Document Text Contents
Page 1
Implicate and Transgress: Marcella
Althaus-Reid, Writing, and a
Transformation of Theological Knowledge
The Harvard community has made this
article openly available. Please share how
this access benefits you. Your story matters
Citation Hofheinz, Hannah L. 2015. Implicate and Transgress: Marcella
Althaus-Reid, Writing, and a Transformation of Theological
Knowledge. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard Divinity School.
Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:15821954
Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH
repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions
applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://
nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-
use#LAA
Page 2
! !
Implicate
and
Transgress:
Marcella
Althaus-Reid,
Writing,
and
a
Transformation
of
Theological
Knowledge
A
dissertation
presented
By
Hannah
L.
Hofheinz
To
The
Faculty
of
Harvard
Divinity
School
in
partial
fulfillment
of
the
requirements
for
the
degree
of
Doctor
of
Theology
In
the
Subject
of
Theology
Harvard
University
Cambridge,
Massachusetts
April
2015
Page 133
!
! !123
detailed.
Moreover,
the
memories
of
tradition
veil
his
flesh
with
constructions
of
his
masculinity
so
that
even
when
a
penis
appears
it
functions
as
a
phallus.
As
she
points
out:
“we
know
more
about
the
gender
making
of
the
man
Jesus
than
of
his
biological
status,
or,
what
is
more
important,
his
sexuality.”53
What
would
happen
if
we
confronted
the
obscenity
of
his
fleshy
facticity?
What
would
happen
if
we
confronted
the
hanging
body
of
Jesus
with
(or
without,
as
the
case
may
be)
a
penis?
What
if
rather
than
a
graceful
image
of
Jesus
crucified,
veiled
to
suit
heteronormative,
patriarchal
[…]
desires
for
God,
we
witnessed
the
obscenity
of
his
inert
flesh
as
it
was
given
that
painful
day
(or
other
more
pleasant
ones)?
Perhaps
we
would
encounter
God?54
The
second
motion
of
Althaus-‐Reid’s
use
of
Sartre’s
concept
of
obscenity,
the
motion
in
reverse,
begins
with
wordplay.
“Obscenity
appears
now
to
us
as
the
dis-‐covering
of
grace,
and
the
way
to
transcendence,”
she
writes.55
By
removing
(uncovering,
dis-‐covering)
the
veils
of
illusion,
obscenity
exposes
(sees,
discovers)
grace.
Transcendence
connotes
the
symbolic
excess
to
which
the
reversal
of
obscenity
gestures.
Baudrillard
and
Sartre
conceptualize
obscenity
in
distinctly
different
registers.
Yet
for
both
men,
the
central
offense
of
the
obscene
is
its
disillusion/dissolution
of
that
which
they
claim
to
be
helpful
shrouds
of
the
real.
We
need
to
be
able
to
transcend
a
given
situation,
they
teach;
we
need
to
be
able
to
transcend
materiality.
As
such,
obscenity
appears
unredeemable.
For
Sartre,
obscenity
destroys
the
dancer’s
garment
of
grace
and
leaves
her
flesh
exposed;
for
Baudrillard,
obscenity
destroys
the
rituals
and
rules
that
set
the
stage
of
an
imagined
scene.
Herein
occurs
the
second
aspect
of
Althaus-‐Reid’s
reversal
of
obscenity.
She
folds
an
insistence
on
the
productive
possibilities
of
material
exposure
up
!
53
Ibid.
54
C.f.
“Obscenity
no.
1:
Bi/Christ”
in
Althaus-‐Reid,
Indecent
Theology,
112-‐120.
55
Ibid.,
111.
Page 134
!
! !124
against
the
philosophers’
negativity.
Althaus-‐Reid
reverses
the
valuation
of
obscenity.
Obscenity
ruptures
ideological
illusions
in
order
to
expose
material
realities
that
these
illusions
hide,
but
the
formulation
of
obscenity
also
leaves
the
body
immediately
available
for
persisting
and
for
other
citations.56
Like
the
sadist’s
efforts
to
ensnare
the
freedom
of
his
object,
the
apophasis
of
writing
with
‘obscenity,
in
reverse’
only
succeeds
within
fleeting
moments.
When
the
shake
of
a
muscle,
the
bounce
of
a
breast,
or
the
drop
of
sweat
interrupt
and
claim
our
attention
with
the
exposure
of
materiality
but
do
not
yet
make
sense,
we
can
gesture
obliquely
beyond
the
signifiable.
Once
they
start
to
make
sense,
however,
the
signifying
webs
of
language
and
the
illusions
of
simulations
again
veil
the
flesh.
