Articlegold2016

Exclusive language: The tool to empower and create identity

27 citations0/0 files storedVerbum et Ecclesia

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Biblical Studies and Interpretation Literary Theory and Cultural Hermeneutics Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies

Abstract

This article used some postmodern literary theories of philosophers such as Jean-Fran�ois Lyotard, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida and Julia Kristeva to scrutinise a selection of texts from the post-exilic period with regard to the exclusive language employed in these texts. Lyotard�s insights relate to and complement Foucault�s concept of �counter-memory�. Foucault also focuses on the network of discursive powers that operate behind texts and reproduce them, arguing that it is important to have a look from behind so as to see which voices were silenced by the specific powers behind texts. The author briefly looked at different post-exilic texts within identity-finding contexts, focusing especially on Chronicles and a few Qumran texts, to examine the way in which they used language to create identity and to empower the community in their different contexts. It is generally accepted that both the author(s) of 1 & 2 Chronicles and the Qumran community used texts selectively, with their own nuances, omissions and additions. This study scrutinised the way the author(s) of Chronicles and the Qumran community used documents selectively, focusing on the way in which they used exclusive language. It is clear that all communities used such language in certain circumstances to strengthen a certain group�s identity, to empower them and to legitimise this group�s conduct, behaviour and claims � and thereby exclude other groups.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Based on postmodern literary theories, this article compares the exclusive language used in Chronicles and in the texts of the Qumran community, pointing to the practice of creating identity and empowering through discourse. In conclusion, the article reflects on what is necessary in a South African context, post-1994, to be a truly democratic country.Keywords: Exclusive language; inclusive; Jean-Fran�ois Lyotard, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu; Derrida; Qumran Chronicles

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 27 citations exist upstream.

References

1978Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison 1992Language and Symbolic Power.1978Language, Counter-Memory, Practice 1991What Democracy Is. . . and Is Not 1997The Rules of Art: Genesis and Structure of the Literary Field 1998The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature 1985Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives 1997The Flourishing of Jewish Sects in the Maccabean Era: An Interpretation

Cited by

2017Rethinking research impact by Theology and Religious Studies with references to the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria 2024Empowering the marginalised: Exploring the potential of Theatre of the Oppressed as an intervention for youth offenders in social work practice 20231 and 2 Chronicles as a discourse of power 2022African contextual hermeneutics 2017Inclusivity in the Old Testament 2022Decolonisation – A reading strategy for the African (re-) interpretation of the Old Testament in a (South) African context

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.