The Politics of Shame: Lessons from the Hebrew Bible

• In Event: Rhetoric, Emotions, and the Politics of Shame in the Ancient World

Abstract

There is little doubt that many of the political challenges we are facing today are directly or indirectly the result of an identity crisis on a scale never imagined before—a crisis largely created and entertained by the new media. None of the binders or symbols that had been previously accepted, expressly or tacitly, are still persuasive enough today to hold us together as a political community. To choose among them seem impossible, since there are no accepted criteria for distinguishing “the true god” from the “fake idols.” Hence all authority seems by default suspicious and thus subject to disobedience. Yet beginning with the story of Genesis, shame appears related to disobedience, which in turn seems to threaten both individual and collective identities. The article explores the overlooked connections between shame, identity, and disobedience, using examples from the Hebrew Bible. By disentangling, as the Hebrew language does, the inner from the outer shame, and pedagogical from punitive shaming, I identify several lessons relevant even today for a healthier way of dealing with the challenges raised by the alarming identity crisis stimulated by the apparent endless possibilities of reimagining oneself.

Author

• Alin Fumurescu, University of Houston