{"id":3866,"date":"2019-06-17T11:21:06","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T15:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/practicalmattersjournal.ecdsdev.org\/?p=3866"},"modified":"2019-06-21T11:42:40","modified_gmt":"2019-06-21T15:42:40","slug":"vulnerability-and-valour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/2019\/06\/17\/vulnerability-and-valour\/","title":{"rendered":"Vulnerability and Valour: A Gendered Analysis of Everyday Life the Dead Sea Scrolls Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Download PDF: RV Angulo, Vulnerability and Valour<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

By: Jessica M. Keady
London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017. 240 pages. $120.00.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Jessica\nKeady\u2019s work sheds light on the complex and dynamic relationship between gender\nand impurity in the sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls communities. Because the scholarship\nof ancient Judaism has tended to privilege the recorded practices of elite\nsociety, it has mistakenly characterized purity laws as static and uniformly\nobserved. In her own words, however, Keady aims \u201cto bring the non-elite male\nand female experience of impurity into the fold of discussion\u201d (3). In so\ndoing, she uses the Dead Sea Scrolls to explore the way ordinary gendered\nbodies interact with concepts of impurity on an everyday level. Keady\naccomplishes this by introducing a wide range of theoretical and methodological\nframeworks including, but not limited to, those established by Judith Butler,\nRaewyn Connell, and Susie Scott. These studies frame gender as performative,\ndynamic, and constantly changing. Vulnerability\nand Valour<\/em>\u2019s primary contribution is to say that impurity is equally fluid,\ncomplex, and gender-specific. Keady\u2019s book is a welcomed addition to the study\nof gender in the Dead Sea Scrolls and an impressive advancement in the\napplication of theoretical avenues to the study of ancient Judaism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following\na brief introduction in which Keady defines her terms and maps out the layout\nof the book, the second chapter surveys the history of scholarship in regards\nto purity and gender in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The first twenty years of Qumran\nstudies privileged classical sources such as Josephus and Philo in its\nreconstruction of the Dead Sea Scrolls sectarians as the Essenes. This led\nscholars to study the movement as a group of celibate men. However, the\ndevelopment of feminist-critical approaches in the 1970s marked a turning\npoint, one in which scholars uncovered female voices and regulations in the\nextant documents. This awareness resulted in the amplification of purity\nstudies beginning in the 1990s, which focused almost exclusively on the ritual\nstandards of female bodies. Rejecting the systematic and static approach to\npurity offered by previous scholars such as Jacob Neusner and Hannah Harrington\nand taking her lead from the diachronic and fluid perspective according to\nscholars like Ian Werrett and Maxine Grossman, Keady proposes to study the\ndynamic nature of purity regulations and how they relate to both<\/em> men and women in everyday\nexperiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter\nThree offers a reflection on the theoretical models employed throughout the\nsubsequent chapters; namely, Masculinity Studies, embodiment theory, and the\nstudy of the everyday. Keady stresses that the fluidity of masculinity\ndemonstrated in Masculinity Studies \u2014 a\nfluidity indicated along a spectrum ranging from the ideal hegemonic to the\neffeminate male \u2014 is a helpful heuristic for\nthe study of purity in ancient Palestine. Embodiment theory, moreover,\nemphasizes the socially constructed significance of impure bodies and bodily\nexperiences. This approach allows Keady \u201cto reconstruct the possible ways in\nwhich men and women reacted to purity and impurity to determine how others may\nhave perceived them within the communities when their status changed\u201d (59).\nFinally, this book adopts Susie Scott\u2019s study of the everyday, which\naccentuates three qualities of everyday life: its mundaneness, its routine\nrepetition, and its potential to be transgressed. Keady maintains that this method\noffers a window into the mundane life of ordinary people and helps scholars to\nidentify the repercussions of breaking accepted social conventions. Each of the\nsubsequent three chapters of the book is structured around one of these\nmethodological perspectives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter\nFour applies insights from Masculinity Studies to the Rule of the Community\n(1QS) and the War Scroll (1QM). This chapter suggests that each of these texts\nfunctions to construct an ideological hegemonic male image. Scholarship in\nQumran studies has often reconstructed a hyper-religious lifestyle among the\nmovement based on the intense standards of purity and comportment detailed in\nthese discourses. Keady, on the other hand, suggests that 1QS and 1QM offer\nquixotic representations of an ideal male who observes impossibly rigid purity\nlaws. Rather than provide a snapshot of lived experience at Qumran, both of\nthese texts present their readers with a model by which to perform masculinity.