The Need for a Comprehensive Sociology of Knowledge of Biblical and Archaeological Studies of the Southern Levant

Abstract

During the last thirty years in the field of biblical and archaeological studies of the Southern Levant (a.k.a. ´ancient Israel´, a.k.a. ´ancient Palestine´), a considerable amount of criticism has been produced from within the field itself towards (1) the ways the history of ´ancient Israel´ is re/constructed considering alternative histories of ancient Palestine, (2) the historical value of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament as a primary or secondary source for such a history, and (3) the political implications of such re/constructions of the past, both the traditional and the alternative. While these developments represent?in spite of some academic unpleasantries?a healthy symptom of epistemological reflexivity in Old Testament scholarship and Syro-Palestinian archaeology, much more work should be pursued, beyond limited topics and transcending episodic discussions. This paper calls, therefore, for establishing a serious and comprehensive study of the conditions in which institutional knowledge on the Old Testament and about the history of Israel/Palestine is produced and reproduced as an international discourse (through academic meetings, research projects, media and popular culture, etc.), touching upon issues of national memories and identities and past and current politics in Israel/Palestine.