Voice, and the Text (Baylor University Press, 2008), and the co-edited The Fourth Gospel in First-Century Media Culture (T&T Clark, 2011). Read more