Coercive Names: Interpreting Mark 5:1–13 with Althusser's "Interpellation".

This article addresses a significant lacuna in Markan studies—and specifically in scholarship on Mark 5:1–13—by reading the exorcistic encounter between Jesus and Legion through the hermeneutic lens of Louis Althusser's interpellation theory. The article shows how interpellation provides a compellin...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biblical Interpretation Vol. 31; no. 3; pp. 356 - 374
Main Author: Kimmel, Joseph
Format: Article
Published: Brill Academic Publishers 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=164692996&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: hlh
    uiTerm: 164692996
    longDbName: Humanities International Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        09272569
        C1F
      jtl: Biblical Interpretation
      issn: 09272569
      maglogo: Y
    pubinfo:
      dt: 2023
      vid: 31
      iid: 3
      pid: 639
      pub: Brill Academic Publishers
    artinfo:
      ui:
        164692996
        10.1163/15685152-20221704
      ppf: 356
      ppct: 18
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
          – @attributes:
              type: P
              size: 190KB
      tig:
        atl: Coercive Names: Interpreting Mark 5:1–13 with Althusser's "Interpellation".
      aug:
        au: Kimmel, Joseph
        affil: Committee on the Study of Religion, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
      su:
        Greek magic
        Jesus Christ
        Exorcism
        Names
        Scholarships
      sug:
        subj:
          Greek magic
          Jesus Christ
          Exorcism
          Names
          Scholarships
      keyword:
        Althusser
        Greek magical papyri (pgm)
        interpellation
        Jesus
        Legion
        names
      ab: This article addresses a significant lacuna in Markan studies—and specifically in scholarship on Mark 5:1–13—by reading the exorcistic encounter between Jesus and Legion through the hermeneutic lens of Louis Althusser's interpellation theory. The article shows how interpellation provides a compelling way to account for the dynamics of exorcism displayed in this passage, especially in regard to the power of proper names. That is, moving beyond a superficial ascription of Jesus' exorcistic success to his ability to obtain Legion's name, this article utilizes interpellation theory in order to show why this onomastic obtainment is such a game-changer and how the process of requesting another's name effectively interpellates Legion, securing the spirit within an ideology of relative weakness vis-à-vis Jesus. Alongside this analysis of Mark 5:1–13, this article also discusses the comparative relevance of certain PGM spells (e.g., I.222–31, IV.2251–53, 2343–45, and VIII.1–63) and the enduring role of interpellation in contemporary hierarchies.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
    refInfo:
    copyright:
      @attributes:
        flag: Y
      custom: Copyright of Biblical Interpretation is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
      item: Biblical Interpretation
      holder: Brill Academic Publishers
      dt:
        @attributes:
          year: 2023
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N