{"id":150,"date":"2021-12-30T18:53:17","date_gmt":"2021-12-30T18:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/?page_id=150"},"modified":"2026-06-20T22:32:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T22:32:50","slug":"academia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/academia\/","title":{"rendered":"Academia"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m professor of Biblical Studies at the Department of Religious Studies and Theology, University College Stockholm (Stockholm School of Theology). My job mainly consists of research and teaching.<\/p>\n

I’m responsible for the PhD programme in Biblical Studies and supervise PhD students. I’m also editor of EHS’s dissertation series (DTH) and of other books published by the institution. In my own research I have, through the years, been engaged in questions about the historical Jesus and Second Temple Judaism, early christology, the much-discussed Son-of-Man concept, apocalypticism and apocalyptic language, the encounter between a modern worldview and Christian beliefs, and then of course, anything relating to ideas and practices of ritual purity and impurity. My dissertation discussed Jesus’ attitude to contemporary purity practices: Jesus and Purity Halakhah: Was Jesus Indifferent to Impurity? <\/em>2002, reprints 2010 and 2021.<\/p>\n

Since then I have published more books on purity:  Issues of Impurity in Early Judaism<\/em>, 2010, reprint 2021, and a sequel, Impurity and Purification in Early Judaism and the Jesus Tradition<\/em>, 2021.<\/p>\n

My interest in cult and ritual, as well as body and morality, led to research on emotions and the use of methods and perspectives from the field of Cognitive Science of Religion. I have, among other things, analysed the role of various emotions in Biblical legal texts with cognitive tools. In Emotions in Biblical Law: A Cognitive Science Approach<\/em>, 2011, I analyse disgust, empathy, fear and a sense of justice in the legal collections of the Pentateuch. I have also published articles where I make use of cognitive science perspectives to interpret Jewish purity conceptions as well as New Testament texts.<\/p>\n

Between 2017 and 2021 I worked together with my colleague Rikard Roitto on a project about “Moral Repair in Antiquity”, funded by the Swedish Research Council. With the help of social science and cognitive methods and perspectives we analyse and compare ideals, rituals and practices of forgiveness, revenge and reconciliation in early Judaism, Christianity, and Greek and Roman culture. The project was completed during 2022 and has resulted in a joint monograph (Revenge, Compensation and Forgiveness in the Ancient World: A Comparative Study of Interpersonal Infringement and Moral Repair<\/em><\/em> <\/em>(Mohr Siebeck 2024) and a number of stand-alone articles, collected and republished in three supplements (EHS 2022): Moral Infringement and Repair in Antiquity: <\/em>1. Emotions and Hierarchies <\/em>(Kazen) ; 2. Group Dynamics <\/em>(Roitto); 3. Forgiveness <\/em>(Roitto).<\/p>\n

I find questions of law and legal interpretation interesting also in a broader perspective. I have published some articles about the development and role of law (torah) in the formation of the Pentateuch, about Jesus and the legal interpretation of contemporary groups, and about the different theological standpoints towards the Torah which we find in various New Testament writings. In 2013 I published a book about the conflicts between Jesus and his adversaries, regarding the interpretation and application of the Torah: Scripture, Interpretation, or Authority? Motives and Arguments in Jesus\u2019 Halakhic Conflicts<\/em>. In due time I hope to publish a broader book on the development and interpretation of the Torah.<\/p>\n

Several of my research interests came together in a Swedish book in 2018: Smuts, skam, status: Perspektiv p\u00e5 samk\u00f6nad sexualitet i Bibeln och antiken. <\/em>A revised English translation appeared on Eerdmans in autumn 2024 (Dirt, Shame, Status: Perspectives on Same-Sex Sexuality in the Bible and the Ancient World<\/em><\/em>). <\/p>\n

I’m presently engaged in a project on apocalyptic language and its meaning and function in the Jesus tradition. The tools are taken on the one hand from certain Philosophy of Religion theories about the relationship between myth and language, and on the other hand from conceptual blending theory. Hopefully this will eventually result in another book.<\/p>\n

