1 Peter-Ben Smit is Professor of Contextual Biblical Interpretation at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Extraordinary Professor of Biblical Studies at Stellenbosch University. 2 See for this reflection also Smit, Mannen. 3 As it is addressed by many contributions, but see, somewhat classically Kimmel, Masculinity. Teaching Gender with Masculinity Studies and Contextual Biblical Interpretation Peter-Ben Smit 1 (orcid.org/ 0000-0002-7450-571X) 1 Introduction "I didn't know that I had a gender" was the remark that a student made a few years ago, following a class on masculinity and biblical interpretation. 2 The remark was striking, as the student was certainly no stranger to critical theory and gender studies otherwise. Yet, the remark is still illustrative of the position of masculinities studies in the field of biblical interpretation: if gender is studied at all - and it is by no means self-explanatory that it is - it is usually studied in relation to what can be called marginalized genders: femininities, LGBTQI+ identities etc. Often, the guiding assumption is even that the primary reason for doing so is that one embodies such a gender oneself. Recently, for instance, I was invited to contribute to a volume of queer interpretations of biblical texts that consistently spoke of 'we' and 'us' doing queer studies, obviously assuming that I was one of 'them', while others have wondered why I bothered with masculinities and queer studies, as 'you aren't gay, are you? ' I find these anecdotes telling, even when not at all blaming those involved, as, on the one hand, they illustrate the relative novelty of the topic of masculinities studies and its invisibility, 3 while on the other hand they show how an explanation for the topic is both needed and frequently sought in the gendered or sexual positionality of the researcher (not uncommon when it comes to other 'contextual' or 'critical' approaches as well). As a pedagogical point of departure, this is challenging. Yet, it also offers opportunities, and in the following, I will outline, how taking precisely positionality and, with DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 4 In my case, the reflections offered here have their background primarily in teaching New Testament studies (as well as, to some extent, systematic theology) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Old Catholic Seminary as it is affiliated with Utrecht University and the University of Bern. See for an earlier contribution on the topic, out of which some examples return in this contribution: Smit, Männlichkeit. 5 Reflection on diversity in the classroom has occupied me earlier and some thoughts expressed in the following papers return here: Smit, Integrating (with Hester Radstake, Gerdien Bertram-Troost and Siema Ramdas); Smit, Education; Smit, Diversiteit. 6 What follows has also been informed by working with the intercultural and contextual Biblically focused 'Bridging Gaps' exchange program at the Centre for Contextual Biblical Interpretation (Protestant Theological University, Vrije Universiteit Amster‐ dam), on which see the following contributions: van der Ham/ van Vliet, Experiencing Ecumenism; van der Ham et al. (ed.), Building Bridges. that, contextuality as a point of departure, the topic of masculinities studies can be taught fruitfully in the setting of the academic curriculum of (New Testament) exegesis in the context of teaching theology in a university setting, 4 even in a manner that prepares students to address what has been identified by David Tracy as the three audiences of theology: the academy, society and the church (see below), which fits the career paths of many students, who will, both professionally and personally, often end up at the intersection of at least two of these audiences. In doing so, I will first turn to the topic of positionality and contextuality as a pedagogical catalyst, then pause to take stock of Tracy's three audiences, and subsequently continue to illustrate how teaching masculinities studies in a contextually diverse classroom can become an exercise in speaking to all three of these audiences, all the while gaining more insight into the sources at stake. In doing so, I will draw on about two decades of teaching on New Testament and gender, especially masculinity, yet without always being able to specify the classes that examples are drawn from, in order to ensure the privacy of those involved. Finally, as this paper reflects on a teaching practice that is closely connected to my own path in academia, references to earlier contributions by myself are relatively bountiful in it, this not in order to boost citation scores, but rather for the sake of transparency and accountability. 2 Positionality as a Pedagogical Catalyst Positionality and the diversity resulting from a variety of students with different positionalities in a classroom can be regarded as an important pedagogical catalyst. 5 This applies in general, 6 and it also applies to teaching in the field of New Testament interpretation and masculinities studies. The reason for this is that, on the other hand, topics that are connected to students' life worlds are often received with more engagement than those that are not, while DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 50 Peter-Ben Smit 7 See, e.g., Smit, Diversiteit. 8 Which cannot be argued or substantiated extensively here, but see Backman, Contex‐ tuality. 9 A line of thought also pursued in volumes such as Lawrence et al. (ed.), Challenging Contextuality. 