Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Clivedurdle · 12-05-2008, 09:08 AM

This Abled Body (or via: amazon.co.uk)

on googlebooks

Hector Avalos was referred to at the Jesus Project, and I was interested in the reference to the above book he co-edited.

Can anyone tell me more about his background? Looking at the introduction it got me very annoyed - I have a strong impression of someone with an apologetic agenda trying to fit square pegs into round holes.

He references in a seemingly academic manner the alleged neo marxist influences on British Sociology of Disability, but the reality is he does not seem to be clear about his own biases.

Am I misjudging the guy?

show_no_mercy · 12-05-2008, 10:20 AM

I've read one of his books (The End of Biblical Studies (or via: amazon.co.uk)). According to a short bio he gave of himself at one of his presentations, he used to be an evangelical and went to ministry school to debunk atheists but found the lack of evidence for the events depicted in the bible (OT and NT) wanting and became an atheist himself.

Toto · 12-05-2008, 11:09 AM

Hector Avalos

Hector_Avalos

Toto · 12-05-2008, 11:17 AM

I'm not sure what annoyed you about the casual reference to the neo-marxist origins of disability studies in Britain.

Clivedurdle · 12-05-2008, 01:21 PM

Maybe its his academic style. I have been brought up on Goffman and similar, and the politics of disability are critical - there is a terrifying history of abuse of our fellow human beings, and he starts with a midrash on David going mad that really was an interesting attempt by a rabbi to square his belief in a god with a real experience of madness.

And for someone writing from a religious perspective, should I not expect authenticity?

Toto · 12-05-2008, 03:15 PM

Avelos is an anthropologist and writes from a social science perspective more than a religious perspective.

I'm not sure what you mean by authenticity.

Clivedurdle · 12-06-2008, 12:14 AM

Being an anthropologist makes the problem worse
It is factually incorrect to tie disability studies in Britain to neo Marxism - it is a far more nuanced ecology than that.

And social anthropology uses completely different ways of thinking than he seems to be aware of.

Is part of the problem the term professor? Compare:

Quote:

At the University of Chicago, Geertz became a "champion of symbolic anthropology", which gives prime attention to the role of thought ("symbols") in society. Symbols guide action. Culture, outlined by Geertz in his book The Interpretation of Cultures (1973), is "a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which people communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life" (1973:89). The function of culture is to impose meaning on the world and make it understandable. The role of anthropologists is to try (though complete success is not possible) to interpret the guiding symbols of each culture (see thick description). His oft-cited essay, "Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight," included in The Interpretation of Cultures, is the classic example of thick description at work. Geertz was quite innovative in this regard, as he was one of the first to see that the insights provided by common language philosophy and literary analysis could have major explanatory force in the social sciences.
He conducted extensive ethnographical research in Southeast Asia and North Africa. He also contributed to social and cultural theory and is still very influential in turning anthropology toward a concern with the frames of meaning within which various peoples live out their lives. He worked on religion, most particularly Islam, on bazaar trade, on economic development, on traditional political structures, and on village and family life. At the time of his death he was working on the general question of ethnic diversity and its implications in the modern world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Geertz

The Introduction to This Able Bodied in discussing a history of disability studies in Biblical Studies makes the comment about neo Marxism I reacted to and is interesting in its silence about symbol and ethnography - the real roots of British disability studies - not neo Marxism which sees ethnography as basically capitalist within the system thinking.

What is more interesting is his treatment of David as a real character when is it not accepted that is a clear story about madness, power and the gods?

That is what I mean by authentic - not clearly outlining the subject, and seemingly giving religious studies views more validity than they deserve.

It does read as a back scratching piece!

DCHindley · 12-07-2008, 06:47 AM

Clive,

Could your dissonance be related to post-modern era reactions and counter reactions to traditional understandings of truth?

Several "post-modern" writers have written about the subject, particularly Michel Foucault's analysis of the body and the self. Work that has been influenced by him also include feminist research on embodiment and gendered subjectivities, which seems to be very important to modern christian "liberal" critics and theologians.

Some of those opposed to post-structural ("we trick ourselves into thinking we know more than we really do know") views often try to discredit them by associating such ideas with Marxism, Neo Marxism and relativism.

DCH

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clivedurdle

This Abled Body (or via: amazon.co.uk)

on googlebooks

Hector Avalos was referred to at the Jesus Project, and I was interested in the reference to the above book he co-edited.

