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  • From: Christopher Hutson <crhutson AT salisbury.net>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: More info on dissertation
  • Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 13:36:53 EDT



>From: "Paul Felix" <paulwfelix AT iolusa.com>
>
>How about some more info on your dissertation (title, contents,
etc.)? Thanks.
>


Sure.

Christopher R. Hutson. _My True Child: The Rhetoric of Youth in the
Pastoral Epistles_ (Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1998), directed by
Abraham J. Malherbe.

Chapter 1 argues that the PE should be read as a collection of letters
from an "older" mentor to his "younger" proteges, where the relative
"ages" of author and addressees is a fiction that enables the author
to address a wider secondary audience of youthful church leaders. The
PE are analogous to Seneca's _Moral Epistles_, wherein Seneca also
addresses Lucilius as if he were "young," even though he is governor
of Sicily and at the end of a distinguished political career. But the
point is that the Moral Epistles are really aimed at a secondary
audience of "young" philosophy students. The letters work together to
lead a beginner toward maturity in the school.

Chapter 2 establishes that there was a clearly recognized and distinct
period of "youth" between "child" and "adult" in antiquity. I discuss
theories of age classification in antiquity, theories of physiological
development, and the extensive vocabulary of "youth," both male and
female.

Chapter 3 describes the ancient Greco-Roman stereotype of youth in
great detail. In a nutshell, youth were stereotyped as "excessive"
(in many and various ways) and as "immature" (in many and various
ways). I then argue that this stereotype shows up throughout the PE,
which are addressed to "youthful" church leaders.

Chapter 4 discusses two quintessential "youths" in antiquity. Joseph
represents Jewish "youth," and I trace the history of interpretation
of the Joseph story through the hellenistic and early imperial eras.
For Greeks, I use Alcibiades and trace the history of interpretation
of his story in the same way. I think the way Joseph and Alcibiades
are treated as eternally "youthful" in their respective traditions has
implications for how we treat "Timothy" and "Titus" the same way in
Christian tradition. They all become figures through whom the
tradition continues to address contemporary youths. That is, all
become vehicles for moral exhortation aimed specifically at youth.

Chapter 5 discusses the education of youth in the context of
philosophical _psychagogy_. The issue is one of training the next
generation of teachers for the school. Issues include how to choose a
teacher, how to choose students, and the regimen of training. I then
argue that the PE reflect the philosophical training regimen
throughout.

I want to make a few revisions and publish the thing, but if you can't
wait, you can order it from University Microfilms International in Ann
Arbor, MI. It weighs in at xv + 408 pages of very stimulating
reading. :-O Actually about 40 pages is bibliography, so it's not
that bad. :-)


Thanks, Paul, for affording me the opportunity to advertise
shamelessly.

XPIC

------------------------------------
Christopher R. Hutson
Hood Theological Seminary
Salisbury, NC 28144
crhutson AT salisbury.net
------------------------------------



  • Re: More info on dissertation, Christopher Hutson, 03/31/1999

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