Trajectories in New Testament Studies Today
P.Luomanen 16.02.2010
Handout and slides available at: www.mv.helsinki.fi/luomanen (18.2.)
1. What is a trajectory?
English: 1) the path of a moving object (ball, bullet, rocket)
2) path, progression, line of development
James M. Robinson and Helmut Koester: Trajectories Through Early Christianity,1971.
2. Key topics of the lecture:
A) What is the present paradigm? Are there trajectories that challenge the paradigm?
B) How trajectories are generated? Where they come from? What are the impulses?
C) What is the hermeneutical relevance of the trajectories?
3. Trajectories in New Testament Studies Today?
An area of study (or several areas) in NT research that you find new, interesting, or
representing ”cutting edge” scholarship? AND/OR: An interesting book or an article in
the area of NT studies that you have read/heard of?:
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4. How to classify and analyze trajectories in NT Studies?
 According to areas of study?
 The three-fold categorization of trajectories:
1)______________________________________________
2)______________________________________________
3)______________________________________________
5. Research paradigms within the category of methodological trajectories (A-D):
A) Historical-critical paradigm:
 Archaeology + classic historical-critical methods: textual criticism,
literary/source criticism, form criticism + tradition history, redaction criticism.
 Development since 1970s:
o Reception history, effective history
o Focus on orality, secondary orality, aurality, performance – recently
connected to social memory and critical discussion about the legacy of
from criticism
o Critical discussion of concepts:
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o Texts as artifacts (Larry Hurtado), digital imagining.
o NOTE: other paradigms can also be historically oriented, for instance:
social science, ancient rhetoric etc.
TURN/VÄND!
B) Text-oriented / linguistic paradigm
 Structuralism, end of 1960s, beginning of 1970s (Ferdinand de Saussure; Claude
Levi-Strauss; synchronic description of the structure of the text => binary
opposiotions).
 Text linguistics
 Rhetorical criticism (ancient and modern)
 Narrative criticism
 Reader response criticism
 Latest developments (ca. 1995-):
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C) Social and behavioral science paradigm
 Social science approach (towards the end of 1970s):
o Social history
o Social-scientific criticism (application of social science theories and models):
functionalism (Theissen), sociology of knowledge, sectarian studies, etc.
o Cultural anthropology (Mediterranean; Malina)
 Archaeology
o [Biblical archaeology 1920-1940]
o “New Archaeology” from 1960s onwards: increasing integration with social
and natural sciences
 Psychological exegesis (Theissen, 1983; Drewerman 1980s and 1990s)
 Latest developments (ca. 1995-):
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D) Ideological / Intercontextual paradigm
 Liberation theology and hermeneutics in Latin America, from 1970s onwards
(Gustavo Gutiérrez, 1972)
 Feminist criticism (Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, 1983)
 Post-colonial criticism
 Canonical criticism (Breward S. Childs, OT 1979, NT 1985)
 Latest developments (ca. 1995-):
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6. Future developments?
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Trajectories in New Testament Studies Today
P.Luomanen 16.02.2010
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