The Signifying Creator

Nontextual Sources of Meaning in Ancient Judaism

By: Michael D. Swartz

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Hardcover | 2 May 2012

At a Glance

Hardcover
132 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.9 x 15.3 x 1.12

Hardcover

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Historians consider the previous century to have been one of the most violent periods in human history. As we move into an era where violence is sanitized and normalized in the media, and depicted as glamorous and fun, how will we relate to the violence in our midst? Why do people and their governments choose to engage in violent activity? How to peaceful people who live under violent conditions such as warfare or domestic abuse make sense of it? Catherine Besteman tackles these questions in this multi-disciplinary anthology that explores the topic of violence from a wide variety of perspectives. The first section focuses on state violence and deals with nationalism, warmaking and the Nazi genocide. The second section treats the question of anti-state violence with essays on the IRA, Sihk rebels and the paramilitary conflict in the Balkans. The third section examines criminal violence such as armed robbery, murder and sexual assualt while the final section explores how ordinary citizens respond when their societies are suffused with violence. Combining classic essays by Max Weber and Hannah Arendt, with contemporary treatments by leading scholars such as Michael Taussig and Julie Peteet, this anthology is designed for course use and is accessible to undergraduate and graduate students. Contributors: Max Weber, Charles Tilly, Hannah Arendt, Zygmunt Bauman, Martha Crenshaw, Deborah Poole, Cynthia Mahmood, Begonia Aretxaga, Rhonda Copelon, Jack Katz, Deborah Cameron, Elizabeth Fraser, Michael Taussig, Julie Peteet, Nancy Scheper-Hughes, and Carolyn Nordstrom.

Industry Reviews

"In this remarkably concise, yet massively researched, volume, Michael Swartz lays the historical and hermeneutical foundations for a massive revision of the idea of late antique Judaism as an essentially text- and logocentric intellectual tradition. His elegantly written argument will challenge scholars - and, one hopes, their students - for years to come!" Martin S. Jaffee, University of Washington "With gestures to the music of John Cage and the meaning of fashion, Michael Swartz explores the manifold ways that ancient Jews believed God could speak through worldly things: animals and dreams, zodiac and temple, priestly vestments and the flowing of blood. Using such diverse sources as ancient synagogue mosaics and liturgical poetry, Swartz shows with economy and insight that formative Judaism looked well beyond the Torah to find divine intention." David Frankfurter, Boston University

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