Open Lectures in Biblical Studies

UCS, Tuesday, April 16 2024, 1.00-4.30 pm, room 219.

The lectures welcome all individuals interested in participating, without the need for registration.

1:00-2:30 pm
”Ancient Israel and the Emergence of the Bounded Nation-State”

Dr Nathan MacDonald, Professor of the Interpretation of the Old Testament at Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge

The idea of the nation state with clear boundaries is usually seen as an innovation of the early modern period. But if so, what are we to make of the descriptions of the territories of Israelite tribes? In this lecture, we will examine the surprising intersections of the early modern world and the Bible around the notion of territory. Exploring the representation of ancient Israel in early maps of Palestine, we will see how the Bible played a role in transforming the early modern world and its understanding of political space. But also how the early modern period transformed our understanding of the Biblical world.

3:00-4:30 pm
”Why the Bible Is Not Religious … and Other Nordic Mysteries”

Dr. Karin Neutel, Associate professor at Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, Umeå university

The Bible has been the most important text in Nordic countries for many centuries. Even now, in what is often seen as one of the most secular parts of the world, new Bible translations are coming out at a faster rate than ever and claims about ‘our’ biblical values are used in politics and society. This presentation will explore the mysteries surrounding this Nordic understanding of the Bible as a text that is not religious, and that can support secular identities and politics. How has the Bible migrated from the Middle East, hiding its age, heritage, and roots, to appear to a 21st-century audience as essentially Swedish, Danish, or Norwegian?