space: a place to store my thoughts

The network of connections between space, thought and persuasion/ rhetoric is something that I find fascinating. Ancient rhetoricians recommended the use of spatial imagery as a tool for remembering the parts of a speech. Just as you move through a house, so to you move through the parts of your speech. Memory was understood in spatial terms.

Similarly, in a 1994 article Bettina Bergmann suggests that actual spaces could serve as a sort of mnemonic device. In "The Roman House as Memory Theater" (The Art Bulletin 76), she argues that the wall paintings in the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii, which included depictions of classical marriages, were arranged to evoke particular ideas, connections and analogies in the minds of the viewer. In other words, the images and the space, which constrains to an extent how the images are viewed, activate certain ways of thinking and imagining. Fascinating. (Unfortunately, I don't recall Bergmann talking about the "Cave Canem" mosaic also found in the house.)

So, where am I going with this? (Pun intended.) I'm not completely sure, but I think that this type of understanding of space might be pertinent to thinking about Revelation, a narrative that relies upon a very structured notion of the universe: Below earth, earth, mid-heaven, heavenly throne room. Interesting things happen in relation to these spaces. For instance, the new Jerusalem seems trapped in a perpetual descent from heaven into mid-heaven toward earth. Also, the text pinpoints certain important places (e.g. Mount Zion) and shows interest in measuring space (chapter 11) and discussing the arrangement/ structure of certain spaces (e.g. throne room and the new Jerusalem). I wonder, how does this relate to space as a mnemonic and how does this relate to the way spaces were constructed/ manipulated in the ancient world.

Although Revelation was written in Asia Minor and not Israel, I can't help thinking about how Herod manipulated the natural landscape to create Herodian. The hill is artificially enhanced and into it is built a palace, including gardens. There probably would have been a structure visible at the top (I have double-check my autographed copy of Ehud Netzer's book on Herodian!) and there were structures at the base and on the sides that would have been visible from a distance. Also, I''m thinking of the connection between "recreated" spaces in villas and the like. For instance the Serapeum and Canopus at Hadrian's Villa, which seemingly evoke Alexandria.

At this point, I just using the blog as a virtual storage space . . . a place to hold my thoughts and questions about space and Revelation. Here's hoping that I can complete the growing list of current projects in order to get to this one sometime in the next ten years!

exploring the apocalypse one puppy at a time

I enjoy reading blogs. I think they are an interesting way for both author and audience to think about different ideas. I've never kept a personal blog myself, although I've used blogs for teaching. I was afraid a personal blog might make me appear self-absorbed. However, I never think others who have blogs are self-absorbed. It makes me think that my assumption that others would interpret a blog as self-absorbed is actually a self-important assumption. Oh my. So, here I am starting my own blog. And, yes, I am probably self-absorbed. So what?

I hope this will be a place for me to record and possibly share my thoughts on teaching, writing, researching and working within the field of biblical studies. I approach these activities from the perspective of a newly tenured, feminist professor at a mid-size university that values both teaching and scholarship. (Of course, I should include the caveat that nothing I say reflects the opinions of my university: My ideas, in theory, are my own.)

My academic interests are anchored by the Book of Revelation, a book with which I have a long and somewhat ambivalent relationship. (More on that later, I'm sure.) I am especially interested in the ways that Revelation's imagery captures the imaginations of audiences across time and my current research/ writing project examines how certain late-medieval and modern visionary women appropriate the text's bridal imagery. I also have done work on the ways that Revelation participates with Roman social discourse about family, sexuality and gender and I'd love to work this into a book length project. However, I have to remember, "One major project at a time."

My teaching is much more broad than my research. I teach introductory courses on religious studies and the New Testament, both of which I truly enjoy. I love introducing students to the critical study of religion and religious texts. I also have the opportunity to teach a number of more specialized courses, including courses on ancient apocalyptic literature and its interpretations, ancient messianic/ martyr traditions, gender and sexuality in the New Testament and early Christianity, contemporary biblical hermeneutics (e.g. feminist and queer criticism, postcolonial interpretation) and the like. I also regularly co-teach a course in Italy on the ways that Italy's ancient traditions (including religious and artistic traditions) continue to shape the present. I've had the opportunity to write quite a bit about teaching and enjoy thinking about pedagogy. I'm especially interested in using images to engage students in critical thinking about biblical texts and ancient traditions.

I know none of this relates directly to puppies, but I can't imagine not referencing dogs. I'm sure I'll find some way of tying them into the conversation--I'm good at that.