Naming, Defining, Phrasing Strong Asymmetrical Dependencies: A Textual Approach

Description

Open Access An examination of the terms used in specific historical contexts to refer to those people in a society who can be categorized as being in a position of ‘strong asymmetrical dependency’ (including slavery) provides insights into the social categories and distinctions that informed asymmetrical social interactions. In a similar vein, an analysis of historical narratives that either justify or challenge dependency is conducive to revealing how dependency may be embedded in (historical) discourses and ways of thinking. The eleven contributions in the volume approach these issues from various disciplinary vantage points, including theology, global history, Ottoman history, literary studies, and legal history. The authors address a wide range of different textual sources and historical contexts – from medieval Scandinavia and the Fatimid Empire to the history of abolition in Martinique and human rights violations in contemporary society. While the authors contribute innovative insights to ongoing discussions within their disciplines, the articles were also written with a view to the endeavor of furthering Dependency Studies as a transdisciplinary approach to the study of human societies past and present. Contents Naming, Defining, Phrasing Strong Asymmetrical Dependencies: Introduction A ‘Grammar of Asymmetrical Dependency’ for Early Scandinavia (to c. 1350) Servant or Slave: The Old Persian Words Bandaka, Marika and Daha and their Cognates in Middle Iranian Languages Naming Eunuchs in Islamicate Societies Searching for the Captive Monk: Late Antique Slavery and Syrian Ascetical Theology and Practice Narrating ‘White Slavery’ in and out of Fiction, 1854–1880 The Slave Who Made It: Narratives of Manumitted Slaves in the Greek World Captured, Abducted, Sold: The Muslim Rennewart in the Middle High German Epic Poem Willehalm From Slave to Queen: Hurrem Sultan’s Agenda in Her Narration of Love (1526–1548) Women in the Sachsenspiegel: Gender and Asymmetrical Dependencies Differing Narratives of the Case of the Jaham Brothers and its Aftermath: Enslavement, Emancipation and their Legacies in Martinique Slavery and Beyond through the Lens of Judicial Reasoning – Criminal Justice and Human Rights Approaches and Perspectives Index