Fan Fiction and Early Christian Writings

Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha and Canon

AvTom de Bruin,Chris Keith

Häftad, Engelska, 2025

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Beskrivning

What can contemporary media fandoms, like Anne Rice, Star Wars, Batman, or Sherlock Holmes, tell us about ancient Christianity? Tom de Bruin demonstrates how fandom and fan fiction are both analogous and incongruous with Christian derivative works. The often-disparaging terms applied to Christian apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, such as fakes, forgeries or corruptions, are not sufficient to capture the production, consumption, and value of these writings. De Bruin reimagines a range of early Christian works as fan practices. Exploring these ancient texts in new ways, he takes the reader on a journey from the ‘fix-it fic’ endings of the Gospel of Mark to the subversive fan fictions of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and from the densely populated storyworld of early Christian art to the gatekeeping of Christian orthodoxy.Using theory developed in fan studies, De Bruin revisits fundamental questions about ancient derivative texts: Why where they written? How do they interact with more established texts? In what ways does the consumption of derivative works influence the reception of existing traditions? And how does the community react to these works? This book sheds exciting and new light on ancient Christian literary production, consumption and transmission.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2025-11-27
Mått:150 x 232 x 14 mm
Vikt:320 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Scriptural Traces
Antal sidor:216
Förlag:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN:9780567706676

Utforska kategorier

Biblar inom Filosofi och religion
Kristendom inom Filosofi och religion

Mer om författaren

Tom de Bruin (he/they) is Assistant Professor of New Testament and Early Judaism at Radboud University, The Netherlands.

Recensioner i media

In the study of the New Testament and Christian origins, analyses of rewriting texts and stories and assessing their authoritative status (or lack thereof) are long established. Yet modern scholarship has an insular tendency, avoiding discussions across the broader humanities, not least in fan studies. Tom de Bruin has shown how much of a loss this has been by providing a well-informed and sophisticated comparison between fan fiction and early Christian writings. This vital contribution pushes forward key critical questions in new directions. Why did people expand inherited stories? What were their goals? How were they received? Were they perceived to be authoritative or dangerous frauds?

Innehållsförteckning

AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: 'I Am A Jesus Fanfic Writer': Ancient Fans, Early Christian Derivative Works, and Anne RiceChapter 1: Fascination, Frustration, and Fixing the Gospel of Mark: Why Write a Derivative Work?Chapter 2: Nostalgia, Novelty, and Textual Authority in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs: What Power Does A Derivative Work Have?Chapter 3: Canonicity and the Politics of Canon: How Do People (De-)Authorize Derivative Works?Chapter 4: Gatekeeping, Heresy, Infantilization, and Feminization: How Do People Police Derivative Works?Chapter 5: Headcanon, Fanon, and the Christian Transmedia Storyworld: Why Do Derivative Works Matter?Epilogue: 'I Couldn't Get These Legends Out of My Mind'BibliographyIndex