Empire and Exile

Empire and Exile offers a lucid analysis of ways in which the book of Jeremiah reveals ancient Judean strategies for cultural survival during the period of Babylonian domination. Deftly deploying insights of Frantz Fanon, Homi Bhabha, Stuart Hall, and other postcolonial theorists, Davidson reads Jeremiah's sign acts, discourses, and biographical narratives as complex responses to the pressures of colonization and dislocation. Fresh and compelling, this work sheds new light on the ambivalences that attend the subaltern's struggle to reconfigure "home" in an imperial context. Empire and Exile is an indispensable resource for readers wishing to explore the intersections of postcolonial criticism and biblical studies.

Empire and Exile offers a lucid analysis of ways in which the book of Jeremiah reveals ancient Judean strategies for cultural survival during the period of Babylonian domination. Deftly deploying insights of Frantz Fanon, Homi Bhabha, Stuart Hall, and other postcolonial theorists, Davidson reads Jeremiah's sign acts, discourses, and biographical narratives as complex responses to the pressures of colonization and dislocation. Fresh and compelling, this work sheds new light on the ambivalences that attend the subaltern's struggle to reconfigure "home" in an imperial context. Empire and Exile is an indispensable resource for readers wishing to explore the intersections of postcolonial criticism and biblical studies.

Davidson has written a compelling work that manages to balance traditionalhistorical-critical approaches to Jeremiah with newer methodologies. In fact, he is able to demonstrate that newer reading strategies, such as postcolonial approaches, may help clarify traditionally difficult issues in Jeremiah studies.

Steed Davidson received his Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary, New York. He is an Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley California. His teaching centers on prophetic books, paying attention to ancient empires and responses to empires in the formation of texts.