David Nirenberg | University of Chicago (original) (raw)
Articles by David Nirenberg
This is an essay about the yearning of historians to find in the past exemplary lessons that migh... more This is an essay about the yearning of historians to find in the past exemplary lessons that might guide their own societies toward visions of the good. The essay will itself proceed by example: that of historical writing about a medieval Iberian society in which the coexistence of Muslims, Christians, and Jews produced two words, raza (race) and convivencia (living with, dwelling together), with their associated concepts. Historians of Iberia have generally treated these words and concepts as moral opposites. I will instead suggest that they are locked in intimate embrace. Let us start with the word convivencia, since the concepts the term encompasses feel less familiar for most historians. The Spanish word means literally "living with," but it has become a term of art among students of the Iberian Peninsula, designating specifically the living together of Muslims, Christians, and Jews. The word has come to stand (not without controversy) for a distinctive attribute of medieval society and culture that gave enduring shape to the possibilities of life and thought in the Iberian world. That world, we should not forget, extended in some early modern centuries over a large part of the globe, including much of Europe, the Americas, and even parts of Asia and Africa. If convivencia simply meant living together, or living together in Iberian contexts, it would probably not be the object of much discussion. But often enough, the possibilities of coexistence understood within the concept of convivencia are specifically valued positively. To pick a nonprofessional but influential example, the English-language Wikipedia page for "La Convivencia" defines it thus: An academic term, proposed by the Spanish philologist Américo Castro, regarding the period of Spanish history from the Muslim Umayyad conquest of Hispania in the early eighth century until the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. It claims that in the different Moorish Iberian kingdoms, the Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in relative peace. According to this interpretation of history, this period of religious diversity differs from later Spanish and Portuguese history when-as a result of expulsions and forced conversions-Catholicism became the sole religion in the Iberian Peninsula.1
The very title of this volume reminds us that in Egypt (and not only there) religious identities ... more The very title of this volume reminds us that in Egypt (and not only there) religious identities were linked to and shaped by political formations and impe rial projects, not separate from them. Nor is this a link age confined to Roman and post-Roman times, as any one can attest who wandered among the treasures of the British Museum's 'Egypt: Faith after the Pharaohs' exhibition that inspired this volume, many of which precede by centuries any nesting of Roman eagles on the Nile, and which include precious papyri from periods of Persian and Hellenistic rule over pharaonic lands. This linkage suggests something we might find dis concerting had we not imbibed, nolens volens, so much Foucault in our youth: that the representations of any religion produced at any given point in time are not, or not only, the product of any essential attribute of that religion, but rather (or also) the product of political processes of power and resistance. Many his torians today are inclined to accept such a viewdespite its implication that, since historians only have access to representations produced in the past, and are moreover also subject to the politics of their own present, every history they write would be doubly structured by power. Epistemology is above my pay grade. But what I would like to do in this essay is push towards its more radical implications ,this linkage between empire and religious identity, power and representation. If we take this linkage with imperial power seriously, what are the consequences for what we thought we knew about 'religious identity' in Egypt? (I put the term in scarequotes because it is not one I would choose, in part for the reason just mentioned, in part for others best left to a different essay.) In pursuit of that question I will focus on one case, and summarize how Judaism, across its very long
Based on a national survey of U.S. adults conducted six weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, this ar... more Based on a national survey of U.S. adults conducted six weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, this article investigates how crisis affects religious faith. Almost no Americans reported losing or a weakening of faith in response to the pandemic at this time. By contrast, nearly one-third of believers indicated that the coronavirus outbreak had strengthened their faith. We theoretically develop and empirically test three religious factors-theodicy, practices, and tradition-to explain variation in the strengthening effect of the COVID-19 pandemic among believers. Results from statistical models show that two theodicic interpretations-believing that God: is using the pandemic as a way to tell humanity to change; and will personally protect you from the virus-significantly increased believers' reports of faith strengthening, controlling for other factors. We also found that Black Protestants were more likely to report these interpretations, which in turn strengthened their faith in response to the pandemic.
This essay proposes a new approach to the history of race and religion: that of simultaneously co... more This essay proposes a new approach to the history of race and religion: that of simultaneously constructive and destructive comparison. It offers historical sketches of two biocultural processes, one in medieval Christianity (Iberia/Spain) and one in medieval Islam (Maghreb/North Africa), each of which can fruitfully be understood as ‘racializing’. Of each it asks similar questions. First, how did episodes of mass conversion or spiritual migration affect thinking about the heritability of certain characteristics within these religions? In
other words, did such episodes effect something that today we might call the racialization of religion? Second, how do these episodes relate to each other? Can we speak of their histories in terms of origins, or of a causal or genealogical relationship to each other? Can we say that any of the three religions involved in these episodes – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – ‘invented race’ or practiced race-making?
