Michael Carden - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Michael Carden

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Lynne Huffer, Mad for Foucault: Rethinking the Foundations of Queer Theory. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010

The Bible and Critical Theory, Feb 24, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Atonement patterns in biblical narrative

The Bible and Critical Theory, Feb 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Stephen D Moore and Janice Capel Anderson: New Testament Musculinities

Review of biblical literature, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Susanne Scholz,Introducing the Women's Hebrew Bible

The Bible and Critical Theory, Jun 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Review of William Loader's Sexuality and the Jesus tradition

The Bible and Critical Theory, Jun 1, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Daniel Boyarin's Border Lines: The Partition of Judaeo-Christianity

The Bible and Critical Theory, Dec 1, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Review of J. Cheryl Exum's The Bible in Film ? The Bible and Film

The Bible and Critical Theory, Feb 1, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Adrian Thatcher,The Savage Text: The Use and Abuse of the Bible

The Bible and Critical Theory, Oct 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Susanne Scholz, Introducing the Women's Hebrew Bible (London: T&T Clark , 2007)

The Bible and Critical Theory, Jun 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Virginia Burrus,Saving Shame: Martyrs, Saints and Other Abject Subjects

The Bible and Critical Theory, Jun 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Cleo McNelly Kearns,The Virgin Mary, Monotheism and Sacrifice

The Bible and Critical Theory, Jun 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Atonement Patterns in Biblical Narrative Rebellious Sons, Scapegoats and Boy Substitutes

The Bible and Critical Theory, Feb 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Enchanting Camp: A Case Study of Queer Politics through the Medium of Ritual Performance

Routledge eBooks, May 8, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Megan Bishop Moore, Philosophy and Practice in Writing a History of Ancient Israel. Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies 435. New York & London: T&T Clark, 2006

The Bible and Critical Theory, Apr 22, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Compulsory Heterosexuality in Biblical Narratives and their Interpretations: Reading Homophobia and Rape in Sodom and Gibeah

Australian Religion Studies Review, 1999

Christianity has made the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 a locus of homophobia. This i... more Christianity has made the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 a locus of homophobia. This is most dramatically evidenced in the words 'sodomy' and 'sodomite' being applied to male/male homoeroticism. However, rabbinic Judaism has read Sodom and Gomorrah as a locus of cruelty, inhospitality and xenophobia. While critical. scholarship has moved from traditional Christian understandings, discussion of Genesis 19 (and its parallel, Judges 19) is still couched in such terms as 'homosexual rape' and 'homosexuality'. The paper argues that readings of Genesis 19 and Judges 19 that highlight homosexuality as an interpretive device ignore the different historical and cultural context behind these texts and the contemporary politics in which these texts are enmeshed. Such readings overlook issues of patriarchy, compulsory heterosexuality and homosexual panic. The paper draws on anthropological literature concerning Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures to argue that male rape in Genesis 19 and Judges 19 is an act of homophobic violence signifying the abuse of outsiders and the breach of the community of Israel. Male rape serves to reinforce the heterosexuality of the insiders by inscribing outsiders as queer and queers as outsiders. The paper closes by exploring some implications of this argument in light of issues of racism and xenophobia arising from Pauline Hansen~ One Nation and the Wik High Court decision, and of the problem of homophobia, especially in our schools as exampled by the recent Christopher Tsakalos case in New South Wales. Homosexuality, Politics and Texts of Terror The story of Sodom and Gomorrah concerning their destruction by the deity, found in Genesis 19, has become, in Western culture, a classic example of what Mieke Bal calls an ideo-story, that is a narrative, taken out of context, "whose structure lends itself to be the receptacle of different ideologies" (Bal, 1988: 11). For Genesis

Research paper thumbnail of Sodomy: A History of a Christian Biblical Myth

BibleWorld Series Editor: Philip R. Davies, University of Sheffield BibleWorld shares the fruits ... more BibleWorld Series Editor: Philip R. Davies, University of Sheffield BibleWorld shares the fruits of modem (and postmodern) biblical scholarship not only among practitioners and students, but also with anyone interested in what academic study of the Bible means in the ...

