Heresiology as Ethnography
Heresiology as Ethnography
The Ethnographic Disposition
This chapter analyzes the forms and functions of ancient ethnography to provide the analytical foundation for the discussion of Christian heresiology as a mode of ethnographic writing. Through analysis of the works of Herodotus, Pliny, Josephus, Tacitus, Diodorus Siculus, and others, the chapter identifies the methodological, theoretical, and descriptive contours of classical ethnography. It proposes the idea of an ethnographic disposition, which captures the process and effects of writing people and defining cultural systems. The chapter also shows the bipartite scope of ethnographic writing about the ancient world: microscopic ethnography, which consists of descriptions of the customs and habits of peoples; and macroscopic ethnography, which uses grand paradigms such as genealogy, typology, and astrology to explain habits, customs, phenotypes, and behaviors.
Keywords: ancient ethnography, Christian heresiology, ethnographic disposition, microscopic ethnography, macroscopic ethnography, ancient world
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