10 Contrary to the popular image of the Netherlands, also within quite some forms of Dutch Calvinist Protestantism, women are excluded from the ordained ministry (as are people not identifying as male or female, or people in same sex relationships - see for this movement Klaasen, Gods - within Roman Catholicism, the exclusion of women from the apostolic ministry, is, of course, a given. diversity and difference are, as such, preconditions for dialogue to begin with. 7 Discovering that a topic matters, also personally, and that different vantage points, resulting out of different forms of positionality (or contextuality - it even approaches the Heideggerian Dasein), 8 result in different sensitivities and lines of questioning and directions of curiosity that can be enriching, both when it comes to gaining insight into oneself and one's perspective and into the jointly studied subject matter: New Testament texts. 9 Beyond such theoretical observations as they were offered in the previous paragraph, the experience of both the personal character and the importance of positionality and diversity in the classroom is of importance. A plethora of techniques for this exist, of course, but by way of example, I mention three that encourage reflection on the self and on the other and on a combination of both, through empathy and identification. A first of these is a question that I sometimes ask when introducing the topic of masculinities and New Testament interpretation in the context of a theological curriculum: 'Who wouldn't be here and who would still be here if one had a different gender than the one currently identifies with? ' Answers vary, but it is not uncommon for more than half of a class to indicate that they think that they would have chosen a different course of studies than theology if they would have identified differently. Reasons for this differ, but certainly include the factor that some churches in the Netherlands do accept the ordained ministry of women while others don't, which for some male students ties their personal gender and theology, including New Testament interpretation, closely together, especially if they belong to a tradition that does not ordain women. 10 - The same applies, of course, to female or nonbinary students, but as it is often thought that gender is a 'thing' for them to begin with, it seemed appropriate to focus on male students here. For instance, also students of different genders who indicate that they would have opted for studying theology regardless, usually become aware that something that may be self-explanatory for them (for instance, that people of all genders can have access to the church's ministry) is rather contingent and depends on their socialization. DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 Teaching Gender with Masculinity Studies and Contextual Biblical Interpretation 51 11 On this topic, see, for instance Sperling, Sex. 12 Which, admittedly, is not uncontested as a concept, see for a careful negotiation, e.g., Lamont, Safe Spaces. A further exercise, one that invites reflection on the other, that I use frequently, especially as it focuses on masculinity explicitly, is the analysis of portrayals of the Russian president Vladimir Putin, 11 as he embodies an outspoken form of masculinity that is, due to the fact that he usually wears a small cross around his neck, also explicitly linked to the Christian tradition. Reactions vary but are usually critical of the 'heroic lone warrior' masculinity that the Russian president exudes, in combination with the aggressive politics that he pursues. The exercise also helps to explore analyzing the intersection of masculinity with religion. Towards its conclusion, I share with the group that criticizing this kind of masculinity, even when it is well-founded, is also a form of 'othering' the cultural 'other', as it can be illustrated by the reaction of a Serbian student to the same exercise, who stated that rather than being somewhat exotic, Putin represents a culturally very common ideal of masculinity. Against this background, having reflected on the self and the other, a further exercise, asking students to take the position that they would not identify with in a debate, for instance as to whether only straight men should be admitted to the ordained ministry, using primarily arguments drawn from the New Testament. Of course, this exercise needs to take place in a safe atmosphere, yet, if it works, it does lead to both linking the personal and the contextual to the New Testament and to attempts to understand the other to the extent that one can at least reproduce the other's argument faithfully and convincingly. In all of these exercises, the role of the lecturer is that of a moderator, encouraging the discussion and reflection and ensuring that softer voices are also heard and that a safe atmosphere, i.e., an atmosphere in which academically substantiated positions, even dissenting ones, are voiced in a respectful manner and in which both challenges and reflection of the own positionality are welcomed, is maintained. 12 Before turning to possible teaching strategies, a brief look at what the various audiences of New Testament studies are, given that these vary, as does the manner in which they can be addressed pedagogically. DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 52 Peter-Ben Smit 13 See recently, e.g., the constructive (and critical) interaction with Tracy's proposal by Okey, Reconsidering. 14 See Tracy, Defending; Tracy, Imagination. 15 See Tracy, Defending. 16 Even if the author does not position herself as 'secular' explicitly, work on the use of the Bible by the far right would be an example of such scholarship, see Strømmen, Bibles. A more outspoken example of an avowedly secular scholar would be Bart Ehrman, especially in the latter part of his extensive oeuvre. 