Althaus-‐Reid
experiments
with
letting
‘obscenity,
in
reverse’
serve
as
a
technique
to
foster
encounters
with
the
materiality
of
lives
lived.
The
apophatic
technique
utters
that
which
cannot
be
written:
obscenity
allows
texts
to
expose
bodies
and
their
disruptions.
I
add
that
the
writing
of
obscenities
finds
these
fleeting
appearances
of
fleshy
facticity
in
surprising
textual
spaces.
We
can
write
apophatically
with
a
sensibility
for
establishing
other
textual
spaces
in
which
language,
knowledge,
and
power
function
differently.
“The
road
is
broad
and
needs
to
be
per/verted
(given
another
interpretation),
twisted
in
a
forbidden
direction,”57
Althaus-‐Reid
writes.
The
per/versions
of
theology
arising
out
of
diverse
experiences
of
exclusion
and
suffering
expose
processes
of
disorder
that
unravel
the
logic
of
theological
simulacra.
Constantly
multiplying
per/versions
helps
to
ensure
that
we
do
not
confuse
new
veils
with
the
flesh
below.
!
56
Judith
Butler,
see
discussion
p.
128-‐130
below.
57
Althaus-‐Reid,
Indecent
Theology,
121.
Page 266
!
! !256
———.
“Mark.”
In
Queer
Bible
Commentary,
517-‐525.
London:
SCM
Press,
2006.
———.
“Who
framed
Clodovis
Boff?:
Revisiting
the
controversy
of
‘theologies
of
the
genitive’
in
the
twenty-‐first
century.”
In
Theology
in
a
World
of
Specialization,
edited
by
Erik
Borgman
and
Felix
Wilfred.
London:
SCM,
2006.
———.
“Searching
for
a
queer
Sophia-‐Wisdom:
the
post-‐colonial
Rahab.”
In
Patriarchs,
prophets
and
other
villains,
128-‐140.
Oakville,
Conn:
Equinox,
2007.
———.
“Class,
sex
and
the
theologian:
reflections
on
the
liberationist
movement
in
Latin
America.”
In
Another
possible
world,
23-‐38.
London:
SCM,
2007.
———.
“Queering
the
cross:
the
politics
of
redemption
and
the
external
debt.”
Feminist
Theology
15,
no.
3
(May,
2007):
289-‐301.
———.
“The
bi/girl
writings:
from
feminist
theology
to
queer
theologies.”
In
Post-Christian
feminisms,
105-‐116.
Burlington,
VT:
Ashgate,
2008.
———.
“On
queer
theory
and
liberation
theology:
the
irruption
of
the
sexual
subject
in
theology.”
In
Homosexualities,
83-‐96.
London:
SCM
Press,
2008.
Althaus-‐Reid,
Marcella,
and
Lisa
Isherwood.
“Thinking
theology
and
queer
theory.”
Feminist
Theology
15,
no.
3
(May,
2007):
302-‐314.
Althaus-‐Reid,
Marcella,
and
T
Jack
Thompson.
“Postcolonialism
and
Religion.”
Studies
in
World
Christianity
5,
no.
2
(January,
1999):
129-‐240.
Reviews
Althaus-‐Reid,
Marcella.
“A
Theology
of
Liberation
and
the
Conflict
of
Criticism.”
International
Review
of
Mission
80,
no.
319-‐320
(1991):
439-‐442.
———.
“Puerto
Rican
and
Cuban
Catholics
in
the
US,
1900-‐1965.”
Studies
in
World
Christianity
3,
no.
2
(January,
1997):
253.
———.
“Mestizo
Christianity:
theology
from
the
Latino
perspective.”
Studies
in
World
Christianity
3,
no.
1
(January,
1997):
106-‐107.
———.
“Caminemos
con
Jesús:
toward
a
Hispanic/Latino
theology
of
accompaniment.”
Studies
in
World
Christianity
3,
no.
1
(January,
1997):
107-‐108.
———.
“Mexico
at
the
crossroads:
politics,
the
church
and
the
poor.”
Studies
in
World
Christianity
3,
no.
1
(January,
1997):
108-‐109.
———.
“Mexican
Americans
and
the
Catholic
Church,
1900-‐1965.”
Studies
in
World
Christianity
3,
no.
1
(January,
1997):
109-‐110.
———.
“Liberating
Eschatology:
essays
in
honor
of
Letty
M.
Russell.”
Theology
103,
no.
815
(S-‐O
2000):
378.
Page 267
!
! !257
———.
