Religious Genderings Conference at Chapman University

This Thursday and Friday, Chapman University (Orange, CA) is hosting a conference on the topic of "Religious Genderings." I will be giving a paper on Friday morning. Here is the abstract:

“Jesus, Paterfamilias, and Masculinity”

Recent studies of masculinity in the Ancient Near East make a distinction between hegemonic and subordinate masculinities. The Roman practice of Paterfamilias (wherein the eldest male provides for, upholds, and controls the clan) stands in the trajectory of hegemonic masculinity. In multiple New Testament Christologies, Jesus embodies a decidedly hegemonic role as the early Church imagines itself as a spiritual family. Yet the Gospels also betray a clear and repeated endorsement of various subordinate masculinities in the teachings of Jesus. This paper will explore the complex relationship between family, honor, fiscal provision, and masculinity as Jesus evolves into the “ideal male” in Christian thought. 

I am really looking forward to what promises to be a wonderful line up of papers. I'm just happy to be in such good company. To learn more about the conference, you can read about it here.

-anthony