Womanist Sass and Talk Back: Social (In)Justice, Intersectionality, and Biblical Interpretation

by Mitzi J. Smith

Overview

Womanist Sass and Talk Back is a contextual resistance text for readers interested in social (in)justice. Smith raises our consciousness about pressing contemporary social (in)justice issues that impact communities of color and the larger society. Systemic or structural oppression and injustices, police profiling and brutality, oppressive pedagogy, and gendered violence are placed in dialogue with sacred (con)texts. This book provides fresh intersectional readings of sacred (con)texts that are accessible to both scholars and nonscholars. Womanist Sass and Talk Back is for readers interested in critical interpretations of sacred (con)texts (ancient and contemporary) and in propagating the justice and love of God while engaging those (con)texts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498288873
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	01/25/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	158
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Mitzi J. Smith is Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Studies at Ashland Theological Seminary. She is the author of Insights from African American Interpretation (2017), editor of I Found God in Me: A Womanist Biblical Hermeneutics Reader (2015), and co-editor of Teaching All Nations: Interrogating the Matthean Great Commission (2014).
Mitzi J. Smith is J. Davison Philips Professor of New Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary and Professor Extraordinarius at the University of South Africa, College of the Humanities, Institute of Gender Studies. She co-edited Bitter the Chastening Rod (2022); co-authored Toward Decentering the New Testament (2018); and authored Womanist Sass and Talk Back: Social (In)Justice, Intersectionality and Biblical Interpretation (2018).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Chapter 2 Water is a Human Right, but It Ain't Free: A Womanist Reading of John 4:1-42 7

Chapter 3 Race, Gender, and The Politics Of "Sass": Reading Mark 7:24-30 Through a Womanist Lens of Intersectionality and Inter(con)textuality 28

Chapter 4 Epistemologies, Pedagogies, and the Subordinated Other: Luke's Parallel Construction of the Ethiopian Eunuch and the Alexandrian Apollos (Acts 8:26-40; 18:24-28) 46

Chapter 5 Slavery, Torture, Systemic Oppression, and Kingdom Rhetoric: An African American Reading of Matthew 25:1-13 70

Chapter 6 Moral Authority, Insignificant Young Bodies, and Sacralized Violence: Reading 2 Kings 2:23-25 through the Lens of Police Brutality 94

Chapter 7 A Womanist Reading of Susanna: Patriarchal Authority, Sexual Violence, and Profiling Women of Color 118

Bibliography 141

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This sassy, bold, brave book reads texts and contexts with a very keen eye, a passion for people and justice, and a clear expertise in biblical texts and histories. Smith has read complex concerns in a way that, whether scholar or lay, readers will encounter insight, challenge, and courage. I can hardly wait to use this book in a class. But if you’re a pastor or educator in a local congregation, it will serve you just as well.”

—Valerie Bridgeman, Interim Dean, Associate Professor, Methodist Theological School in Ohio



“In this remarkable book, Smith grounds her reading of biblical stories about women in contemporary crises experienced by black communities. When Sandra Bland stands up for her rights, Smith hears echoes of the Syrophoenician woman talking back to Jesus, who initially refused to help her, calling her a dog. Police sexual assaults on poor black women provide a framework for understanding Susannah, whom two elders sexually profiled. Smith thereby demonstrates the practical value of intersectionality, post-colonial, and other critical theories.”

—Bernadette J. Brooten, Professor, Brandeis University

Editorial Reviews

This sassy, bold, brave book reads texts and contexts with a very keen eye, a passion for people and justice, and a clear expertise in biblical texts and histories. Smith has read complex concerns in a way that, whether scholar or lay, readers will encounter insight, challenge, and courage. I can hardly wait to use this book in a class. But if you’re a pastor or educator in a local congregation, it will serve you just as well.”

—Valerie Bridgeman, Interim Dean, Associate Professor, Methodist Theological School in Ohio



“In this remarkable book, Smith grounds her reading of biblical stories about women in contemporary crises experienced by black communities. When Sandra Bland stands up for her rights, Smith hears echoes of the Syrophoenician woman talking back to Jesus, who initially refused to help her, calling her a dog. Police sexual assaults on poor black women provide a framework for understanding Susannah, whom two elders sexually profiled. Smith thereby demonstrates the practical value of intersectionality, post-colonial, and other critical theories.”

—Bernadette J. Brooten, Professor, Brandeis University

From the Publisher