Performance Criticism: An Emerging Methodology in Second Testament Studies—Part I

Abstract

This paper argues for the centrality of performance in the life of the early church, an area of study that has been traditionally neglected. In light of some emerging trends, it proposes that we establish “performance criticism” as a discrete discipline in New Testament studies to address this neglect. Performance criticism would inform in fresh ways our understanding of the meaning and rhetoric of the Second Testament writings and our re-constructions of early Christianity. Because it represents a medium change, performance criticism has the potential to impact the way we do biblical studies in general. Finally, performance could breathe new life into the experience of the Bible in the contemporary world. In Part 1, I lay out some features of oral cultures, the potential interplay between written and oral media, and the origins in orality of Second Testament writings. Then, I seek to identify the various features of a performance event—performer, audience, material setting, social circumstances, and so on—as a basis to construct and analyze performance as the site of interpretation for Second Testament writings. In Part 2, I show how performance criticism could draw upon resources from many established and some new disciplines of biblical scholarship as contributors to performance criticism. Finally, I suggest that performance criticism might engage the interpreter in the actual performing of texts, and I lay out the potential research benefits of such an exercise.