I’ve decided my approach to Paul and Christ-movement social identity may be described as mashup. I take data from two (or more) different sources and combine them into something new. Here is what is sounds like when Party Ben combines The Police and Snow Patrol.
So, I am wondering if mashup is the future of biblical studies? I’ve been amazed how much has been written in Pauline studies in the last few years and the field might benefit from a few DJs mixing things up resulting in densely complex and aesthetically pleasing scholarship. So, rather than using Tajfel and Turner’s social identity theory/self-categorization theory by itself, what if we combined it with Stryker and Burke’s identity theory. Or better yet, add some poststructuralist identities consideration into the mix. When we combine these resources with Paul’s fragmentary discourse what would result: fresh insights or scholarship that misses the mark? Maybe this would be like combining Beyonce with Andy Griffith but hey aren’t there single ladies in Mayberry?
If so, maybe using the image of music mashup is 'Just What I Needed' to trigger creative scholarly insights. What do you think?
1 comment:
I think a mashup like this sounds like great idea. In the business world we used to talk about working in "silos" and it seems like much biblical studies has become like that. The disciplines can learn from one another and should learn from one another. Such thinking is not only outside the box in the creative sense, but also allows one to pick and choose what is beneficial from every discipline.
I think such sharing is essential for the pastor-theologian who will not be able to master every discipline, but must be able to pick and choose the best and most helpful techniques and information from many disciplines.
Along these lines, I found the following article at the SBL site by Michael Bird and Craig Keener helpful in guiding my thought about this. It is entitled "Jack of All Trades and Master of None: The Case for “Generalist” Scholars in Biblical Scholarship."
http://www.sbl-site.org/publications/article.aspx?articleId=820
I'm curious to know your thoughts on this.
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