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Caryn Tamber Rosenau: Woman in Drag: Queer Approaches to the Book of Judith
April 13, 2021 @ 12:15 pm - 1:30 pm
The Department of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Spring 2021 Lecture Series
New Approaches to the Ancient Mediterranean World
Zoom link
Meeting ID: 984 2911 7796
Passcode: 250529
April 13: Caryn Tamber Rosenau (University of Houston)
“Woman in Drag: Queer Approaches to the Book of Judith”
Judith, in the apocryphal book that bears her name, seduces an enemy general, beheads him with his own sword, and saves her people from conquest. Interpreters have often read this fascinating figure as a dupe of the patriarchy or as acting like a man. However, reading Judith through the lens of queer theory shows that she has more agency than many have allowed, and that she actually saves the day by acting like a woman. Queer-theoretical readings of the Book of Judith also reveal a tale that resists the typical biblical focus on children and the future and problematizes notions of linear history.
April 27: Katharine Earnshaw (University of Exeter)
“The Ethics and Temporalities of Rust”
This series is made possible with generous support from the Anonymous Fund.
