Protecting Difference: Protectionist Strategies and the Parting of the Ways
In: Method & Theory in the Study of ReligionSearch for other papers by M Adryael Tong in
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Abstract
This article takes an interdisciplinary look at protectionist doxa at the intersection of two distinct fields: early Christian studies and rabbinics. I argue that both fields maintain a protectionist doxa of difference; that is, a doxa that early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism are fundamentally different from each other. This difference, which supports the constitution of each field as separate from the other, nevertheless has a secondary effect of shaping our approach to our objects of study—early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism. Specifically, this doxa of difference occludes the ways in which early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism can be similar. I focus specifically on the current “polysemy” debate within rabbinics and show how this doxa has functioned to obstruct comparative approaches across disciplines rather than facilitate them.
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Protecting Difference: Protectionist Strategies and the Parting of the Ways
In: Method & Theory in the Study of ReligionSearch for other papers by M Adryael Tong in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
This article takes an interdisciplinary look at protectionist doxa at the intersection of two distinct fields: early Christian studies and rabbinics. I argue that both fields maintain a protectionist doxa of difference; that is, a doxa that early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism are fundamentally different from each other. This difference, which supports the constitution of each field as separate from the other, nevertheless has a secondary effect of shaping our approach to our objects of study—early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism. Specifically, this doxa of difference occludes the ways in which early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism can be similar. I focus specifically on the current “polysemy” debate within rabbinics and show how this doxa has functioned to obstruct comparative approaches across disciplines rather than facilitate them.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 335 | 101 | 27 |
| Full Text Views | 309 | 1 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 580 | 10 | 2 |