Prof. Luis Menéndez-Antuña Receives Society of Biblical Literature 2021 Diamond Award for Integrative Scholarship
Assistant Professor of New Testament Luis Menéndez-Antuña was recently awarded the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) 2021 A. R. Pete Diamond Award for Integrative Scholarship for his recent article “The Gospel of Torture: Mark 15 and the Body in Pain.”
The Diamond Award for Integrative Scholarship supports junior-level academic scholars who demonstrate “innovative approaches in biblical studies that advance methodological work at the intersection of historical criticism, critical theory, and cultural studies.” The award is distributed annually and is given in memory to the legacy of former SBL member A. R. Diamond, who faithfully encouraged new and innovative work among his students in the field of biblical studies.
Prof. Menéndez-Antuña offers this background on his award-winning article: “This article (forthcoming in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion) explores how being attentive to the constitutive elements of torture and to the testimonials of contemporary victims that have survived such torment help us read, understand, and experience crucifixion narratives as instances where trauma, pain, and agony strive to find linguistic expression. This article also explores how despite such difficulty to find words, torture and its ensuing pain inform many literary topics in the Gospel like the temple and discipleship.”