3 Three Audiences for the Pedagogical Interaction of New Testament Studies and Gender/ Masculinities Studies With Tracy's still influential proposal, 13 it is possible to identify three distinct (yet also overlapping) audiences that can well be considered to be in the background when teaching New Testament and gender/ masculinities studies, thereby both taking these audiences into account and contributing to equipping students to speak to, or at least interact with, all three. These audiences can be identified as those of the academy, the church and society. 14 What Tracy states in his work about theology as a discipline as a whole can also be applied to New Testament studies and gender/ masculinities studies, especially, but not only when understood as a theological discipline, or when it is taught as part of a theological curriculum: As a discipline, theology has the peculiarity of being related to three distinct publics - academy, church and society. Any genuine theological proposal that really means what it says about God implicitly addresses all three publics. 15 However, most of the time, only one of these audiences is addressed and that seems to be too limited an approach. As Tracy operates explicitly from a theological position, which can be gleaned from his references regarding looking for a way of speaking about God to the three publics (not every New Testament scholar will be primarily interested in further meaningful God talk in the 21st century, even though many will be), it should be underlined here that his model also works when operating from a more 'secular' perspective (of course, a 'secular' perspective comes with its own commitments and hermeneutical limitations and is not at all as 'neutral' or 'objective' as it is often presented, or at least, thus the history of scholarship shows). Also self-proclaimed secular scholars will wish, for instance, that their work is received by those using biblical texts, for instance, such as those reading the Bible devotionally, or by other scholars, also beyond the discipline itself, whether they are literary scholars, historians of the ancient world, or committed to employing the Bible in constructive theological work. 16 Similarly, communicating scholarly insights DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 Teaching Gender with Masculinity Studies and Contextual Biblical Interpretation 53 17 On contextuality as a precondition for interpretation, see, e.g., already Bultmann, Exegese, but also Schweitzer, Geschichte, cf. also the contributions in Lawrence et al. (ed.), Contextuality. 18 A recent and eloquent statement on the matter is Andraos/ Barter, Sin. 19 As it is evidenced by scholarly milestones, such as Luz, Matthäus I-IV. 20 Including gender, but also moving widely beyond it, even if gender plays a role in many newer approaches, such as childist perspectives, on which see, e.g., Pasterkamp, Meisje. to broader society in a meaningful manner is often regarded as an important task of any scholar, regardless of a scholar's discipline. When calling the academy, the church(es), and society audiences or publics, it may sound like they are primarily the recipients of the outcome of what scholars of the New Testament produce. Yet, this is only one dimension of the dynamics involved, as the academy, the church and society also provide the context and with that the hermeneutical starting points for the study of the New Testament. 17 The academic context of the field, for instance, provides both interpretative ideals, such as a principled openness to revising one's ideas, an interest in falsification, and an aversion to predetermined outcomes (all of which should not be confused with a notion such as neutrality, which, of course, is not possible to practice and usually implies complicity with the more powerful voices), 18 and methodological input, such as 'the' historical method and the plethora of methods that has emerged in the course of the latter half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. The audience of the church, then, also provides input for the field, not just because it provides by far the largest group of users of the New Testament, whose questions ought to be taken seriously (just like fields like legal studies or medicine respond to questions from the communities they emerged out of and serve) and because the New Testament historically emerged within and through the church, but also because taking into account the Wirkungsgeschichte of the New Testament, which is to a very large extent ecclesial in nature, is a necessity, even if only to work out why certain themes and topics have become so important in the field. 19 Last, yet certainly not least, the audience of broader society contributes to the manner in which New Testament studies can - contextuality is also a condition of possibility (Möglichkeitsbedingung) for interpretation - be conducted, for instance because issues playing a role in society are also echoed within New Testament scholarship, 20 thereby broadening the horizon of the field. The other way around, when forgetting about one of these audiences, the consequences are dire: forgetting about the academic audience leads to intellectual atrophy, forgetting about the church leads to losing touch with the New Testament's primary context of use (present and past), and forgetting about society means DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 54 Peter-Ben Smit 21 For this and the following, see Smit, Kämmerer. 22 Such as (still) Mayordomo, Construction, 2. 