Book Description, Contents, and Reviews

Philip A. Harland, Dynamics of Identity in the World of the Early Christians: Associations, Judeans, and Cultural Minorities (London / New York: T & T Clark / Continuum, 2009).

Description

Drawing on insights from the social sciences, including social identity theory and migration theory, this study suggests that we can better understand certain dynamics of identity among groups of Judeans (Jews) and Christians by looking at archeological evidence (especially inscriptions) for other contemporary associations, immigrants, and cultural minorities. Ancient Judean and Christian answers to the question 'Who are we?' come into sharper focus through close attention to the cultural environments and real-life settings of associations in the cities of the Roman empire. Despite the peculiarities of both Judean gatherings and Christian congregations, there were significant overlaps in how associations of various kinds communicated their identities and in how members of such groups expressed notions of belonging internally. The work is particularly well suited as a course text or book for review in courses that aim to understand early Christian groups and literature, including the New Testament, in relation to their Greek, Roman, and Judean cultural contexts.

Paperback, list $30: ISBN 9780567111463
Hardback, list $100: ISBN 9780567613288

Table of contents (and clickable sample chapters)

Introduction

Part 1: Judean and Christian Identities in the Context of Associations

1. Associations and Group Identity Among Judeans and Christians
2. Local Cultural Life and Christian Identity: "Christ-Bearers" and "Fellow-Initiates"

Part 2: Familial Dimensions of Group Identity

3. "Brothers" in Associations and Congregations
4. "Mothers" and "Fathers" in Associations and Synagogues

Part 3: Identity and Acculturation among Judeans and Other Ethnic Associations

5. Other Diasporas: Immigrants, Ethnic Identities, and Acculturation
6. Interaction and Integration: Judean Families and Guilds at Hierapolis

Part 4: Group Interactions and Rivalries

7. Group Rivalries and Multiple Identities: Associations at Sardis and Smyrna
8. Perceptions of Cultural Minorities: Anti-Associations and their Banquets

Advance evaluations of the book

"In this richly documented and important book, Philip Harland explores some of the many ways in which Christians and Judeans, along with other associations in antiquity, expressed and maintained their group-identity. Engaging with a wide range of archaeological and especially inscriptional evidence, and drawing judiciously on contemporary social science, Harland shows how much the language, strategies, and practices of Judean and Christian groups are common to other immigrant associations and cultural minority groups. His study constitutes an impressive argument for studying early Christian and Jewish groups alongside these other groups and associations and challenges a number of assumptions about aspects of Christian or Jewish uniqueness."

David G. Horrell, Professor of New Testament Studies, University of Exeter, UK

"With an approach informed by social sciences, Harland offers new
insights into Jews and early Christians in the Roman East.  Through his
understanding of how unofficial associations worked among people who
shared a trade, god or ethnicity, he shows that Judean or Christian
identity was not always as exclusive or exceptional as has been
supposed."

David Noy, Department of Classics, University of Wales, Lampeter, UK

"This is a finely crafted volume which both engages recent social scientific literature on identity theory and employs little-known but critical studies of small group formations in the ancient Mediterranean. . . Harland’s critical analysis of models of sectarianism and his appeal to data from ancient associations leads to a nuanced view of early Christian group formation, which does not automatically presume tension between small groups and society as the dominant dynamic, but instead demonstrates a complex and subtle combination of assimilation, mimesis, and differentiation. This study takes us well beyond the contemporary consensus on the formation of early Christian groups."

John S. Kloppenborg, Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto, Canada

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