Research paper thumbnail of The one who reads may run : essays in honour of Edgar W. Conrad

T&T Clark International eBooks, 2012

Introduction Reading Prophets 1. "I am no prophet!": The Making of Amos - Philip Davies... more Introduction Reading Prophets 1. "I am no prophet!": The Making of Amos - Philip Davies 2. Filling the Gaps and Putting Huldah to Use - Judith McKinlay 3. Paradoxes of Prophetic Language in Isaiah - Francis Landy 4. Cyrus as a Pivotal Character in Understanding the Book of Isaiah as a Whole - Man Soo Choe 5. Isaiah Redivivus - Norman Habel 6. The Reconceptualization of the Davidic Covenant in the Books of Jeremiah - Marvin A. Sweeney Reading Literarily 7. Literality, Metaphor and Intertextuality in Genesis 2 - Johnson Lim 8. The Anomaly of Interpretation - Roland Boer 9. Ezra's 'Lost Manuscripts': Narrative Context and Rhetorical Function - Katie Stott Reading the Canon 10. The Signifier's Body: Semiotics, Theology, and the Bible - George Aichele 11. In the Midst of a Hermeneutical Conflict: The Canonical Form or Imagination? - Jang Se-Hoon Engaged Readings 12. Hear Then the Parable of the Seed: Reading the Agrarian Parables of Matthew 13 Ecologically - Elaine Wainwright 13. Getting to Know You: The Curious Convergence of Modern Anti-Homophobic Interpretations of Genesis 19:5 with that of John Calvin - Michael Carden 14. A Woman is being Beaten and maybe She Likes It?: Approaching Song of Songs 5:2-7 - Julie Kelso 15. First Peoples, Minority Critics: From Nineveh to Oceania, With Jonah - Jione Havea 16. Biblical Justice: Recompence, Revenge and Restoration - Paul Morris.

Research paper thumbnail of The Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Musa Wenkosi Dube,The HIV and AIDS Bible: Selected Essays

The Bible and Critical Theory, Oct 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Cleo McNelly Kearns, The Virgin Mary, Monotheism and Sacrifice

The Bible and Critical Theory, Feb 21, 2011

In this important book, Kearns addresses three related questions. How can Mary serve as both a sy... more In this important book, Kearns addresses three related questions. How can Mary serve as both a symbol par excellence for orthodox high church traditions while at the same time being a focus of devotion for those outside of such traditions and even outside Christianity itself? How is it that Mary is both the prime patroness of a masculine hierarchical understanding of priesthood and at the same time is the singular source of solace and comfort for women and others excluded from such hierarchies? How do the different understandings of Mary across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam both bring together and divide these traditions? She finds answers to these questions through exploring Mary's 'ambivalent relationship to a discourse of sacrifice' (x). At 356 pages, the book consists of nine chapters grouped into three sections together with an Introduction and short Conclusion. The book also includes an Index and endnotes. At the start I want to express how much I appreciated and enjoyed reading this book. Kearns' arguments and expositions I found rich with insight. I say this now because the main criticisms I have of the book relate to its production not its content. The book lacks a bibliography, a serious lack given that it employs the disruptive endnote format for its references. The index also seems incomplete, containing a number of entries without page numbers. The text, too, could stand some serious editing as it contains many spelling errors, word duplications and other typographical problems throughout. It says much for the quality of Kearns' work that these errors serve merely as petty (and, in the case of no bibliography, annoying) nuisances rather than to detract from the worth of the book. In her 'Introduction,' Kearns sketches some of the issues addressed in the book around the motifs of Abrahamic monotheism and the associations of God, gender and sacrifice. She then introduces her interpretive approach. Termed theocriticism, she draws together anthropological insights and figural or typological readings of biblical texts. Crucial to her analysis is the recognition that 'Mary takes on meaning through a set of associations stretching backward in time to the lives of the patriarchs and at times even to Genesis and forward to the fulfillment of the two BOOK REVIEWS