I’m responsible for a new (2020) series of booklets in Swedish, Tro & Liv Bibel <\/em>(Faith & Life: Bible). The aim is to bring biblical research in dialogue with Church and society and highlight questions of faith and human life. The titles are free to download and cheap to buy in paperback (ehs.se\/trolivbibel). In 2021 I published a booklet on Etik och retorik i Jesustraditionen: kognitiva och psyko-biologiska perspektiv <\/em>(Ethics and Rhetoric in the Jesus Tradition: Cognitive and Psycho-Biological Perspectives<\/em>).<\/p>\n

I’ve also published around 50 scholarly articles and a number of book reviews. If you want to know more, click Publications <\/em>or follow this link<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jag \u00e4r professor i bibelvetenskap vid avdelningen f\u00f6r religionsvetenskap och teologi, Enskilda H\u00f6gskolan Stockholm (Teologiska H\u00f6gskolan Stockholm).  Min tj\u00e4nst best\u00e5r huvudsakligen av forskning och undervisning.<\/p>\n

Jag ansvarar f\u00f6r forskarutbildningen i bibelvetenskap och handleder doktorander. Jag \u00e4r ocks\u00e5 redakt\u00f6r f\u00f6r EHS avhandlingsserie (DTH) och f\u00f6r andra b\u00f6cker som publiceras av insititutionen.  I min egen forskning har jag under \u00e5ren \u00e4gnat mig \u00e5t fr\u00e5gor om den historiske Jesus och andra templets judendom, tidigkristen kristologi, det omdiskuterade m\u00e4nniskosonsbegreppet, apokalyptik och apokalyptiskt spr\u00e5kbruk, m\u00f6tet mellan en modern v\u00e4rldsbild och kristen tro, samt f\u00f6rst\u00e5s, det mesta som har med rituella orenhetsf\u00f6rest\u00e4llningar att g\u00f6ra. Min avhandling handlade n\u00e4mligen om Jesus f\u00f6rh\u00e5llningss\u00e4tt till samtida renhetspraktiker: Jesus and Purity Halakhah: Was Jesus Indifferent to Impurity?<\/em> 2002, nytryck 2010 och 2021.<\/p>\n

Jag har sedan dess publicerat ytterligare b\u00f6cker om renhetsf\u00f6rest\u00e4llningar: Issues of Impurity in Early Judaism<\/em>, 2010, nytryck 2021, och en uppf\u00f6ljare, Impurity and Purification in Early Judaism and the Jesus Tradition<\/em>, 2021.<\/p>\n

Mitt intresse f\u00f6r kult och rit, liksom fr\u00e5gor om kropp och moral, har lett till forskningsprojekt kring emotioner och anv\u00e4ndning av metoder och perspektiv fr\u00e5n ett forskningsf\u00e4lt som kallas kognitiv religionsvetenskap. Jag har bland annat anv\u00e4nt mig av kognitionsvetenskapliga utg\u00e5ngspunkter f\u00f6r att analysera olika emotioners roll i bibliska lagtexter. I boken Emotions in Biblical Law: A Cognitive Science Approach<\/em>, 2011, analyserar jag avsmak, empati, fruktan och r\u00e4ttvisek\u00e4nsla i Moseb\u00f6ckernas lagsamlingar. Jag har ocks\u00e5 publicerat artiklar d\u00e4r jag anv\u00e4nder kognitionsvetenskapliga perspektiv f\u00f6r att tolka s\u00e5v\u00e4l judiska renhetsf\u00f6rest\u00e4llningar som nytestamentliga texter.<\/p>\n

Mellan 2017 och 2021 arbetade jag tillsammans med min kollega Rikard Roitto med ett st\u00f6rre projekt, finansierat av Vetenskapsr\u00e5det, \u201dKonfliktl\u00f6sningsdynamik i antiken\u201d, som handlar om att med socialvetenskapliga och kognitiva metoder och perspektiv analysera och j\u00e4mf\u00f6ra ideal, riter och praktiker kring f\u00f6rl\u00e5telse, h\u00e4mnd och f\u00f6rsoning i tidig judendom, den framv\u00e4xande kristna r\u00f6relsen, samt i grekisk-romersk kultur. Projektet f\u00e4rdigst\u00e4lldes under 2022 och har utmynnat i en gemensam monografi (Revenge, Compensation and Forgiveness in the Ancient World: A Comparative Study of Interpersonal Infringement and Moral Repair <\/em>(Mohr Siebeck 2024) and a number of stand-alone articles, collected and republished in three supplements (EHS 2022): Moral Infringement and Repair in Antiquity: <\/em>1. Emotions and Hierarchies <\/em>(Kazen) ; 2. Group Dynamics <\/em>(Roitto); 3. Forgiveness <\/em>(Roitto).<\/p>\n

