Description: A leading scholar of ascetical studies, Richard
Valantasis explores a variety of ascetical traditions ranging from
the Greco-Roman philosophy of Musonius Rufus, the asceticism found
in the Nag Hammadi Library and in certain Gnostic texts, the Gospel
of Thomas, and other early Christian texts. This collection gathers
historical and theoretical essays that develop a theory of
asceticism that informs the analysis of historical texts and opens
the way for postmodern ascetical studies. Wide-ranging in
historical scope and in developing theory, these essays address
asceticism for scholar and student alike. The theory will be of
particular interest to those interested in cultural theory and
analysis, while the historical essays provide the researcher with
easy access to a significant corpus of academic writing on
asceticism. Endorsements: ""In the context of belligerently
hedonistic North American society, a society reduced to waging war
to support our lifestyle, Richard Valantasis's The Making of the
Self has never been more relevant. Valantasis proposes that past
and present can best be compared, not through ideas, but through
analysis of practices and what they produce. This book asks, What
did historical people seek to achieve through the ascetic
disciplines they practiced? What do we seek? Could some of the
ascetic repertoire of historical people be of practical use toward
our goals? Valantasis describes a theory and practice of asceticism
for secular twenty-first-century society. Both informative and
inspirational, The Making of the Self should be required reading
for everyone who seeks to make intentional choices that shape the
self."" --Margaret R. Miles, Professor Emerita of Historical
Theology, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, and author of A
Complex Delight: The Secularization of the Breast, 1350-1750 ""A
tour-de-force through the theory and practice of asceticism in late
antiquity. Valatansis's insightful focus on the transformative
power of ascetic performance permits one to see asceticism through
the ascetic's eyes. His work compels us to reflect anew on the
nature and role of asceticism in antiquity, and, in the process, to
consider its meaning and relevance today."" --James E. Goehring,
Professor of Religion, University of Mary Washington and author of
Ascetics, Society, and The Desert ""The Making of the Self: Ancient
and Modern Asceticism opens up traditional Christian and Roman
sources to a new kind of close reading, showing us what difference
it makes to recast asceticism in a theoretically rich and
provocative way. In undertaking this task, Richard Valantasis
invites his readers to rethink the historical texture of ancient
Mediterranean asceticism as well as the ongoing legacies of
asceticism's hardwiring of human society in any time and place
where people resist the current order of things and dream of a new
and better reality."" --Elizabeth A. Castelli, Professor of
Religion, Barnard College at Columbia University and author of
Martyrdom and Memory: Early Christian Culture Making ""This
wide-ranging collection of essays is a remarkably coherent and
compelling presentation of Valantasis's mature theorizing about a
complex and fascinating phenomenon. Through his writings and
through our conversations and collaborations over the years,
Valantasis had already taught me much about asceticism. But this
book I read as the capstone of his musings, playfulness, and hard
work. It is Valantasis at his best--articulate, creative, witty,
feisty, provocative, brilliant. All students of religion and
culture will be enlightened and delighted and challenged by this
book."" --Vincent L. Wimbush, Professor of Religion, Claremont
Graduate University and editor of Ascetic Behavior in Greco-Roman
Antiquity: A Sourcebook About the Contributor(s): Richard
Valantasis is Professor of Ascetical Theology and Director of the
Anglican Studies Program at the Candler School of Theology, Emory
University, Atlanta, Geor
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