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Lynne Huffer, Mad for Foucault: Rethinking the Foundations of Queer Theory. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010

The Bible and Critical Theory, Feb 24, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Atonement patterns in biblical narrative

The Bible and Critical Theory, Feb 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Stephen D Moore and Janice Capel Anderson: New Testament Musculinities

Review of biblical literature, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Susanne Scholz,Introducing the Women's Hebrew Bible

The Bible and Critical Theory, Jun 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Review of William Loader's Sexuality and the Jesus tradition

The Bible and Critical Theory, Jun 1, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Daniel Boyarin's Border Lines: The Partition of Judaeo-Christianity

The Bible and Critical Theory, Dec 1, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Review of J. Cheryl Exum's The Bible in Film ? The Bible and Film

The Bible and Critical Theory, Feb 1, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Adrian Thatcher,The Savage Text: The Use and Abuse of the Bible

The Bible and Critical Theory, Oct 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Susanne Scholz, Introducing the Women's Hebrew Bible (London: T&T Clark , 2007)

The Bible and Critical Theory, Jun 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Virginia Burrus,Saving Shame: Martyrs, Saints and Other Abject Subjects

The Bible and Critical Theory, Jun 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Cleo McNelly Kearns,The Virgin Mary, Monotheism and Sacrifice

The Bible and Critical Theory, Jun 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Atonement Patterns in Biblical Narrative Rebellious Sons, Scapegoats and Boy Substitutes

The Bible and Critical Theory, Feb 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Enchanting Camp: A Case Study of Queer Politics through the Medium of Ritual Performance

Routledge eBooks, May 8, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Megan Bishop Moore, Philosophy and Practice in Writing a History of Ancient Israel. Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies 435. New York & London: T&T Clark, 2006

The Bible and Critical Theory, Apr 22, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Compulsory Heterosexuality in Biblical Narratives and their Interpretations: Reading Homophobia and Rape in Sodom and Gibeah

Australian Religion Studies Review, 1999

Christianity has made the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 a locus of homophobia. This i... more Christianity has made the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 a locus of homophobia. This is most dramatically evidenced in the words 'sodomy' and 'sodomite' being applied to male/male homoeroticism. However, rabbinic Judaism has read Sodom and Gomorrah as a locus of cruelty, inhospitality and xenophobia. While critical. scholarship has moved from traditional Christian understandings, discussion of Genesis 19 (and its parallel, Judges 19) is still couched in such terms as 'homosexual rape' and 'homosexuality'. The paper argues that readings of Genesis 19 and Judges 19 that highlight homosexuality as an interpretive device ignore the different historical and cultural context behind these texts and the contemporary politics in which these texts are enmeshed. Such readings overlook issues of patriarchy, compulsory heterosexuality and homosexual panic. The paper draws on anthropological literature concerning Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures to argue that male rape in Genesis 19 and Judges 19 is an act of homophobic violence signifying the abuse of outsiders and the breach of the community of Israel. Male rape serves to reinforce the heterosexuality of the insiders by inscribing outsiders as queer and queers as outsiders. The paper closes by exploring some implications of this argument in light of issues of racism and xenophobia arising from Pauline Hansen~ One Nation and the Wik High Court decision, and of the problem of homophobia, especially in our schools as exampled by the recent Christopher Tsakalos case in New South Wales. Homosexuality, Politics and Texts of Terror The story of Sodom and Gomorrah concerning their destruction by the deity, found in Genesis 19, has become, in Western culture, a classic example of what Mieke Bal calls an ideo-story, that is a narrative, taken out of context, "whose structure lends itself to be the receptacle of different ideologies" (Bal, 1988: 11). For Genesis

Research paper thumbnail of Sodomy: A History of a Christian Biblical Myth

BibleWorld Series Editor: Philip R. Davies, University of Sheffield BibleWorld shares the fruits ... more BibleWorld Series Editor: Philip R. Davies, University of Sheffield BibleWorld shares the fruits of modem (and postmodern) biblical scholarship not only among practitioners and students, but also with anyone interested in what academic study of the Bible means in the ...