“Porcile
Santiso,
María
Teresa,
1943-‐2001.”
Studies
in
World
Christianity
7,
no.
2
(January,
2001):
241-‐243.
———.
“French
feminists
on
religion:
a
reader.”
Studies
in
World
Christianity
8,
no.
1
(January,
2002):
165-‐167.
———.
“Eve’s
glue:
the
role
women
play
in
holding
the
church
together.”
Expository
Times
114,
no.
3
(December,
2002):
102-‐103.
———.
“Feminist
philosophy
of
religion:
critical
readings.”
Journal
of
Contemporary
Religion
19,
no.
3
(October,
2004):
389-‐391.
———.
“Queering
creole
spiritual
traditions:
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual,
and
transgender
participation
in
African-‐inspired
traditions
in
the
Americas.”
Theology
&
Sexuality
11,
no.
3
(May,
2005):
89-‐91.
———.
“Colonialism
and
homosexuality.”
Theology
&
Sexuality
11,
no.
3
(May,
2005):
94-‐95.
———.
“Doing
Christian
ethics
from
the
margins.”
Expository
Times
117,
no.
4
(January,
2006):
170-‐171.
———.
“Celibate
challenges
to
Christianity.”
Expository
Times
118,
no.
4
(January,
2007):
182-‐183.
———.
“Levinas
and
theology.”
Expository
Times
118,
no.
5
(February,
2007):
256-‐257.
———.
“Gender,
religion
and
diversity:
cross-‐cultural
perspectives.”
Expository
Times
118,
no.
7
(April,
2007):
359-‐360.
———.
“Bodily
citations:
religion
and
Judith
Butler.”
Journal
of
Contemporary
Religion
22,
no.
3
(October,
2007).
———.
“Wounds
that
heal:
theology,
imagination
and
health.”
Feminist
Theology
16,
no.
2
(January,
2008):
279-‐280.
Implicate and Transgress: Marcella
Althaus-Reid, Writing, and a
Transformation of Theological Knowledge
The Harvard community has made this
article openly available. Please share how
this access benefits you. Your story matters
Citation Hofheinz, Hannah L. 2015. Implicate and Transgress: Marcella
Althaus-Reid, Writing, and a Transformation of Theological
Knowledge. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard Divinity School.
Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:15821954
Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH
repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions
applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://
nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-
use#LAA
Page 2
! !
Implicate
and
Transgress:
Marcella
Althaus-Reid,
Writing,
and
a
Transformation
of
Theological
Knowledge
A
dissertation
presented
By
Hannah
L.
Hofheinz
To
The
Faculty
of
Harvard
Divinity
School
in
partial
fulfillment
of
the
requirements
for
the
degree
of
Doctor
of
Theology
In
the
Subject
of
Theology
Harvard
University
Cambridge,
Massachusetts
April
2015
Page 133
!
! !123
detailed.
Moreover,
the
memories
of
tradition
veil
his
flesh
with
constructions
of
his
masculinity
so
that
even
when
a
penis
appears
it
functions
as
a
phallus.
As
she
points
out:
“we
know
more
about
the
gender
making
of
the
man
Jesus
than
of
his
biological
status,
or,
what
is
more
important,
his
sexuality.”53
What
would
happen
if
we
confronted
the
obscenity
of
his
fleshy
facticity?
What
would
happen
if
we
confronted
the
hanging
body
of
Jesus
with
(or
without,
as
the
case
may
be)
a
penis?
What
if
rather
than
a
graceful
image
of
Jesus
crucified,
veiled
to
suit
heteronormative,
patriarchal
[…]
desires
for
God,
we
witnessed
the
obscenity
of
his
inert
flesh
as
it
was
given
that
painful
day
(or
other
more
pleasant
ones)?
Perhaps
we
would
encounter
God?54
The
second
motion
of
Althaus-‐Reid’s
use
of
Sartre’s
concept
of
obscenity,
the
motion
in
reverse,
begins
with
wordplay.
“Obscenity
appears
now
to
us
as
the
dis-‐covering
of
grace,
and
the
way
to
transcendence,”
she
writes.55
By
removing
(uncovering,
dis-‐covering)
the
veils
of
illusion,
obscenity
exposes
(sees,
discovers)
grace.
Transcendence
connotes
the
symbolic
excess
to
which
the
reversal
of
obscenity
gestures.
Baudrillard
and
Sartre
conceptualize
obscenity
in
distinctly
different
registers.
Yet
for
both
men,
the
central
offense
of
the
obscene
is
its
disillusion/dissolution
of
that
which
they
claim
to
be
helpful
shrouds
of
the
real.