') describes the interruption of his bath in Wadi Rumm (southern Jordan): a grey-bearded, ragged ... more ') describes the interruption of his bath in Wadi Rumm (southern Jordan): a grey-bearded, ragged man with a hewn face of great power and weariness, came slowly along the path till opposite the spring: and there he let himself down with a sigh upon my clothes spread out over a rock beside the path .... He heard me and leaned forward, peering with rheumy eyes .... After a long stare, he seemed content, and closed his eyes groaning, 'The love is from God; and of God; and towards God.' His low-spoken words were caught by some trick distinctly in my water pool. They stopped me suddenly. I had believed Semites unable to use love as a link between themselves and God.
This is an essay about the yearning of historians to find in the past exemplary lessons that migh... more This is an essay about the yearning of historians to find in the past exemplary lessons that might guide their own societies toward visions of the good. The essay will itself proceed by example: that of historical writing about a medieval Iberian society in which the coexistence of Muslims, Christians, and Jews produced two words, raza (race) and convivencia (living with, dwelling together), with their associated concepts. Historians of Iberia have generally treated these words and concepts as moral opposites. I will instead suggest that they are locked in intimate embrace. Let us start with the word convivencia, since the concepts the term encompasses feel less familiar for most historians. The Spanish word means literally "living with," but it has become a term of art among students of the Iberian Peninsula, designating specifically the living together of Muslims, Christians, and Jews. The word has come to stand (not without controversy) for a distinctive attribute of medieval society and culture that gave enduring shape to the possibilities of life and thought in the Iberian world. That world, we should not forget, extended in some early modern centuries over a large part of the globe, including much of Europe, the Americas, and even parts of Asia and Africa. If convivencia simply meant living together, or living together in Iberian contexts, it would probably not be the object of much discussion. But often enough, the possibilities of coexistence understood within the concept of convivencia are specifically valued positively. To pick a nonprofessional but influential example, the English-language Wikipedia page for "La Convivencia" defines it thus: An academic term, proposed by the Spanish philologist Américo Castro, regarding the period of Spanish history from the Muslim Umayyad conquest of Hispania in the early eighth century until the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. It claims that in the different Moorish Iberian kingdoms, the Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in relative peace. According to this interpretation of history, this period of religious diversity differs from later Spanish and Portuguese history when-as a result of expulsions and forced conversions-Catholicism became the sole religion in the Iberian Peninsula.1
The very title of this volume reminds us that in Egypt (and not only there) religious identities ... more The very title of this volume reminds us that in Egypt (and not only there) religious identities were linked to and shaped by political formations and impe rial projects, not separate from them. Nor is this a link age confined to Roman and post-Roman times, as any one can attest who wandered among the treasures of the British Museum's 'Egypt: Faith after the Pharaohs' exhibition that inspired this volume, many of which precede by centuries any nesting of Roman eagles on the Nile, and which include precious papyri from periods of Persian and Hellenistic rule over pharaonic lands. This linkage suggests something we might find dis concerting had we not imbibed, nolens volens, so much Foucault in our youth: that the representations of any religion produced at any given point in time are not, or not only, the product of any essential attribute of that religion, but rather (or also) the product of political processes of power and resistance. Many his torians today are inclined to accept such a viewdespite its implication that, since historians only have access to representations produced in the past, and are moreover also subject to the politics of their own present, every history they write would be doubly structured by power. Epistemology is above my pay grade. But what I would like to do in this essay is push towards its more radical implications ,this linkage between empire and religious identity, power and representation. If we take this linkage with imperial power seriously, what are the consequences for what we thought we knew about 'religious identity' in Egypt? (I put the term in scarequotes because it is not one I would choose, in part for the reason just mentioned, in part for others best left to a different essay.) In pursuit of that question I will focus on one case, and summarize how Judaism, across its very long
Based on a national survey of U.S. adults conducted six weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, this ar... more Based on a national survey of U.S. adults conducted six weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, this article investigates how crisis affects religious faith. Almost no Americans reported losing or a weakening of faith in response to the pandemic at this time. By contrast, nearly one-third of believers indicated that the coronavirus outbreak had strengthened their faith. We theoretically develop and empirically test three religious factors-theodicy, practices, and tradition-to explain variation in the strengthening effect of the COVID-19 pandemic among believers. Results from statistical models show that two theodicic interpretations-believing that God: is using the pandemic as a way to tell humanity to change; and will personally protect you from the virus-significantly increased believers' reports of faith strengthening, controlling for other factors. We also found that Black Protestants were more likely to report these interpretations, which in turn strengthened their faith in response to the pandemic.
This essay proposes a new approach to the history of race and religion: that of simultaneously co... more This essay proposes a new approach to the history of race and religion: that of simultaneously constructive and destructive comparison. It offers historical sketches of two biocultural processes, one in medieval Christianity (Iberia/Spain) and one in medieval Islam (Maghreb/North Africa), each of which can fruitfully be understood as ‘racializing’. Of each it asks similar questions. First, how did episodes of mass conversion or spiritual migration affect thinking about the heritability of certain characteristics within these religions? In
other words, did such episodes effect something that today we might call the racialization of religion? Second, how do these episodes relate to each other? Can we speak of their histories in terms of origins, or of a causal or genealogical relationship to each other? Can we say that any of the three religions involved in these episodes – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – ‘invented race’ or practiced race-making?