Research paper thumbnail of The one who reads may run : essays in honour of Edgar W. Conrad

T&T Clark International eBooks, 2012

Introduction Reading Prophets 1. "I am no prophet!": The Making of Amos - Philip Davies... more Introduction Reading Prophets 1. "I am no prophet!": The Making of Amos - Philip Davies 2. Filling the Gaps and Putting Huldah to Use - Judith McKinlay 3. Paradoxes of Prophetic Language in Isaiah - Francis Landy 4. Cyrus as a Pivotal Character in Understanding the Book of Isaiah as a Whole - Man Soo Choe 5. Isaiah Redivivus - Norman Habel 6. The Reconceptualization of the Davidic Covenant in the Books of Jeremiah - Marvin A. Sweeney Reading Literarily 7. Literality, Metaphor and Intertextuality in Genesis 2 - Johnson Lim 8. The Anomaly of Interpretation - Roland Boer 9. Ezra's 'Lost Manuscripts': Narrative Context and Rhetorical Function - Katie Stott Reading the Canon 10. The Signifier's Body: Semiotics, Theology, and the Bible - George Aichele 11. In the Midst of a Hermeneutical Conflict: The Canonical Form or Imagination? - Jang Se-Hoon Engaged Readings 12. Hear Then the Parable of the Seed: Reading the Agrarian Parables of Matthew 13 Ecologically - Elaine Wainwright 13. Getting to Know You: The Curious Convergence of Modern Anti-Homophobic Interpretations of Genesis 19:5 with that of John Calvin - Michael Carden 14. A Woman is being Beaten and maybe She Likes It?: Approaching Song of Songs 5:2-7 - Julie Kelso 15. First Peoples, Minority Critics: From Nineveh to Oceania, With Jonah - Jione Havea 16. Biblical Justice: Recompence, Revenge and Restoration - Paul Morris.

Research paper thumbnail of The Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Musa Wenkosi Dube,The HIV and AIDS Bible: Selected Essays

The Bible and Critical Theory, Oct 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Review of Cleo McNelly Kearns, The Virgin Mary, Monotheism and Sacrifice

The Bible and Critical Theory, Feb 21, 2011

In this important book, Kearns addresses three related questions. How can Mary serve as both a sy... more In this important book, Kearns addresses three related questions. How can Mary serve as both a symbol par excellence for orthodox high church traditions while at the same time being a focus of devotion for those outside of such traditions and even outside Christianity itself? How is it that Mary is both the prime patroness of a masculine hierarchical understanding of priesthood and at the same time is the singular source of solace and comfort for women and others excluded from such hierarchies? How do the different understandings of Mary across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam both bring together and divide these traditions? She finds answers to these questions through exploring Mary's 'ambivalent relationship to a discourse of sacrifice' (x). At 356 pages, the book consists of nine chapters grouped into three sections together with an Introduction and short Conclusion. The book also includes an Index and endnotes. At the start I want to express how much I appreciated and enjoyed reading this book. Kearns' arguments and expositions I found rich with insight. I say this now because the main criticisms I have of the book relate to its production not its content. The book lacks a bibliography, a serious lack given that it employs the disruptive endnote format for its references. The index also seems incomplete, containing a number of entries without page numbers. The text, too, could stand some serious editing as it contains many spelling errors, word duplications and other typographical problems throughout. It says much for the quality of Kearns' work that these errors serve merely as petty (and, in the case of no bibliography, annoying) nuisances rather than to detract from the worth of the book. In her 'Introduction,' Kearns sketches some of the issues addressed in the book around the motifs of Abrahamic monotheism and the associations of God, gender and sacrifice. She then introduces her interpretive approach. Termed theocriticism, she draws together anthropological insights and figural or typological readings of biblical texts. Crucial to her analysis is the recognition that 'Mary takes on meaning through a set of associations stretching backward in time to the lives of the patriarchs and at times even to Genesis and forward to the fulfillment of the two BOOK REVIEWS