\nThis illuminates the community\u2019s perception of ideal masculinity and, at the\nsame time, places members along a concrete hierarchy in relation to how well\n(or poorly) they meet the masculine representation. In other words, the\nhegemonic male image in 1QS and 1QM both influences the way men carry\nthemselves and makes men vulnerable to emasculation within the community. Keady\nposits that discourse of the hegemonic male pins men against men as they\nactively direct themselves in the pursuit of masculinity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter Five brings embodiment theory into conversation with Cave Four D materials and 4QTohorot. This methodological approach allows Keady to consider the way discourses about purity affect bodies in real ways, including performance, seclusion, and modesty. In other words, the acknowledgment of a body as impure involved significant social and performative repercussions, such as its ability to participate in ritual celebrations, partake in meals, or reside within the sectarian settlements. The primary argument in this chapter states that impurity makes men vulnerable with respect to their communities, but that impurity, in fact, empowers women. This imbalance is attributed to the fact that male impurity (e.g., nocturnal emissions) is sporadic and uncontrollable whereas female impurity (e.g., menstruation) is anticipated as part of a regular cycle. In that case, male impurity disturbs the rhythm of everyday ritual activities, as men are expected to participate in the public life of the communities. On the other hand, female impurity offers an opportunity for seclusion, rest, and comfort among other women from the congregation, whose menstrual cycles, Keady argues, may have synchronized after long periods of time together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter\nSix analyzes impure bodies in relation to space \u2014\nand, more specifically, imagined space \u2014 in\nthe Temple Scroll (11QTa) and the Rule of the Congregation (1QSa). Keady posits\nthat 11QTa demonstrates the limited access to specific ritual spaces afforded\nto impure men and that 1QSa provides a look into the educational practices of\nthe movement. Education in the sect, according to Keady\u2019s reading of 1QSa,\ninvolved both young men and women, although the emphasis eventually shifts\ntowards men. Though both of these texts present imagined spaces \u2014 11QTa illustrates an imaginary temple\ninstitution while 1QSa portrays a post-apocalyptic congregation \u2014 Keady argues that they held a functional value\nto the everyday life of sectarian members at Qumran and beyond. The occupation\nof particular spaces by pure or impure bodies reflected the significant status\nof spaces designated as clean or unclean and equally male or female. Keady\nargues that \u201cthe specialization of gender within communities is based upon the\ndisciplining of the body, which is carried out with fluidity through, and\noccupation of, diverse space\u201d (168).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter\nSeven offers a brief conclusion that restates the argument of this work;\nnamely, that impurity in the Dead Sea Scrolls communities is performative,\nfluid, and tied to gender dynamics. I find her analysis of impurity as a\nfeminizing and deleterious agent for men in Chapter Five, a particularly\ncompelling argument. Many of the suggestions established in this book are\nnecessarily speculative, as present evidence does not provide a full account of\ndaily life within the sect, but each is derived from solid sociological\nfoundations and reasonable assumptions. Keady notes that questions concerning\nthe origins of the Qumran movement are not the main emphasis in this book. Yet,\nI would have liked to see a more thorough reflection on the structure of the\nsectarian organization. It is unclear whether Keady imagines these texts\naddressing a multiplicity of groups, all of which follow the same general code\nof conduct, or a single one. This seems like a significant step towards\nelucidating the common lifestyle of people behind the Qumran texts. Altogether,\nKeady\u2019s work provides a provocative interpretation of everyday life in the Dead\nSea Scrolls communities based on stimulating theoretical perspectives and\nrepresents a valuable contribution to scholarship on gender and purity in the\nDead Sea Scrolls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Download PDF: RV Angulo, Vulnerability and Valour By: Jessica M. KeadyLondon: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017. 240 pages. $120.00. Jessica Keady\u2019s work sheds light on the complex and dynamic relationship between gender and impurity in the sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls communities.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":3952,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[699,16],"tags":[697,401,698,69],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Keady_VulnerabilityValor.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3866"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3866"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4193,"href":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3866\/revisions\/4193"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}