') describes the interruption of his bath in Wadi Rumm (southern Jordan): a grey-bearded, ragged ... more ') describes the interruption of his bath in Wadi Rumm (southern Jordan): a grey-bearded, ragged man with a hewn face of great power and weariness, came slowly along the path till opposite the spring: and there he let himself down with a sigh upon my clothes spread out over a rock beside the path .... He heard me and leaned forward, peering with rheumy eyes .... After a long stare, he seemed content, and closed his eyes groaning, 'The love is from God; and of God; and towards God.' His low-spoken words were caught by some trick distinctly in my water pool. They stopped me suddenly. I had believed Semites unable to use love as a link between themselves and God.
Throughout most of Western European history Jews have been a numerically tiny or even entirely ab... more Throughout most of Western European history Jews have been a numerically tiny or even entirely absent minority, but across that history Europeans have worried a great deal about Judaism. Why should that be so? This short but powerfully argued book suggests that anxieties about their own transcendent ideals made Judaism an important tool for Christians, as an apocalyptic religion defined by prizing soul over flesh, the heavenly over the physical world, the spiritual over the literal, came to terms with the inescapable importance of body, language, and material things in this world. Nirenberg shows how, by turning the Jew into a personification of worldly over spiritual concerns, surface over inner meaning, Cultures inclined toward transcendence could understand even their most materialistic practices as spiritual. Focusing on art, poetry, and politics—three practices especially condemned as worldly in early Christian culture—he reveals how, over the past two thousand years, these art forms expanded the possibilities for their own existence by representing Judaism. Nirenberg draws on an astonishingly diverse collection of poets, painters, preachers, philosophers and politicians, in order to reconstruct the roles played by representations of Jewish “enemies” in the creation of Western art, culture, and politics, from the ancient world to the present day.
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are usually treated as autonomous religions, but in fact across ... more Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are usually treated as autonomous religions, but in fact across the long course of their histories the three religions have developed in interaction with one another. In Neighboring Faiths, David Nirenberg examines how Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived with and thought about each other during the Middle Ages and what the medieval past can tell us about how they do so today.
There have been countless scripture-based studies of the three “religions of the book,” but Nirenberg goes beyond those to pay close attention to how the three religious neighbors loved, tolerated, massacred, and expelled each other—all in the name of God—in periods and places both long ago and far away. Nirenberg argues that the three religions need to be studied in terms of how each affected the development of the others over time, their proximity of religious and philosophical thought as well as their overlapping geographies, and how the three “neighbors” define—and continue to define—themselves and their place in terms of one another. From dangerous attractions leading to interfaith marriage; to interreligious conflicts leading to segregation, violence, and sometimes extermination; to strategies for bridging the interfaith gap through language, vocabulary, and poetry, Nirenberg aims to understand the intertwined past of the three faiths as a way for their heirs to produce the future—together.
210 pp., 24.90€, ISBN 978-3-643-90259-7 softcover with aps L V | B -M -L -W -Z
by Cordelia Heß, Brian Klug, Yvonne Friedman, Rotem KOWNER, Grzegorz Krzywiec, Victor J. J. Seidler, Miri Rubin, Milan Žonca, Maya Soifer Irish, Giacomo Todeschini, Tuvia Singer, and David Nirenberg
This book presents a fresh approach to the question of the historical continuities and discontinu... more This book presents a fresh approach to the question of the historical continuities and discontinuities of Jew-hatred, juxtaposing chapters dealing with the same phenomenon – one in the pre-modern, one in the modern period. How do the circumstances of interreligious violence differ in pre-Reformation Europe, the modern Muslim world, and the modern Western world? In addition to the diachronic comparison, most chapters deal with the significance of religion for the formation of anti-Jewish stereotypes. The direct dialogue of small-scale studies bridging the chronological gap brings out important nuances: anti-Zionist texts appropriating medieval ritual murder accusations; modern-day pogroms triggered by contemporary events but fuelled by medieval prejudices; and contemporary stickers drawing upon long-inherited knowledge about what a "Jew" looks like. These interconnections, however, differ from the often-assumed straightforward continuities between medieval and modern anti-Jewish hatred. The book brings together many of the most distinguished scholars of this field, creating a unique dialogue between historical periods and academic disciplines.
I am very grateful to Maurice Samuels, architect of this intellectu counter, and to Hindy Najman,... more I am very grateful to Maurice Samuels, architect of this intellectu counter, and to Hindy Najman, Ivan Marcus, Francesca Trivellato, and Franks for the gift of engagement they offer. That engagement stag seems to me, some of the most basic and difficult questions imaginab a historian. How can we grasp another person's thought world? With interpretive practices should we approach the words, whether spoken or ten, that mediate and communicate that world? How do we determine th gree of continuity or discontinuity in those thoughts, since even at the of the individual states of consciousness are so unstable across time? Mov ing from individual to group, how do the thoughts and ideas of one person interact with and affect those of another?
