Narrative Art, Political Rhetoric


Book Description

Narrative, rhetorical, ideological and sociological methods reveal an intricately related set of meanings in 2 Kings 11-12.




The Art of Political Storytelling


Book Description

Now in paperback and with a new Afterword offering insights into the events of 2020 and early 2021, including the pandemic, global protests, racial justice debates and the US presidential election, this book provides an original and compelling way of understanding the chaotic world of today's politics. In our post-truth world, tapping into people's emotions has proved far more effective than rational argument - and, as Seargeant argues, the most powerful tool for manipulating emotions is a gripping narrative. From Trump's America to Brexit Britain, weaving a good story, featuring fearless protagonists, challenging quests against seemingly insurmountable odds, and soundbite after soundbite of memorable dialogue has been at the heart of political success. So does an understanding of the art of storytelling help explain today's successful political movements? Can it translate into a blueprint for victory at the ballot box? The Art of Political Storytelling looks at how stories are created, shared and contested, illuminating the pivotal role that persuasive storytelling plays in shaping our understanding of the political world we live in. By mastering the tools and tricks of narrative, and evaluating the language and rhetorical strategies used to craft and enact them, Seargeant explains how and why today's combination of new media, populism and partisanship makes storytelling an ever more important part of the persuasive and political process.




Narrative Art, Political Rhetoric


Book Description

Narrative, rhetorical, ideological and sociological methods reveal an intricately related set of meanings in 2 Kings 11-12.




I & II Kings


Book Description

This volume offers a close reading of the historical books of I and II Kings, concentrating on not only issues in the history of Israel but also the literary techniques of storytelling used in these books. Marvin A. Sweeney provides a major contribution to the prominent Old Testament Library series with advanced discussions of textual difficulties in the books of Kings as well as compelling narrative interpretations. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.




2 Kings


Book Description

The Second Book of Kings—a book whose very title seems to assert the prerogative of male rule—is in fact filled with fascinating female characters as well as issues related to gender. In this commentary, Song-Mi Suzie Park argues that an interrogation of the masculinity of YHWH, Israel’s deity, functions as the driving force behind the narrative in 2 Kings. While the sufficiency of YHWH’s masculinity is affirmed by his military and reproductive prowess, it is also challenged and deconstructed through the painful defeats that end the book. Through a series of close readings, Park elucidates how the story of Israel’s monarchic past in 2 Kings unfolds through a process of continual reformulation of masculinity and femininity in relation to YHWH and Israel.




King and Messiah in Israel and the Ancient Near East


Book Description

This volume contains 20 articles by leading scholars on the king and Messiah, mostly in the Old Testament, but also in the ancient Near East and post-biblical Judaism and New Testament. This volume is a major contribution to the study of kingship and messianism in the Old Testament in particular, but also in the ancient Near East more generally, and in post-biblical Judaism and the New Testament. It contains contributions by 20 scholars originally presented to the Oxford Old Testament Seminar. Part I, on the ancient Near East, has contributions by John Baines and W.G. Lambert. Part II, on the Old Testament, has essays by John Day, Gary Knoppers, Alison Salvesen, Carol Smith, Katharine Dell, Deborah Rooke, S.E. Gillingham, H.G.M. Williamson, J.G. McConville, Knut Heim, Paul Joyce, Rex Mason, John Barton and David Reimer. Part III, on post-biblical Judaism and the New Testament, is by William Horbury, George Brooke, Philip Alexander and Christopher Rowland. This noteworthy volume has many fresh insights and is essential reading for all concerned with kingship and messianism.




Zen in the Art of Rhetoric


Book Description

Explores relationships between classical and contemporary approaches to rhetoric and their connection to the underlying assumptions at work in Zen Buddhism.




Prophetic Conflicts in the Deuteronomistic History


Book Description

This study explores the four narratives regarding prophetic conflicts in the Deuteronomistic History via three steps: first, examining the narratives with a synchronic approach; second, discussing the date of the narratives as revised by the Deuteronomists in the Persian period; last, considering religious settings and rhetorical purposes of the narratives. The Deuteronomists were more interested in the theological questions of the "true Israel," "true YHWH," and the "true worship place" than the prophetic conflicts. The conflicts reflect the difficulty to distinguish between true and false prophecy, and the Deuteronomists sought to answer their questions by using the conflict narratives. Their answers aimed for the postexilic community to protect their ethnic identity and to worship YHWH alone, exclusively in Jerusalem.




Women in Ugarit and Israel


Book Description

In this volume the presupposition is investigated whether women in a polytheistic society had a better position than women in a monotheistic society. To this end the social and religious position of women in Ugarit according to its literary texts is compared to that of women in Israel according to the Hebrew Bible, while the wider context of the ancient Near East is also taken into consideration. After an overview of feminist biblical exegesis, the book discusses the roles of women in the family and in society. It also provides an analysis of the roles of women as religious specialists and as worshippers. Finally, the data on the position of women in the literary texts is compared to that in non-literary texts.




Law's Stories


Book Description

The law is full of stories, ranging from the competing narratives presented at trials to the Olympian historical narratives set forth in Supreme Court opinions. How those stories are told and listened to makes a crucial difference to those whose lives are reworked in legal storytelling. The public at large has increasingly been drawn to law as an area where vivid human stories are played out with distinctively high stakes. And scholars in several fields have recently come to recognize that law's stories need to be studied critically.This notable volume-inspired by a symposium held at Yale Law School-brings together an exceptional group of well-known figures in law and literary studies to take a probing look at how and why stories are told in the law and how they are constructed and made effective. Why is it that some stories-confessions, victim impact statements-can be excluded from decisionmakers' hearing? How do judges claim the authority by which they impose certain stories on reality?Law's Stories opens new perspectives on the law, as narrative exchange, performance, explanation. It provides a compelling encounter of law and literature, seen as two wary but necessary interlocutors.ContributorsJ. M. BalkinPeter BrooksHarlon L. DaltonAlan M. DershowitzDaniel A. FarberRobert A. FergusonPaul GewirtzJohn HollanderAnthony KronmanPierre N. LevalSanford LevinsonCatharine MacKinnonJanet MalcolmMartha MinowDavid N. RosenElaine ScarryLouis Michael SeidmanSuzanna SherryReva B. SiegelRobert Weisberg.