Classifying Christians: Ethnography, Heresiology, and the Limits of Knowledge in Late Antiquity

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Todd S. Berzon

Classifying Christians

Ethnography, Heresiology, and the Limits of Knowledge in Late Antiquity

Todd S. Berzon

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English

University of California Press
25 May 2021

The Early Church

Classifying Christians investigates late antique Christian heresiologies as ethnographies that catalogued and detailed the origins, rituals, doctrines, and customs of the heretics in explicitly polemical and theological terms. Oscillating between ancient ethnographic evidence and contemporary ethnographic writing, Todd S. Berzon argues that late antique heresiology shares an underlying logic with classical ethnography in the ancient Mediterranean world. By providing an account of heresiological writing from the second to fifth century, Classifying Christians embeds heresiology within the historical development of imperial forms of knowledge that have shaped western culture from antiquity to the present.

By: Todd S. Berzon
Imprint: University of California Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780520383173
ISBN 10: 0520383176
Pages: 316
Publication Date: 25 May 2021
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction: Writing People, Writing Religion 1. Heresiology as Ethnography: The Ethnographic Disposition 2. Comparing Theologies and Comparing Peoples: The Customs, Doctrines, and Dispositions of the Heretics 3. Contesting Ethnography: Heretical Models of Human and Cosmic Plurality 4. Christianized Ethnography: Paradigms of Heresiological Knowledge 5. Knowledge Fair and Foul: The Rhetoric of Heresiological Inquiry 6. The Infinity of Continuity: Epiphanius of Salamis and the Limits of the Ethnographic Disposition 7. From Ethnography to List: Transcribing and Traversing Heresy Epilogue: The Legacy of Heresiology Bibliography Index

Todd S. Berzon is Associate Professor of Religion at Bowdoin College.

Reviews for Classifying Christians: Ethnography, Heresiology, and the Limits of Knowledge in Late Antiquity

Classifying Christians is a splendid and challenging study, a must-read for scholars in the field of Late Antique theological polemics. . . . immersive and engaging while intellectually challenging at the same time. * Augustiniana * This volume clears more space in our scholarly discourse for several topics which are only recently starting to receive a fraction of the attention they deserve. * Zeitschrift fur Antikes Christentum * Classifying Christians is a learned, wide-ranging, and exciting new study on ancient Christian heresiology... we look forward to Todd Berzon's next [volume]. * Histos * Todd S. Berzon's Classifying Christians: Ethnography, Heresiology, and the Limits of Knowledge in Late Antiquity partakes of these rich conversations by offering a sustained and convincing reflection on the adaptations, innovations, and antinomies of heresy-writing in the late ancient period. * Ancient Jew Review * Classifying Christians is a remarkable book... indispensable. * Reading Religion * Berzon's book offers a potent epistemological reflection on the production, organization, and limits of knowledge in late antiquity... a finely articulated meditation on the effects of theological and ethnographic ancient list-making. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *