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Selected Publications

Ammann, Sonja, & Dirnberger, Anita. (2024, June 21). Horror. Prospektiv – Beilage Zum Evangelischen Magazin Bref, 17. http://www.theologie.unibas.ch/de/fakultaet/publikationen/prospektiv/

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Selected Projects & Collaborations

Dissertation Dirnberger: Sach 11–14 und die zunehmende Bedeutung des Kollektivs als politische und religiöse Grösse

Research Project | 2 Project Members

Die Dissertation unter dem Arbeitstitel «Sach 11-14 und die zunehmende Bedeutung des Kollektivs als politische und religiöse Grösse» beschäftigt sich mit der Darstellung, Konstitution und Organisation des Kollektivs im hinteren Teil des Sacharjabuches. Die Idee eines Königs aus Sach 9-10, der über ein weltumspannendes Reich herrscht, wird in den Kapiteln 11-14 abgelöst durch neue Motive: Einzelpersonen und besonders mit Königtum assoziierte Konzepte treten gegenüber Kollektivgrössen zurück und verschwinden sogar ganz. So übernehmen etwa in Sach 12-13 das Volk und einzelne Teilgruppen der Einwohner von Jerusalem und Juda wie Familien in Jerusalem zentrale Funktionen in der militärischen Verteidigung sowie in rituellen Belangen. Im Rahmen des Dissertationsprojekts sollen die verschiedenen Darstellungen von kollektiver Organisation in Deuterosacharja untersucht werden. Dabei stützt sich die Arbeit auf die in den letzten Jahren wieder zunehmend vertretene Datierung von Sach 9-14 in die hellenistische Zeit. Könnte diese Fokussierung auf die Organisation des Kollektivs mit hellenistisch-griechischen Idealvorstellungen von Gemeinschaftsorganisation in Verbindung stehen? Oder bieten die sozialen und politischen Strukturen in Jerusalem und Juda unter hellenistischer Herrschaft einen Hintergrund für diese verschiedenen Beschreibungen der Organisation des Kollektivs in Sach 11-14? Dabei sollen auch ausserbiblische Texte, die in hellenistischer Zeit entstanden sein könnten, als Bezugstexte für Überlegungen über die in Sach 11-14 beschriebenen Vorstellungen über die Organisation und Konstitution des Kollektivs in den Blick genommen werden.

Transforming Memories of Collective Violence in the Hebrew Bible

Research Project | 6 Project Members

Violence in biblical texts is often disturbing to the modern reader. To counter this ethical indignation, current biblical scholarship has pointed out that biblical texts often emerged in reaction to experiences of collective violence and were written from the perspective of the vanquished. Moreover, narratives of past violence - such as narratives of the conquest of Canaan or the book of Esther - are recognized as ideological fiction rather than reliable historical accounts. A growing consensus in biblical scholarship holds that the biblical texts were written mainly after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. The fictional narratives of violence can thus be explained as "counterpresent" memory, stemming from a time when the producers of these texts were in no actual position of power. But as we can see in biblical texts like the books of Maccabees, the counter-historical construction of memory might also go the other way round, producing victimological rather than triumphalist narratives. Comparative evidence from ancient Near Eastern and Greek historical narratives confirms the existence of such patterns. In this project, we will argue that biblical memories of vanquishing and being vanquished are intertwined and need to be studied together as interrelated aspects of the cultural memory of collective violence. In recent years, biblical scholars have increasingly used literary and cultural trauma theories to describe the relationship between experiences of collective violence and their reflection in biblical texts. Building on insights from recent trauma research within and beyond biblical studies, we will explore the cultural function of biblical narratives of collective violence as part of Israel's cultural memory in post-monarchic times. We will draw on V. Volkan's concepts of "chosen trauma" and "chosen glory" as a tool for analysing texts produced by a group that has experienced collective violence and that, through imaginary literature, copes with the violent potential within the group. The four sub-projects focus each on one specific area of biblical narratives which led to the commemoration of a "trauma" or "glory" in the later history of reception: the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem (2 Kgs 24-25; 2 Chr 36; Jer 37-43; Jer 52; 1 Esdras 1); the conquest of the land of Canaan in the book of Joshua (Josh 6-11); the religious persecution and subsequent triumph of the Maccabees (1-2 Macc); and the collective violence at the end of the book of Esther (Esth 8-9). The research team will work together to develop an integrated view on how ancient Israel coped with collective violence - including its own violent potential - through the literary construction of an imagined history of violence. The project will test the following working hypotheses: 1) memories of vanquishing and of being vanquished are interrelated in biblical narratives of collective violence; 2) biblical narratives of collective violence evolve in relation to historical changes and, as part of shared cultural memory, contribute to identity formation or the legitimation of power in different historical contexts; 3) biblical narratives of collective violence are a means of coping both with violence experienced and with the group's own violent potential. We anticipate that the results of this project will a) provide new and historically-grounded interpretations of difficult biblical texts, b) provide insights into strategies of coping with experiences of collective violence and with a group's own violent potential, and c) reassess and contribute to contemporary trauma studies.