The Shiloh Project: Rape Culture, Religion and the Bible

该项目的核心是关注《圣经》中的性暴力和基于性别的暴力(GBV)(例如，在夏伊洛的大规模强奸事件中，在《21世纪法官》中，该项目因此而得名)及其在当代流行文化中的来世。这是来自英国、美国和新西兰的四位圣经学者的合作成果。在性别理论和圣经人物和主题在大众媒体--如广告、音乐录像带或电影中的表现方面，所有人都有专业知识。该项目的目的是在当今学术和非学术话语中如何构建GBV的背景下，研究描述GBV的圣经文本以及这些文本和相关概念的表现(如‘童贞’、‘纯洁’、‘罪恶的性行为’)。例如，在#MeToo运动的背景下，关于性暴力的公开讨论突出并促进了享有特权的白人妇女的观点，并暴露了广泛的受害者指责。该项目将特别关注那些由于多个跨界别而受到基于性别的暴力的不成比例影响的人--即由于一个以上的身份因素(例如性别认同或取向、族裔、阶级、残疾或与少数宗教的联系)而被边缘化的人，以及在学术(包括圣经研究)和非学术(包括社交媒体)话语中被边缘化的人。由于处在受压迫的十字路口的人都特别容易受到GBV的影响，而且更多的时候是缺席或处于GBV公共话语的边缘，这个项目特别紧迫。三个现实是中心：1)圣经是一本具有权力和影响力的文本，对数百万犹太和基督教追随者来说是权威的。2)大众文化话语--包括对圣经概念、人物和主题的大量呈现--提供了对普遍持有的(或渴望的)价值观以及文化定型观念和偏见的洞察--尤其是对那些由社会赋权和/或霸权集团持有的文化定型观念和偏见的洞察。但是，尽管这终于引起了公众的广泛关注--例如通过#MeToo运动--但边缘群体仍然特别容易受到这种暴力的影响，在公共对话中处于边缘地位。这种情况必须改变。该项目寻求开启一场关于交叉性、圣经和GBV的跨学科学术讨论。这将包括将在南约克郡和奥克兰(新西兰)举行的研讨会，会议将探讨在这些地点发生的两起大致同时发生的性虐待丑闻：即罗瑟勒姆儿童性剥削丑闻和奥克兰“烘焙终结者”丑闻。这些座谈会将仔细审查公共媒体如何描述每一起丑闻，特别强调阶级、种族、宗教、男性和女性气质等问题。反过来，这些将阐明更广泛的公共背景，在这种背景下，圣经及其在流行文化中的接受，涉及性别动态和刻板印象，以及这对当代关于GBV的讨论的影响。但该项目不仅限于学术对话，还包括公众参与活动和流行媒体，包括现场表演和视觉展览、播客和针对普通观众的网络资源。同样，这些将更多地包括处于关于GBV的公共讨论的边缘的人，通过战略学术合作和公众参与，该项目将探索如何批判性地理解和提请注意跨界别压迫及其对圣经中GBV在流行文化和其他公共话语中的表达的影响。

At the heart of this project is a focus on sexual and gender-based violence (GBV) both in the Bible (e.g. in the story of the mass rape at Shiloh, in Judges 21, which gives the project its title) and in its afterlives in contemporary popular culture. It is a collaboration between four biblical scholars from the UK, USA and NZ. All share expertise in the areas of both gender theory and the representation of biblical characters and motifs in popular media - such as advertising, music videos or film.The purpose of the project is to examine both biblical texts depicting GBV and representations of such texts and of related concepts (such as 'virginity', 'purity', 'sinful sexuality') in the context of how GBV is constructed in present-day academic and non-academic discourses. For instance, public discussions of sexual violence in light of the #MeToo campaign have foregrounded and promoted Privileged White Women (PWW) perspectives and have exposed widespread victim-blaming. This project will pay particular attention to persons who are disproportionately affected by GBV on account of multiple intersectionalities - that is, on account of being marginalized due to more than one identity factor (e.g. gender identity or orientation, ethnicity, class, disability, or affiliation with a minority religion) and have been marginalized in academic (including biblical studies) and non-academic, including social media, discourses. As persons at the intersections of oppression are both particularly vulnerable to GBV and more often absent from, or marginal to the public discourse on GBV, this project is particularly urgent.Three realities are central:1) The Bible is a text of power and influence, authoritative for millions of Jewish and Christian followers. It is vital to interrogate and understand what the Bible says, how it is interpreted, and how biblical texts infuse and are applied in contemporary settings and contexts.2) Popular culture discourse - including its very many presentations of biblical concepts, characters and motifs - provides insight into widely held (or aspired to) values, as well as into cultural stereotypes and prejudices - particularly into those held by socially empowered and/or hegemonic groups.3) Sexual and gender-based violence is endemic - including in the Bible and in popular culture representations. But while this is finally getting widespread public attention - e.g. through the #MeToo campaign - marginal groups remain both particularly vulnerable to such violence and peripheral in the public conversation. This must change.The project seeks to open up an interdisciplinary academic discussion on intersectionality, the Bible and GBV. This will include symposia to be held in South Yorkshire and Auckland (NZ), which will explore two roughly contemporaneous sexual abuse scandals that took place in these locations: namely, the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal and the Auckland 'Roast Busters' scandal. These symposia will examine closely how each scandal was depicted in public media, with particular emphasis on questions of class, ethnicity, religion, masculinity and femininity. In turn, these will illuminate the wider public context in which the Bible and its reception in popular culture address gendered dynamics and stereotypes and the impact of this on contemporary discussion on GBV. But the project does not stop at academic dialogue, incorporating also public engagement activities and popular media, including live performances and a visual exhibition, a podcast and web-based resources aimed at a general audience. Again, these will be inclusive of persons more often at the margins of public discussion on GBV.Through both strategic academic collaboration and public engagement, the project will thus explore ways to understand critically and draw attention to intersectional oppression and its impact on articulations of GBV in the Bible, in both popular culture and other public discourse.