We
need
to
be
able
to
transcend
a
given
situation,
they
teach;
we
need
to
be
able
to
transcend
materiality.
As
such,
obscenity
appears
unredeemable.
For
Sartre,
obscenity
destroys
the
dancer’s
garment
of
grace
and
leaves
her
flesh
exposed;
for
Baudrillard,
obscenity
destroys
the
rituals
and
rules
that
set
the
stage
of
an
imagined
scene.
Herein
occurs
the
second
aspect
of
Althaus-‐Reid’s
reversal
of
obscenity.
She
folds
an
insistence
on
the
productive
possibilities
of
material
exposure
up
!
53
Ibid.
54
C.f.
“Obscenity
no.
1:
Bi/Christ”
in
Althaus-‐Reid,
Indecent
Theology,
112-‐120.
55
Ibid.,
111.
Page 134
!
! !124
against
the
philosophers’
negativity.
Althaus-‐Reid
reverses
the
valuation
of
obscenity.
Obscenity
ruptures
ideological
illusions
in
order
to
expose
material
realities
that
these
illusions
hide,
but
the
formulation
of
obscenity
also
leaves
the
body
immediately
available
for
persisting
and
for
other
citations.56
Like
the
sadist’s
efforts
to
ensnare
the
freedom
of
his
object,
the
apophasis
of
writing
with
‘obscenity,
in
reverse’
only
succeeds
within
fleeting
moments.
When
the
shake
of
a
muscle,
the
bounce
of
a
breast,
or
the
drop
of
sweat
interrupt
and
claim
our
attention
with
the
exposure
of
materiality
but
do
not
yet
make
sense,
we
can
gesture
obliquely
beyond
the
signifiable.
Once
they
start
to
make
sense,
however,
the
signifying
webs
of
language
and
the
illusions
of
simulations
again
veil
the
flesh.
Althaus-‐Reid
experiments
with
letting
‘obscenity,
in
reverse’
serve
as
a
technique
to
foster
encounters
with
the
materiality
of
lives
lived.
The
apophatic
technique
utters
that
which
cannot
be
written:
obscenity
allows
texts
to
expose
bodies
and
their
disruptions.
I
add
that
the
writing
of
obscenities
finds
these
fleeting
appearances
of
fleshy
facticity
in
surprising
textual
spaces.
We
can
write
apophatically
with
a
sensibility
for
establishing
other
textual
spaces
in
which
language,
knowledge,
and
power
function
differently.
“The
road
is
broad
and
needs
to
be
per/verted
(given
another
interpretation),
twisted
in
a
forbidden
direction,”57
Althaus-‐Reid
writes.
The
per/versions
of
theology
arising
out
of
diverse
experiences
of
exclusion
and
suffering
expose
processes
of
disorder
that
unravel
the
logic
of
theological
simulacra.
Constantly
multiplying
per/versions
helps
to
ensure
that
we
do
not
confuse
new
veils
with
the
flesh
below.
!
56
Judith
Butler,
see
discussion
p.
128-‐130
below.
57
Althaus-‐Reid,
Indecent
Theology,
121.
Page 266
!
! !256
———.
“Mark.”
In
Queer
Bible
Commentary,
517-‐525.
London:
SCM
Press,
2006.
———.
“Who
framed
Clodovis
Boff?:
Revisiting
the
controversy
of
‘theologies
of
the
genitive’
in
the
twenty-‐first
century.”
In
Theology
in
a
World
of
Specialization,
edited
by
Erik
Borgman
and
Felix
Wilfred.
London:
SCM,
2006.
———.
“Searching
for
a
queer
Sophia-‐Wisdom:
the
post-‐colonial
Rahab.”
In
Patriarchs,
prophets
and
other
villains,
128-‐140.
Oakville,
Conn:
Equinox,
2007.
———.
“Class,
sex
and
the
theologian:
reflections
on
the
liberationist
movement
in
Latin
America.”
In
Another
possible
world,
23-‐38.
London:
SCM,
2007.
———.
“Queering
the
cross:
the
politics
of
redemption
and
the
external
debt.”
Feminist
Theology
15,
no.
3
(May,
2007):
289-‐301.
———.
“The
bi/girl
writings:
from
feminist
theology
to
queer
theologies.”
In
Post-Christian
feminisms,
105-‐116.
Burlington,
VT:
Ashgate,
2008.
———.
“On
queer
theory
and
liberation
theology:
the
irruption
of
the
sexual
subject
in
theology.”
In
Homosexualities,
83-‐96.
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