Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity
The Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity (RRA) series uses insights from sociolinguistics, semiotics, rhetoric, ethnography, literary studies, social sciences, cognitive science, and ideological studies in programmatic ways that enact sociorhetorical interpretation as an interpretive analytic. Rather than being a specific method for interpreting texts, an interpretive analytic evaluates and reorients its strategies as it engages in multifaceted dialogue with the texts and other phenomena that come within its purview. Using concepts and strategies of methods as an interactive interpretive analytic, sociorhetorical interpretation juxtaposes and interrelates phenomena from multiple disciplines and modes of interpretation by drawing and redrawing boundaries of analysis and interpretation.
The corpus of works for RRA is writings in the environment of the first four centuries of the emergence of Christianity. The primary corpus is the New Testament, but full-length studies and commentaries may be produced on writings with some significant relationship to study of the New Testament, such as Wisdom of Solomon, Sibylline Oracles, Didache, Epistle of Barnabas, Protevangelium of James, or Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
Publication of RRA volumes is made possible with the generous support of the Pierce Program in Religion of Oxford College of Emory University.
Jeal, Roy R. Exploring Philemon: Freedom, Brotherhood, and Partnership in the New Society. RRA 2. SBL Press, 2015.
Oropeza, B. J. Exploring Second Corinthians: Death and Life, Hardship and Rivalry. RRA 3. SBL Press, 2016.
Robbins, Vernon K., Robert H. von Thaden Jr., and Bart B. Bruehler. Foundations for Sociorhetorical Exploration: A Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity Reader. RRA 4. SBL Press, 2016.