23 See extensively Wilson, Men, esp. ch. 4. The notion of intersectionality is, of course, drawn from the work of Kimberlé Crenshaw, see, e.g., Carbado et al., Intersectionality; the notion of masculinity as a pattern of praxis is drawn from the work of Raewyn Connell, see, e.g., Connell, Masculinities. ignoring the public duty of the academy and the scope of the texts involved (often focused on life in society as such, not on life in the church as a 'sect' within society). In this way, the three audiences make one aware of the position that New Testament interpretation has in society, church and academia and help to shape intentional hermeneutical and, in this case, pedagogical practices. 4 Masculinities and the New Testament: A Teaching Strategy When it comes to the actual teaching of New Testament interpretation in rela‐ tion to masculinities studies and with attention to contextuality and diversity, teaching the topic in the past years has also led to something like a pedagogical strategy that has, in different formats, led to a focus on a number of texts, in which the role of masculinity is to a lesser or larger extent visible, in combination with aspects of theory concerning masculinities studies, thereby building on what has been outlined in terms of introductory exercises above (which does not need to take more than about 45' of teaching time, assuming modestly sized groups). The selected case studies move from texts in which the issue of masculinity is highly visible to texts in which it is not, but can nonetheless be argued to play a role of importance, analogous to everyday situations in the contemporary world, in which masculinity is not an explicit concern, but plays a role nonetheless. A text that has emerged as a good starting point is Acts 8: 26-39, 21 the encounter between the Ethiopian eunuch and Philipp. Analyzing the manner in which this Ethiopian man - the word aner is emphasized repeatedly in the pericope - is presented both gives rise to the question 'what are ancient criteria for masculinity', which can be discussed by means of an introductory essay on the same, 22 and for an introduction to the key notion of intersectionality while also presenting the idea that masculinity is usually a 'pattern of practice' deemed to be masculine that varies across contexts and that can be evaluated based on different standards (e.g., physical, based on behavior, or based on moral qualities). 23 Exegetical analysis of the pericope with attention to the question of masculinity as such, which includes reflection on how to translate a term DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 Teaching Gender with Masculinity Studies and Contextual Biblical Interpretation 55 24 See for background Smit, Man. like eunuchos (comparison of a global set of translations as they tend to be present in a diverse community of learners is an asset here - translations vary from the removal of the word to translating it as the functional equivalent of 'lady boy'), leads to renewed insight into the text, which is of academic interest, while the notion that this person is the first from among the Gentiles to be included in the (eschatologically understood) church speaks to ecclesial concerns, and the different standards regarding the construction and evaluation of masculinity/ gender that play a role in the text and its reception link up with contemporary discussions about gender and masculinity in society. A second case study that has proven its worth takes the opposite approach and moves from the audiences in society and church to that of the text and its academic analysis. It takes its starting point in the issue of divorce, as it affects both societies and churches worldwide and has deep roots in the Christian tradition (with its Jewish origins). The text that takes centre stage in this part of the teaching is Mark 10: 1-9, 24 which in many translations bears a subtitle along the lines of 'Jesus' teaching on divorce.' Focusing on the question of masculinity, the analysis of this text uncovers how the question that sparks the conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees is androcentric and has a unilateral (male-initiated) form of divorce as its point of departure. This leads to paying attention to the role of masculinity in gender hierarchies and the role that power plays, in this case between husbands and wives. A proposal is, eventually, made to translate Jesus' pronouncement in v. 9 as 'What God has brought together, let no man separate' rather than 'What God has brought together, let no one separate' on the basis of a consideration of the inclusive or exclusive translation of anthropos in this pericope. The class ends with a brief reflection on the history of reception of this text, which, probably, was intended to protect the socio-economically weaker female partner but has ended up supporting 'marriage prisons' for many and thereby facilitating masculine hegemony. Taking things one step further, the crucifixion narrative is considered as a next case study. Although men often - not always! - take centre stage in this episode, recounted in all four gospels, it is not always associated with the question of masculinity intuitively. With the centurion's acclamation in Mk 15: 39 to the effect that Jesus truly was the son of God, the Markan passion narrative is studied, highlighting the gendered dimension of the torture that Jesus is described as being submitted to and in that context drawing attention to the intrinsic relationship between the order of the empire and gender DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 56 Peter-Ben Smit 25 Which is one aspect of Troost, Bodybuilding. 26 See, for instance, Visser, Poverty. 