The Problem of the Christian Master Augustine in the Afterlife of Slavery
Synopsis
A bold rereading of Augustinian thought for a world still haunted by slavery Over the last two decades, scholars have made a striking return to the resources of the Augustinian tradition to theorize citizenship, virtue, and the place of religion in public life. However, these scholars have not sufficiently attended to Augustine’s embrace of the position of the Christian slaveholder. To confront a racialized world, the modern Augustinian tradition of political thought must reckon with its own entanglements with the afterlife of the white Christian master. Drawing Augustine’s politics and the resources of modern Black thought into extended dialogue, Matthew Elia develops a critical analysis of the enduring problem of the Christian master, even as he presses toward an alternative interpretation of key concepts of ethical life—agency, virtue, temporality—against and beyond the framework of mastery. Amid democratic crises and racial injustice on multiple fronts, the book breathes fresh life into conversations on religion and the public square by showing how ancient and contemporary sources at once clash and converge in surprising ways. It imaginatively carves a path forward for the enduring humanities inquiry into the nature of our common life and the perennial problem of social and political domination.Book details
- Author:
- Matthew Elia
- ISBN:
- 9780300277265
- Related ISBNs:
- 9780300266597
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- Pages:
- N/A
- Reading age:
- Not specified
- Includes images:
- No
- Date of addition:
- 2024-05-27
- Usage restrictions:
- Copyright
- Copyright date:
- 2024
- Copyright by:
- Matthew Elia
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Categories:
- Law, Legal Issues and Ethics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality, Social Studies