Table of Contents

Collective Memory and the Meanings of the Past Performing Persecution, Theorizing Martyrdom The Martyr's Memory: Autobiography and Self-Writing in Ignatius, Perpetua, and Pionius Martyrdom and the Spectacle of Suffering Layers of Verbal and Visual Memory: Commemorating Thecla the Protomartyr Religion as a Chain of Memory: Cassie Bernall of Columbine High and the Contemporary American Legacy of Early Christian Martyrdom

Promotional Information

"In probing the collective allure of the ancient atrocity, a story that both unites us and compels us to action or ceremony, Castelli has produced the best study of martyrdom yet, with implications far beyond the world of early Christianity." -- David Frankfurter, University of New Hampshire "Through her meticulous and compelling analysis of the ways that narratives of martyrdom shape the collective memory of early Christians, Castelli succeeds in raising disturbing questions about the grip of the double-edged logic of martyrdom on contemporary political discourse." -- Jennifer Glancy, Le Moyne College

About the Author

Elizabeth A. Castelli is associate professor of religion at Barnard College at Columbia University. She is the author of Imitating Paul: A Discourse of Power, coauthor of The Postmodern Bible, and editor of several books, including Women, Gender, and Religion: A Reader. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion and is the editor of a new journal, Postscripts: Sacred Texts and Contemporary Worlds. In 2003 and 2004 she was the senior research scholar at the Center for Religion and Media at New York University.

Reviews

"Castelli has written a masterful book about the way early Christians used martyrdom to construct a collective memory of religious suffering." -- Choice "Castelli succeeds brilliantly in her aim to reveal the way martyrdom constructed a new ideology... that subverted Roman notions." -- Kimberly B. Stratton, Biblical Theology Bulletin "A required reading for anyone who studies and teaches on this problem from the past that remains distressingly present." -- Chris Frilingos, Religious Studies Review "Castelli's stimulating and provocative study is a creative contribution to this flourishing area." -- Judith Lieu, Ecclesiastical History