The Shiloh Project: Rape Culture, Religion and the Bible

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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.