{"id":157,"date":"2021-12-30T18:55:40","date_gmt":"2021-12-30T18:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/?page_id=157"},"modified":"2024-12-07T07:05:04","modified_gmt":"2024-12-07T07:05:04","slug":"research-projects","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/research-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dynamics of Moral Repair in Antiquity<\/p>\n

Between 2017 and 2021 I ran a research project, funded by the Swedish Research Council, together with my colleague Rikard Roitto at University College Stockholm. We analysed dynamics of moral repair in the ancient world, taking a comparative and interdisciplinary approach by focusing on similarities and differences between various cultural spheres: Second Temple Judaism, Greco-Roman culture, and early Christ followers. The project tried to understand and explain these similarities and differences.<\/span><\/p>\n

The project was extended into 2022 and the final publication, Revenge, Compensation, and Forgiveness in the Ancient World: A Comparative Study of Interpersonal Infringement and Moral Repair<\/em>, came out in 2024. For a more detailed description of this project, its aims and results, and all the publications that came out of it, please visit the page <\/span>https:\/\/ehs.se\/forskning\/moralrepair\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Not the End of the World!<\/strong><\/strong>Apocalyptic Imagery in the Jesus Tradition<\/strong><\/p>\n

My present project examines apocalyptic language and imagery in the New Testament gospels against the social and cultural background. Apocalypticism is often seen as belief in an imminent end, but early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic imagery mainly concerned other issues: the universe, the human condition, and social\/political realities. This project re-examines the use, function, and meaning of apocalyptic language in the early Jesus tradition, within the context of ancient apocalyptic literature in general. Ernst Cassirer\u2019s theory of myth and language, together with conceptual metaphor and blending theory, are used to analyse apocalyptic imagery in the Jesus tradition. I examine the basic apocalyptic frameworks of Mark and Q, and how they are revised and further developed\/reinterpreted through the gospels of Matthew, John, and Luke. Finally I trace specific apocalyptic themes through the gospels.<\/span><\/p>\n

The project develops an alternative to the still dominating but unsatisfactory taxonomy of apocalypses in Biblical Studies. Instead I propose two basic models for conceptualising the relationship between heaven and earth in apocalyptic texts, one communicative and the other reflective. The reflective model should be given more attention as a framework for the early Jesus tradition, providing the imagery with contextual relevance, while the communicative model explains how later developments grew out of earlier traditions. The results challenge traditional presuppositions and provide a theoretical basis for a reliable interpretation of the meaning and effects of apocalyptic thought and language in early Judaism and Christianity.<\/p>\n

The Transformation of the Torah: <\/strong><\/strong>How the Change from Guidance to Normative Law Triggered Sectarianism <\/strong><\/strong>and Created New Movements<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another project I hope to get more time for in the future is about the changing role and character of the Torah. The late Second Temple period is known for its conflicts between rivalling Jewish factions, especially regarding diverging customs and legal interpretations (halakah). Tensions are evident from a variety of ancient texts and involved among others the Qumran sect, the Pharisees, the emerging Jesus movement, and early rabbis. One important factor behind those tensions was the transformation of the Torah (the five books of Moses) from a practical or descriptive resource for learning to think and judge wisely, to a prescriptive and normative code of law, through a process of canonisation, Hellenization, and eventually Romanization. In the end, it became binding norm and any negotiation of its statutes required elaborate interpretative tools.<\/p>\n

But this was not always the case and the route to get there was not straightforward. The Torah\u2019s character underwent gradual change and earlier attitudes continued to be influential. This accounts for varying and sometimes contradictory tendencies over a considerable period of time, where customary approaches to Torah loyalty and interpretation co-existed with newer, normative views. The project analyses the effects of the Torah\u2019s transformation process on dissension, factionalism, and interpretative strategies. It tests the hypothesis that this explains factionalism and conflicts around the turn of the era\u2014a situation that gave rise to new movements that in the long run became decisive for the development of European history and Western culture.<\/p>\n

