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SV3121 SPACE, PLACE, AND SPATIALITY IN THE JOSHUA NARRATIVE (A.Y. 2025/2026)
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Accademic Unit
Biblical Faculty
Description
The book of Joshua, just like other OT books, could be misunderstood unless space is factored in its interpretation. The rise of Biblical studies in the 19th century did not escape the fixation of that century: “The great obsession of the nineteenth century, said M. Foucault, was, as we know, history : with its themes of development and of suspension, of crisis, and cycle, themes of the ever-accumulating past, […]. The present epoch will perhaps be above all the epoch of space. ” (“Of Other Spaces”; italics mine). Indeed, with the awareness that in reading space or place in a story “we should not assume that there is a universal language for scripting, understanding or representing space and spatiality” (Merriman et al. 19), exegetes cannot ignore spatial notions like mobility and directions (East, West, South, North, etc.), places (Jordan river, Rahab’s house, walls of Jericho, Israelites’ camp, cities, etc.), etc. Throughout the history of interpretation of Joshua , very little attention has been paid to the spatial dimension beyond the concern for reconstructing historical physical or ideological geography. Most commentaries take for granted that places for instance are mere settings. The seminar embarks on a new journey to understanding the narrative with theoretical tools on space and spatiality.
Objectives
The seminar is designed to help participants achieve the following goals: (1) to learn about the “theory of space and spatiality” as a tool to unpack the exegetical richness of space, place, and spatiality in the Joshua narrative, as a case study that can later be applied to other texts; (2) to be guided in learning how to write an exegetical paper using a theory: (a) finding a topic; (b) choosing a text (or relevant texts); (c) posing and framing the exegetical problem; (d) formulating the exegetical question; (e) choosing a method; (f) drafting a proposal that will be discussed with peers; and so on.
Modality
The first haft of the sessions will be dedicated to: (a) introducing the theory of space, place and spatiality, and how it can be used in the exegesis of a biblical text, and (b) explaining the guidelines of the exegetical paper writing. The second half will be used to discuss participants’ own papers. A particular focus will be to work as a research team.
Evaluation
The evaluation will consist of three components: presentation (30%), participation (30%), and written paper (40%). Detailed practical information will be provided at the start of the sessions.
Information
- Semester: 1° Semestre
- ECTS: 5
Teachers
Paul BÉRÉ
Lesson schedule/Room
Lessons schedule not available
Basic Bibliography
Berquist, J.L. – C.V. Camp (eds.), Construction of Space. I: Theory, Geography and Narrative (JSOTSup, 481; New York: T & T Clark, 2008).
Berquist, J.L. – C.V. Camp ( eds.), Constructions of Space. II: The Biblical City and Other Imagined Spaces (JSOTSup, 490; New York: T & T Clark, 2008).
George, Mark K. (ed), Constructions of space. IV. Further Developments in Examining Ancient Israel’s Social Space (New York etc. : Bloomsbury, 2013).
Økland J. – J.C. De Vos – K. Wenell (eds.), Constructions of Space. III: Biblical Spatiality and the Sacred (New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2016).
Prinsloo, G. M. – C. M. Maier (eds), Constructions of Space. V. Place, Space and Identity in theAncient Mediteranean World (New York: Bloomsbury, 2013)
Selected Bibliography
Berquist, J., «Critical Spatiality and the Construction of the Ancient World » , in Imagining’ Biblical Worlds: Studies in Spatial, Social and Historical Constructs in Honor of James W. Flanagan (eds. D.M. Gunn – P.M. McnNutt ) (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002) 14-29.
Berquist, J., «Critical Spatiality and the Use of Theory», in The Biblical City and Other Imagined Spaces (eds. Berquist, J.L., – C.V. Camp ) (JSOTSup, 490; New York: T & T Clark, 2008) 1-12.
Brinkman, J., The Perception of Space in the Old Testament. An Exploration of the Methodological Problems of its Investigation, Exemplified by a Study of Exodus 25–31 (Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1992).
Demmerlein, K., Narratologie des Raumes (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2009).
Dozeman, T.B., «Biblical Geography and Critical Spatial Studies » , in Construction of Space , I (eds. Berquist, – Camp ) (2008) 87-108.
Elden , S., The Birth of Territory (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013).
Fauconnier, G. – M. Turner , The Way We Think . Conceptual Blending and the Mind’s Hidden Complexities (Basic Books, 2002).
Fauconnier , G., Mappings in Thought and Language (Cambridge: Univ. Press 1997).
Flanagan , J., ‘Space’, in Handbook of Postmodern Biblical Interpretation (ed. A.K.M. Adam) (St Louis: Chalice Press, 2000) 239-44.
Flanagan , J., «Ancient Perceptions of Space/Perceptions of Ancient Space», Semeia 87 (1999) 15-43.
Foucault , M., «Of Other Spaces», Diacritics 16 (1986) 22-27.
Id., «Des espace autres », in Dits et écrits II (Paris: Gallimard) 1571-1581.
Gallagher , W., The Power of Place. How Our Surroundings Shape Our Thoughts, Emotions, and Actions (New York: Poseidon, 1993).
Geiger , M., «Fiction and Space in Deuteronomy», in Constructions of Space . V. Place, Space and Identity in the Ancient Mediteranean World (New York: Bloomsbury, 2013) 26-48.
George , M., «Socio-Spatial Logic and Structure of the Book of Numbers», in Constructions of space . IV. Further Developments in Examining Ancient Israel’s Social Space (ed. Mark K . George ) (New York etc. : Bloomsbury, 2013) 23-43.
Gould , P. – R. White , Mental Maps (Pelican Geography and Environmental Studies; Hammond sworth: Penguin, 1974).
Jammer, M., Concepts of Space. The History and Theories of Space in Physics (New York: Dover, 1993).
Lefebvre, H., La Production de l’espace (Paris: Editions Anthropos, 1974).
Lefebvre , H., – G. Moore , Rhythmanalysis. Space, Time and Everyday Life (trans. S. Elden) (New York: Bloomsbury Academic 2013).
Matthews , V.H., «Physical Space, Imagined Space, and “Lived Space” in Ancient Israel», Biblical Theology Bulletin 33 (2003) 12-23.
Id., «Remembered Space in Biblical Narrative», in Constructions of space . IV. Further Developments in Examining Ancient Israel’s Social Space (ed. Mark K . George ) (New York etc.: Bloomsbury, 2013) 61-75.
Ryan , M.-L. – K. Foote – M. Azaryahu , Narrating Space / Spatializing Narrative. Where Narrative Theory and Geography Meet (Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 2016).
Schreiner P., «Space, Place and Biblical Studies: A Survey of Recent Research in Light of Developing Trends», Currents in Biblical Research 14/3 (2016) 340-371
Soja, E.W., «Taking Space Personally», in The Spatial Turn (eds. B . Warf – S. Arias ) (New York: Routledge, 2009) 11-35.
Id., Postmodern Geographies . The Reassertion of Space in Critical Social Theory (London: Verso, 1989).
Id., Thirdspace : Journeys to Los Angeles and Other Real-and-Imagined Places