Toulouse 2022 Call for Papers
In Toulouse, for the EABS Conference 2022, the “Bodies of Communication” research unit will focus on Bodies and Boundaries. Within Mary Douglas’s seminal reading of Leviticus, the body is viewed as a microcosm which is analogous to other microcosms, such as the tabernacle and Mount Sinai. In relation to the human body, things which ‘breach’ bodily boundaries, such as childbirth or genital emissions, cause ritual impurities and represent a threat to religious or social boundaries, thereby requiring ritual purification.
This session invites papers in which relationships between bodies and boundaries are explored, specifically in relation to:
- The crossing of bodily boundaries and how this relates to the cultic sphere.
- Bodies within Jewish or early Christian identity boundaries.
We would particularly welcome papers considering textual representations of the body which challenge corporeal orthopraxy, given that narratives portray ‘a world mediated through the social categories, relations and institutions operating in a specific culture’ (Perkins, 1995). How can bodies within biblical and extra-biblical texts provoke questions as to religious and social expectations? What happens regarding bodies considered to cross boundaries, in terms of how they are portrayed? Can corporeal representation be used as a means to implement boundaries?
We are also planning to host a joint panel with the Emotions and the Biblical World research group, focusing on emotions and the body (see the Emotions and the Biblical World 2022 Call for Papers for more details).
For all our sessions, we welcome papers related to the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Jewish/Rabbinic Literature, Early Christianity