Previous Projects<\/strong><\/p>\n

My previous research projects have focused on the historical Jesus, ritual purity and purification, emotions (disgust, empathy, fear, a sense of justice, shame…), law and legal interpretation, and same-sex relationships in antiquity.<\/p>\n

Konfliktl\u00f6sningsdynamik i antiken<\/p>\n

Mellan 2017 och 2021 drev jag ett forskningsprojekt, finansierat av Vetenskapsr\u00e5det, tillsammans med min kollega Rikard Roitto vid EHS. Vi analyserade konfliktl\u00f6sningsdynamik eller moralisk reparation i den antika v\u00e4rlden, med ett j\u00e4mf\u00f6rande och tv\u00e4rvetenskapligt angreppss\u00e4tt, d\u00e4r vi fokuserade p\u00e5 likheter och skillnader mellan olika kulturella sf\u00e4rer: Andra templets judendom, den grekisk-romerska kulturen och tidiga jesusanh\u00e4ngare. Projektet f\u00f6rs\u00f6kte f\u00f6rst\u00e5 och f\u00f6rklara dessa likheter och skillnader.<\/span><\/p>\n

Projektet f\u00f6rl\u00e4ngdes till 2022 och den slutliga publikationen, Revenge, Compensation, and Forgiveness in the Ancient World: A Comparative Study of Interpersonal Infringement and Moral Repair<\/em>, kom ut 2024. F\u00f6r en mer detaljerad beskrivning av projektet, dess m\u00e5l och resultat samt alla publikationer som det resulterade i, bes\u00f6k sidan <\/span>https:\/\/ehs.se\/forskning\/moralrepair\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Inte v\u00e4rldens slut!<\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/strong>Apokalyptiskt bildspr\u00e5k i Jesustraditionen<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Mitt nuvarande projekt unders\u00f6ker apokalyptiskt spr\u00e5k och bildspr\u00e5k i de nytestamentliga evangelierna i relation till den sociala och kulturella bakgrunden. Apokalyptik ses ofta som en tro p\u00e5 tidens snara slut, men det tidiga judiska och kristna apokalyptiska bildspr\u00e5ket handlade huvudsakligen om andra fr\u00e5gor: universum, m\u00e4nniskans villkor och sociala\/politiska realiteter. Detta projekt unders\u00f6ker det apokalyptiska spr\u00e5kets anv\u00e4ndning, funktion och betydelse i den tidiga Jesus-traditionen, inom ramen f\u00f6r den antika apokalyptiska litteraturen i allm\u00e4nhet. Ernst Cassirers teori om myter och spr\u00e5k, tillsammans med konceptuell metafor- och blendingteori, anv\u00e4nds f\u00f6r att analysera apokalyptiska bilder i Jesustraditionen. Jag unders\u00f6ker de grundl\u00e4ggande apokalyptiska ramverken i Markus och Q, och hur de revideras och vidareutvecklas\/tolkas genom Matteus-, Johannes- och Lukasevangelierna. Slutligen sp\u00e5rar jag specifika apokalyptiska teman genom evangelierna. <\/span><\/p>\n