Can anyone tell me more about his background? Looking at the introduction it got me very annoyed - I have a strong impression of someone with an apologetic agenda trying to fit square pegs into round holes.

He references in a seemingly academic manner the alleged neo marxist influences on British Sociology of Disability, but the reality is he does not seem to be clear about his own biases.

Am I misjudging the guy?

Clivedurdle · 12-07-2008, 02:29 PM

I see in the Bible some typical attitudes that are predictable from extant belief systems - anyone with a blemish or fault is somehow not holy and cannot be a priest, madness is demon possession to be cast out, strange old women are witches and similar. There are some more humane attitudes but people have always cared for each other and not in varying circumstances - Darwin in Voyages describes the Feugans casting old women who could no longer help out into the winter and then hunting them down to eat them.

I do expect an anthropologist with a Pentecostal background to at least make reference to the reality of what has gone on in all societies without drastically oversimplifying the British disability movement to neo-Marxists!

It is not hard to find modern examples of similar religious attitudes!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007...gh.theobserver

Quote:

Children are targets of Nigerian witch hunt

Evangelical pastors are helping to create a terrible new campaign of violence against young Nigerians. Children and babies branded as evil are being abused, abandoned and even murdered while the preachers make money out of the fear of their parents and their communities

Watch the video: Child 'witches' in Africa, and click here to see a related gallery

Tracy McVeigh in Esit Eket
The Observer, Sunday December 9 2007
Article history

The rainy season is over and the Niger Delta is lush and humid. This southern edge of West Africa, where Nigeria's wealth pumps out of oil and gas fields to bypass millions of its poorest people, is a restless place. In the small delta state of Akwa Ibom, the tension and the poverty has delivered an opportunity for a new and terrible phenomenon that is leading to the abuse and the murder of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children. And it is being done in the name of Christianity.Almost everyone goes to church here. Driving through the town of Esit Eket, the rust-streaked signs, tarpaulins hung between trees and posters on boulders, advertise a church for every third or fourth house along the road. Such names as New Testament Assembly, Church of God Mission, Mount Zion Gospel, Glory of God, Brotherhood of the Cross, Redeemed, Apostalistic. Behind the smartly painted doors pastors make a living by 'deliverances' - exorcisms - for people beset by witchcraft, something seen to cause anything from divorce, disease, accidents or job losses. With so many churches it's a competitive market, but by local standards a lucrative one.
But an exploitative situation has now grown into something much more sinister as preachers are turning their attentions to children - naming them as witches. In a maddened state of terror, parents and whole villages turn on the child. They are burnt, poisoned, slashed, chained to trees, buried alive or simply beaten and chased off into the bush.

This is not a "nice" academic subject!

12-05-2008, 09:08 AM	#1
Clivedurdle Contributor Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: London UK Posts: 16,024	Disability in the Bible This Abled Body (or via: amazon.co.uk) on googlebooks Hector Avalos was referred to at the Jesus Project, and I was interested in the reference to the above book he co-edited. Can anyone tell me more about his background? Looking at the introduction it got me very annoyed - I have a strong impression of someone with an apologetic agenda trying to fit square pegs into round holes. He references in a seemingly academic manner the alleged neo marxist influences on British Sociology of Disability, but the reality is he does not seem to be clear about his own biases. Am I misjudging the guy?

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12-05-2008, 10:20 AM	#2
show_no_mercy Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Dancing Posts: 9,940	I've read one of his books (The End of Biblical Studies (or via: amazon.co.uk)). According to a short bio he gave of himself at one of his presentations, he used to be an evangelical and went to ministry school to debunk atheists but found the lack of evidence for the events depicted in the bible (OT and NT) wanting and became an atheist himself.

12-05-2008, 11:09 AM	#3
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	Hector Avalos Hector_Avalos

12-05-2008, 11:17 AM	#4
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	I'm not sure what annoyed you about the casual reference to the neo-marxist origins of disability studies in Britain.

12-05-2008, 01:21 PM	#5
Clivedurdle Contributor Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: London UK Posts: 16,024	Maybe its his academic style. I have been brought up on Goffman and similar, and the politics of disability are critical - there is a terrifying history of abuse of our fellow human beings, and he starts with a midrash on David going mad that really was an interesting attempt by a rabbi to square his belief in a god with a real experience of madness. And for someone writing from a religious perspective, should I not expect authenticity?

12-05-2008, 03:15 PM	#6
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	Avelos is an anthropologist and writes from a social science perspective more than a religious perspective. I'm not sure what you mean by authenticity.

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