What is Biblical Performance Criticism?

  • Reframes the biblical materials in the context of oral/scribal cultures of Judaism and early Christianity, aspects of each performance event include a performer, audience, context (situation), text (traditions), and media.

  • Embraces many methods, including Historical Criticism, Narrative Criticism, Form and Genre Criticism, Reader-Response Criticism, Rhetorical Criticism, Textual Criticism, Orality Criticism, Speech Act Theory, Social-Science Criticism, Linguistic Criticism, The Art of Translation, Ideological Criticism, Theater Studies, and Oral Interpretation Studies.

  • Constructs scenarios of ancient performances.

  • Learns from contemporary performances of these materials through the translation, preparation, and performance of a text for group discussion of the performance event.

  • Reinterprets biblical materials accordingly.

For an overview of the history and the current state of the discipline see the full text article by Peter Perry:

Biblical Performance Criticism: Survey and Prospects

Then for more information see the articles by David Rhoads:

Performance Criticism: an Emerging Discipline, Part I

Performance Criticism: an Emerging Discipline, Part II

and the video by Eugene Botha:

Orality, Print Culture and Biblical Interpretation Video (Part 1)

Orality, Print Culture and Biblical Interpretation (Part 2)

For suggestions, comments, or questions, please email Peter Perry (peterperry@fuller.edu)

Greek Orator, Capitoline Museum, Rome