27 Cf. Krans/ Smit, Gender. hierarchies. As the Gospel of Mark, even if the centurion's words are intended ironically, certainly intends to depict Jesus as the son of God and as a credibly masculine figure, emphasis is placed on how standards concerning masculinity are challenged by viewing a crucified Messiah as God's representative on earth, which may have repercussions for reflection on standards governing credible performances of masculinity in both church and society in the 21st century as well, for instance when it comes to intersectionalities between masculinity and wealth and poverty, or between the same and success and failure. With this, the question of masculinity, diverse cultural standards and New Testament studies have also arrived at what is by many considered to be the heart of the Christian faith, i.e., the narrative of the death and resurrection of Christ (even if the resurrection remains somewhat understated in the Gospel of Mark). Other case studies, representing other taught or possible classes on the intersection of New Testament interpretation and masculinities studies in an intercultural setting would, of course, be possible. One may think, for instance, of the heavily gendered imagery of the Apocalypse of John, or also the imagination of New Testament authors as gendered male and its consequences, 25 while also intersections such as masculinity and wealth or poverty matter. 26 Quite another venue would be the integration of cases regarding gender (and masculinities) studies drawn from the field of textual criticism, where attention to this topic is not at all self-explanatory, yet currently being explored intensively by the DFG funded GenderVarianten project. 27 Yet, with the examples that were elaborated upon a bit more extensively above, the approach at stake, combining a range of texts that moves from very visible instantiations of the negotiation of masculinities in the New Testament to texts, in which it is not all that apparent, with increased bodies of theoretical knowledge and themes associated with masculinities, and with an intentional outlook on both the academic understanding of the text and opening windows onto society and church has been elucidated sufficiently with the cases just outlined. Before coming to a conclusion, however, attention needs to be given to a topic that has, so far, escaped attention: the position(ality) and power of the lecturer. 5 Positionality and Power Towards the end of this contribution, it is useful to return once more to the topic of positionality, as so far, the focus has been on the positionalities present in DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 Teaching Gender with Masculinity Studies and Contextual Biblical Interpretation 57 28 See, e.g., with attention to the use of the Bible van der Ham, Racism. 29 See, for instance, the reflections by Biesta, Interrupting. 30 Although systematic reflection on one's own biography and positionality and their relationship to one's teaching should be welcomed; the autobiographical is often overlooked in teaching (and researching) biblical studies, see, e.g., Troost, Old Catholic Exegesis, and the literature referred to there. the classroom 'in front of the lecturer', as it were, which makes the positionality of the lecturer somewhat invisible, at least from a pedagogical point of view. In reality, this invisibility is an optical illusion: the position of teaching staff always matters, possibly especially so when it comes to topics that touch on forms of positionality that go beyond theological or academic opinion, for instance, gender or race (in the sense in which it is used in critical race studies). 28 Although the effect will go in different directions for different students, a presence in the classroom as a cisgender, heterosexual, middle-aged, ordained white male will affect teaching, even if there are different ways of embodying such an identity. At least in one instance, objections were raised to the teaching on gender by a colleague with a very similar positionality to myself, for instance, even though one of the students was perfectly happy to have me as a thesis supervisor on the same topic - the difference between my colleague and myself must have been in perceived differences in embodying or performing our positionalities. In other words, the person of the lecturer affects the teaching, for better or for worse and in different ways for different students. Added to this is that a lecturer usually holds considerable power over students, by setting the syllabus, for instance, by choosing teaching techniques, by setting assignments and grading them, by shaping the course of discussions, and so on. 29 Such power makes teaching a delicate undertaking, especially when one aims to both discuss gender in a diverse setting and make use of this diversity as a catalyst for the conversation also by respecting it and to avoid a situation in which one part of the class can force its opinion on the rest. This also means that a lecturer should refrain from engaging in such powerplay regarding the enforcement of normative positions. This can be quite the negotiation, yet it has also advantages, given that lecturers, usually, even if not always, equipped with more life and professional experience than the average student, can also attempt to model ways of dealing with one's own positionality in a diverse setting with conflicting opinions and their substantiation. In this respect, it is of importance to be as transparent as possible - there is no need to turn the classroom into a session of psychotherapy benefitting the lecturer, 30 of course, and not all one's personal details need to be on the table, even if there are no fixed rules as to what can and cannot be discussed, yet limits are certainly there, for instance when a conversation DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 58 Peter-Ben Smit 31 Such as Smit, Jezus, and Smit, Lijntjes. draws