The Christianity Seminar Phase II Spring Meeting: Crafting Christianity

The Christianity Seminar Phase II Spring Meeting, Crafting Christianity, investigates the intersection of authorship and authority in emergent Christian expression. How, for instance, were early Christian leaders fashioned as authoritative?  How were audiences conditioned to understand the makeup and purpose of early Christian communities? Applying recent scholarship on ancient rhetoric, philosophy, and pedagogy (a subject we will take up more fully in a future session), our aim is to uncover the ways in which various rhetorical methods were deployed as vehicles of persuasion, teaching, and entertainment, and as mirrors of diverse authorial perspectives.  This session invites consideration of the degree to which thinking of texts as conveyors of “doctrine” misconstrues their character as rhetorical performances of being Christian.

The meeting will feature four presenters: Jennifer Barry, Ph.D. (“Scandalous Histories: Uncertain reputations, sexual liaisons, and the late ancient Christian bishop”), Nina E. Livesey, Ph.D. ("Shaping Early Christianity with Letters"), Arthur Urbano, Ph.D. (“The Wardrobe of Christian Philosophers and the Making of Late Antique Intellectual and Moral Authority”), and Erin Vearncombe, Ph.D. (Dress as persuasive performance in the crafting of early Christianity).

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