Christopher B. Zeichmann

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Research

My work describes and theorizes soldier-civilian interactions in first-century Palestine, focusing especially on the ambiguity of resistance and collusion in daily life. Despite scholars’ increased interest in the imperial context from which Christianity emerged, the military of 1st century Palestine remains almost entirely neglected.  My first book will soon be published on this topic and aspires to accomplish three things. 1) It aims to offer a thorough description of soldier-civilian interactions in early Roman Palestine, informed by recent social theories (e.g., Bourdieu). 2) It aims to situate various biblical authors’ politics within such a framework. 3) It aims to bring complicity and ambivalence into greater discussion in an attempt to undermine often-Romanticized understandings of early Christian and Jewish positionings towards Rome.

Though different from the realm of my degree, I am also interested in the political stakes of contemporary racial discourse (i.e., the “work” we make the notion of race and related concepts do in social life under neoliberalism).  This occasionally overlaps with NT studies, particularly when it comes to the politics of biblical interpretation.

 

Samples of my published work on Early Christianity or Antiquity in General:

Samples of my published work on racial discourse in America:

 

A CV and more publications can be found at my academia.edu profile.

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