School of Theology, Philosophy, and History
- Centres in the School
Profile: Dr Katherine Southwood
Her research promotes interdisciplinary approaches to the Hebrew Bible, specifically, through engaging with social anthropology to understand Israelite marriage practices and the impact of forced and return migrations on Israelite identity.
This approach was helpful the post-exilic context (Ethnicity and the Mixed Marriage Crisis in Ezra 9-10: An Anthropological Approach 2012) enabling refined understandings of the significance of social realities facing those who returned to Yehud to be achieved.
For example, studies concerning migration and especially return-migration, phenomena which can often trigger a vital need for ethnic-re-identification, have ignited the potential for informative and imaginative heuristic comparisons to the community which has returned from exile to Yehud (‘Die “Heilige Nachkommenschaft” und die “fremden Frauen”: “Mischehen” als inner-jüdische Angelegenheit?’ 2011).
This issue can be discerned particularly in light of the significance of language (‘“And they could not understand Jewish Speech”: Ethnicity, Language, and Nehemiah’s intermarriage crisis’ 2011). Through this methodology, some of the most challenging biblical texts can be read with fresh insight (Marriage by Capture in Judges 21: An Anthropological Approach).
Books
- Southwood, K. E., Ethnicity and the Mixed Marriage Crisis in Ezra 9-10: An Anthropological Approach (Oxford Theological Monograph Series) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012
- Southwood, K. E., Marriage by Capture in Judges 21: An Anthropological Approach (in preparation)
Articles
- 'The Social and Cultural History of Ancient Israel' in The Old Testament: A Princeton Guide Princeton: Princeton University Press, to be published in 2014
- ‘“And they could not understand Jewish Speech”: Ethnicity, Language, and Nehemiah’s intermarriage crisis’ Journal of Theological Studies 62 Part 1, April 2011, pp 1-19.
- ‘Die “Heilige Nachkommenschaft” und die “fremden Frauen”: “Mischehen” als inner-jüdische Angelegenheit?’ in Zwischen Integration und Ausgrenzung: Migration, religiöse Identität(en) und Bildung – theologisch refleckiert. Eds J. Rahner, and M. Schambeck. (Bamberger Theologisches Forum, 13.) Berlin: LIT Verlag, 2011. Pp. 61-82. ISBN 978 3 643 11051 0.
- 'Longing, Belonging or Despair?: Return Migration as a Tool For Understanding Ezra’s Intermarriage Crisis' due to be published from the conference proceedings at the University of Derby’s Symposium: Social Scientific and Cultural Approaches in Biblical Studies(to be published in 2012)
- ‘An Ethnic affair?: Ezra’s Intermarriage Crisis Against a Context of Self-Ascription and Ascription of Others’ in Mixed Marriages. Intermarriage and Group Identity in the Second Temple Period (Library of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament.) London and New York: T&T Clark , 2011. ISBN 9780567310507
- ‘The Holy Seed: The Ethnic Significance of Endogamous Boundaries and their Transgression in Ezra 9-10’ in Lipschits, O., and Oeming, M., (Eds), The Judeans in the Achaemenid Age: Negotiating Identity in an International Context, Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns2011, pp 189-224.
Editing
During my time at Heythrop, I edited their Old Testament Guide. This involved suggesting reading material and reworking the way major sections were presented.
Reviews
- Review of ‘Sex, Wives, and Warriors: Reading Biblical Narrative with its Ancient Audience.’ By Esler, Philip, F.Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011. ISBN 978 1 60899 829 6. In Holy Land Studies: A Multidisciplinary Journal. Forthcoming November 2011.
- Review of ‘The Narratives of Rape in Genesis 34: Interpreting Dinah’s Silence’. By Caroline Blyth. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. ISBN 978 0 19 958945 6. In The Journal of Theological Studies 62(1) April 2011, 265-268
- Review of ‘Exile as Forced Migrations: A Sociological, Literary, and Theological Approach on the Displacement and Resettlement of the Southern Kingdom of Judah’ by John. J. Ahn. Göttingen: De Gruyter, 2011. ISBN 978 3 11 024095 5. In The Journal of Theological Studies 62(1) April 2011, 277-281.
- Review of ‘Elements of Ancient Jewish Nationalism’ by David Goodblatt in The Journal of Theological Studies 61(2) Oct 2010, 707-710