Fr\u00e5gor om lag och lagtolkning i ett bredare perspektiv tycker jag ocks\u00e5 \u00e4r intressanta. Jag har skrivit artiklar om lagens utveckling och roll i formandet av Moseb\u00f6ckerna , om Jesus och samtida gruppers tolkning av lagen, och om de nytestamentliga skrifternas olika teologiska f\u00f6rh\u00e5llningss\u00e4tt till Toran. \u00c5r 2013 gav jag ut en bok om konflikterna mellan Jesus och hans meningsmotst\u00e5ndare kring uttolkning och till\u00e4mpning av lagen: Scripture, Interpretation, or Authority? Motives and Arguments in Jesus\u2019 Halakhic Conflicts<\/em>. S\u00e5 sm\u00e5ningom hoppas jag kunna publicera en bredare bok om Torans utveckling och tolkning.<\/p>\n

Flera av mina forskningsintressen sammanf\u00f6ll i en popul\u00e4rvetenskaplig bok p\u00e5 svenska, som kom ut 2018. Den handlar om synen p\u00e5 samk\u00f6nad sexualitet i Bibelns v\u00e4rld: Smuts, skam, status: Perspektiv p\u00e5 samk\u00f6nad sexualitet i Bibeln och antiken. <\/em>Boken kom ut p\u00e5 Eerdmans p\u00e5 engelska h\u00f6sten 2024 (Dirt, Shame, Status: Perspectives on Same-Sex Sexuality in the Bible and the Ancient World<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Jag h\u00e5ller f\u00f6r n\u00e4rvarande p\u00e5 med ett projekt om apokalyptiskt spr\u00e5k och vilken betydelse och funktion ett s\u00e5dant spr\u00e5kbruk har i Jesustraditionen. Verktygen h\u00e4mtas dels fr\u00e5n religionsfilosofiska teorier om f\u00f6rh\u00e5llandet mellan myt och spr\u00e5k, dels fr\u00e5n en metaforteori som kallas \u201dconceptual blending\u201d. F\u00f6rhoppningsvis blir \u00e4ven det en bok med tiden.<\/p>\n

Jag ansvarar f\u00f6r serien Tro & Liv Bibel. <\/em>Under 2020 lanserade bibelvetenskapen vid EHS denna serie f\u00f6r sm\u00e5skrifter, f\u00f6r att f\u00f6rmedla bibelvetenskaplig forskning i dialog med kyrka och samh\u00e4lle och lyfta fr\u00e5gest\u00e4llningar kring tro och m\u00e4nskligt liv. Seriens titlar \u00e4r gratis att ladda ner och kan k\u00f6pas billigt i bokform p\u00e5 n\u00e4tet (ehs.se\/trolivbibel). Under 2021 gav jag ut ett litet h\u00e4fte i serien: Etik och retorik i Jesustraditionen: kognitiva och psyko-biologiska perspektiv.<\/em><\/p>\n

F\u00f6rutom b\u00f6cker har jag skrivit ett 50-tal artiklar och diverse bokrecensioner. Om du vill se en lista p\u00e5 publikationer och diverse annat s\u00e5 kan du klicka p\u00e5 Publications <\/em>eller h\u00e4r<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m professor of Biblical Studies at the Department of Religious Studies and Theology, University College Stockholm (Stockholm School of Theology). My job mainly consists of research and teaching. I’m responsible for the PhD programme in Biblical Studies and supervise PhD students. I’m also editor of EHS’s dissertation series (DTH) and of other books published by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-150","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":454,"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150\/revisions\/454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}