students or participants overly into a lecturer's biography - and to also practice ways of putting one's views out there, encouraging reaction to them and receiving such reactions. Naturally, different techniques for doing so exist, but one example is an exercise I undertook with a class that had a clear majority of students who were very reluctant (ranging from disinterested to resistant) to the topic of critical masculinities studies in New Testament interpretation. As the students were aware of my own scholarly and public position regarding this, given that I had expressed it in a number of op ed contributions to the national press, mainly in one more general daily newspaper (Trouw) and one geared towards a Christian readership (Nederlands Dagblad), 31 the exercise that we engaged in was to practice writing 'letters to the editor' (pieces of about 200 words) reacting in a both respectful and critical manner to the position that I had taken. The assignment would not be graded in order to avoid undue pressure on the students when it came to disagreeing with their lecturer, but the anonymized draft letters were discussed in the classroom (and mainly by the students themselves) with regard to aspects such as what they thought was a fair representation of my position, the solidity (and fairness) of the argument brought against it, and the question as to whether they'd publish it, should they be in charge of a newspaper and why, or why not (which had much to do with the question of relevance to a more general audience, i.e. to society beyond the church). Of course, this does not completely mitigate the position of power that a lecturer holds - and needs, as it is a function of and prerequisite for shaping a community of learners -, but it does make a lecturer's position the topic of debate in a way that also practices the rules of engagement of such a debate. It also invites to exploring other such forms of making also the lecturer's positions and positionality transparent and a topic for discussion, while, of course, ensuring that the lecturer can still fulfill the duty of leading and structuring the community of learners that is an academic class. 6 Conclusion The above contribution showcases how New Testament interpretation, taught in a diverse, intercultural setting, can engage fruitfully with masculinities studies. This takes place through taking one's hermeneutical vantage point in, on the one hand, the conviction that masculinities studies matter, as masculinities and their construction and performance shape societies and the churches and academic institutions therein, even if they often remain somewhat invisible, DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 Teaching Gender with Masculinity Studies and Contextual Biblical Interpretation 59 also as a topic of academic research, on the other hand, the vantage point is very much the positionality and contextuality of those constituting the community of learners, including the lecturer, that makes up an academic class. Orienting the teaching, furthermore, to the three audiences of New Testament studies as a theological discipline, as identified by Tracy, i.e., academia, society and the church, it was shown how teaching classes on masculinity in New Testament interpretation can fulfill the task of producing new academic insight and leading to perspectives on the subject matter that can speak to both society and church. In this way, the pedagogical strategy outlined here fulfills many roles at once and is, given that the present author is also a practitioner, also a fulfilling experience. Bibliography Andraos, Michel/ Barter, Jane: A Sin against Humanity and God. The Genocide of the Palestinian People and the Churches' Silence, Toronto Journal of Theology 40 (2024), 222-233. Backman, Jussi M.: Radical Contextuality in Heidegger's Postmetaphysics. The Singula‐ rity of Being and the Fourfold, in: Figal, Günter et al. (ed.): Paths in Heidegger's Later Thought, Bloomington 2020, 190-211. 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Political Legitimacy in Russia, Oxford 2015. Strømmen, Hannah M.: The Bibles of the Far Right, Oxford 2014. Tracy, David: The Analogical Imagination. Christian Theology and the Culture of Pluralism, New York 1981. DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 Teaching Gender with Masculinity Studies and Contextual Biblical Interpretation 61 Tracy, David: Defending the Public Character of Theology, Christian Century (April 1, 1981), 350-356. Troost, Ari C.: Exegetical Bodybuilding. Interpretation and Gender in Luke 1-2 (PhD dissertation) Utrecht 2019. Troost, Ari C.: Is There an Old Catholic Exegesis? A Case for Autobiographical Biblical Criticism, Internationale Kirchliche Zeitschrift 109 (2019), 132-147. van der Ham, Kirsten: White Racism and Dutch Churches. In Search of Liberative Practices, NTT Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion 77 (2023), 1-21. van der Ham, Kirsten et al. (ed.): Building Bridges Towards a More Humane Society. Explorations in Contextual Biblical Interpretation on the Occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Bridging Gaps Exchange Program, Geneva 2022. van der Ham, Kirsten/ van Vliet, Catharina Margaretha: Experiencing Ecumenism in an International Theological Exchange Programme. Bridging the Gap between Grass‐ roots-Ecumenism and the Ecumenical Movement, International Review of Mission 109 (2020), 340-353 Visser, Jacobie Helena: Perfecting Poverty. A Rhetorical Investigation of Poverty and Masculinities Intersecting in James (PhD dissertation) Amsterdam 2021. Wilson, Brittany E.: Unmanly Men. Refigurations of Masculinity in Luke-Acts, Oxford 2015. DOI 10.24053/ VvAa-9-0004 62 Peter-Ben Smit