Projektet utvecklar ett alternativ till den fortfarande dominerande men otillfredsst\u00e4llande taxonomin f\u00f6r apokalypser inom bibelvetenskapen. Ist\u00e4llet f\u00f6resl\u00e5r jag tv\u00e5 grundl\u00e4ggande modeller f\u00f6r att konceptualisera f\u00f6rh\u00e5llandet mellan himmel och jord i apokalyptiska texter, en kommunikativ och en reflektiv. Den reflektiva modellen b\u00f6r ges st\u00f6rre uppm\u00e4rksamhet som ett ramverk f\u00f6r den tidiga Jesustraditionen, eftersom den ger bildspr\u00e5ket kontextuell relevans, medan den kommunikativa modellen f\u00f6rklarar hur en senare utveckling v\u00e4xte fram ur tidigare traditioner. Resultaten utmanar traditionella antaganden och ger en teoretisk grund f\u00f6r en tillf\u00f6rlitlig tolkning av inneb\u00f6rden och effekterna av apokalyptiska tankar och apokalyptiskt spr\u00e5k i den tidiga judendomen och kristendomen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Torans transformering: <\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Hur f\u00f6r\u00e4ndringen fr\u00e5n v\u00e4gledning till normativ lag ledde till sekterism <\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>och skapade nya r\u00f6relser<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ett annat projekt jag hoppas f\u00e5 mer tid f\u00f6r i framtiden handlar om Torans f\u00f6r\u00e4ndrade roll och karakt\u00e4r. Tiden kring v\u00e5r tider\u00e4knings b\u00f6rjan \u00e4r k\u00e4nd f\u00f6r konflikter mellan rivaliserande judiska fraktioner, s\u00e4rskilt kring sedv\u00e4njor och lagtolkningar (halakha). Sp\u00e4nningarna framtr\u00e4der tydligt i samtida texter och inbegrep bland annat Qumran-sekten, faris\u00e9erna, den framv\u00e4xande Jesusr\u00f6relsen och tidiga rabbiner. En viktig bakomliggande faktor var hur Toran (de fem Moseb\u00f6ckerna) f\u00f6r\u00e4ndrades fr\u00e5n att ha uppfattats som en pragmatisk eller deskriptiv resurs f\u00f6r att l\u00e4ra sig t\u00e4nka och d\u00f6ma klokt, till att bli preskriptiv och normerande lag. Detta skedde genom en process av kanonisering, hellenisering och s\u00e5 sm\u00e5ningom romanisering, d\u00e4r Toran blev bindande norm och alla anpassningar och f\u00f6rhandlingar kr\u00e4vde avancerade tolkningsverktyg.<\/p>\n

Men s\u00e5 var inte alltid fallet och v\u00e4gen dit var inte rak! Torans karakt\u00e4r f\u00f6r\u00e4ndrades gradvis och \u00e4ldre f\u00f6rh\u00e5llningss\u00e4tt hade fortsatt inflytande. Detta f\u00f6rklarar olikartade och ibland mots\u00e4gelsefulla tendenser, d\u00e4r traditionella f\u00f6rh\u00e5llningss\u00e4tt till trohet och tolkning levde sida vid sida med nyare, normerande syns\u00e4tt. Projektet analyserar konsekvenserna av den h\u00e4r processen och pr\u00f6var hypotesen att f\u00f6r\u00e4ndrade syns\u00e4tt p\u00e5 Torans roll kan f\u00f6rklara mycket av den oenighet och de konflikter, samt nya tolkningsstrategier, som k\u00e4nnetecknade det judiska samh\u00e4llet vid denna tid. Resultatet blev splittring och sekterism \u2013 vilket gav upphov till nya r\u00f6relser som i det l\u00e5nga loppet blev avg\u00f6rande f\u00f6r den europeiska historiens och den v\u00e4sterl\u00e4ndska kulturens utveckling.<\/p>\n

Tidigare projekt<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mina tidigare forskningsprojekt har fokuserat p\u00e5 den historiske Jesus, rituell renhet, emotioner (avsmak, empati, r\u00e4dsla, r\u00e4ttvisek\u00e4nsla, skam), lag och lagtolkning, samt samk\u00f6nade relationer i antiken.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dynamics of Moral Repair in Antiquity Between 2017 and 2021 I ran a research project, funded by the Swedish Research Council, together with my colleague Rikard Roitto at University College Stockholm. We analysed dynamics of moral repair in the ancient world, taking a comparative and interdisciplinary approach by focusing on similarities and differences between various […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-157","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\/157","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=157"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":433,"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/157\/revisions\/433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomaskazen.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}