Genealogies of New Testament Rhetorical Criticism
- Minneapolis Fortress Press 2014
- 333p 24 cm
From a November 19, 2011 session of the Society of Biblical Literature Rhetoric and the New Testament group.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-321) and index.
Hans Dieter Betz: Ur-ancestor of New Testament rhetorical criticism / Response to Troy W. Martin and additional reflections / Genealogies of rhetorical criticism: the Kennedy family / Response to C. Clifton Black and further insights / The contribution of Wilhelm Wuellner to New Testament rhetorical criticism / Response to James D. Hester and J. David Hester: a personal reflection / Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza and the rhetoric and ethic of inquiry / Response to John R. Lanci : transforming the discipline: the rhetoricity/rhetoricality of New* Testament studies / The pesky threads of Robbins's rhetorical tapestry: Vernon K. Robbins's genealogy of rhetorical criticism / Response to L. Gregory Bloomquist: from the social sciences to rhetography / Of mappings and men (and women): reflections on rhetorical genealogies / Troy W. Martin -- Hans Dieter Betz -- C. Clifton Black -- Duane F. Watson -- James D. Hester and J. David Hester -- Thomas H. Olbricht -- John R. Lanci -- Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza -- L. Gregory Bloomquist -- Vernon K. Robbins -- Todd Penner and Davina C. Lopez.
Rhetorical criticism is now an established discipline in New Testament interpretation -- but "rhetorical criticism" means very different things to different practitioners. Genealogies of New Testament Rhetorical Criticism gathers critical appreciations of five pioneers of rhetorical criticism -- Hans Dieter Betz, George A. Kennedy, Wilhelm Wuellner, Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, and Vernon K. Robbins -- and responses from the pioneers themselves or their representatives (Duane F. Watson for George A. Kennedy; Thomas H. Olbricht for Wilhelm Wuellner) -- to highlight their distinctive approaches and to describe their legacies for contemporary interpretation. From a lucid description of the understanding of persuasion held by the ancients to contemporary appreciations of the ways power shapes discourse, these pioneers have helped to set the agenda for future interpretation. In a final methodological turn, a concluding essay by Todd Penner and Davina C. Lopez asks about the rhetoric of New Testament rhetorical criticism itself. Scholars and students of the field will benefit from this timely contribution.