2 options
Ancient apologetics and the bibliographic imagination / Sabrina Inowlocki
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Inowlocki, S., author.
- Series:
- Cambridge elements. Elements in early Christian literature
- Cambridge elements. Elements in early Christian literature, 2977-0327
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Judaism--Apologetic works--History and criticism.
- Judaism.
- Apologetics--History--Early church, ca. 30-600.
- Apologetics.
- Judaism--Apologetic works.
- Apologetics--Early church.
- Genre:
- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
- History
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource
- Place of Publication:
- Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2026
- Summary:
- "Ancient apologetics is usually treated as a literary genre or a branch of early theology. This Element offers a different account. It argues that many Jewish and Christian texts conventionally labeled 'apologetic' are better understood through a bibliographic and archival lens: They produce authority not only by defending doctrines, but by organizing books, constructing corpora, mobilizing archives, and regulating interpretation. Tracing a trajectory from the Letter of Aristeas to Jerome's De viris illustribus, this Element shows how citation, collection, cataloguing, and textual ordering made traditions appear authoritative. Examining Aristeas, Josephus, Tatian, Justin, Origen, Pamphilus, Eusebius, and Jerome, it argues that apologetics is best understood as a form of curatorial power through which ancient communities learned to think with books"-- Cambridge Core
- Contents:
- Introduction, definitions, and method
- Apologetics in an archival world
- The politics of the library
- Re-shelving the world
- Christian apologetic reappropriations of Jewish archives
- Apology as library work
- Caesarea and the apologetic library
- When library replaces apology
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references
- Online resource; title from PDF title page (Cambridge Core, viewed July 21, 2026)
- Other Format:
- Print version: Inowlocki, S. Ancient apologetics and the bibliographic imagination
- ISBN:
- 9781009481731
- 1009481738
- 9781009481724
- 100948172X
- OCLC:
- 1594242361
- Publisher Number:
- CIPO000406744
- Access Restriction:
- Some versions: Open access versions available from some providers open access
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.