James Washington Watts
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James Washington Watts (born 24 August 1960) is an American professor of religion at
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
. His research focuses on the
rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
of Leviticus. His publications also compare the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
with other religious
scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
, especially in their
ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...
performances, social functions, and material symbolism.


Biography

James W. Watts is a U.S. citizen born in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
where his father, John D. W. Watts, was teaching at the
International Baptist Theological Seminary International Baptist Theological Study Centre (IBTS) is a Baptist theological school, located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is affiliated with the European Baptist Federation. History The Seminary was founded in 1949 in Ruschlikon, Switzerla ...
in
Rüschlikon Rüschlikon is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is located on the west shore of Lake Zürich. Coat of arms Its coat of arms features a white shield showing a red rose with a yellow center and ...
. He left there with his family in 1970 for
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
, Kentucky. They spent three years in India where he attended
Woodstock School Woodstock School is an international coeducational residential school located in Landour, a small hill station contiguous with the town of Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Woodstock is one of the oldest resid ...
, before finishing High School in
South Pasadena, California South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in the West San Gabriel Valley. It ...
. Watts earned his B.A. in Philosophy from
Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became ...
(1982) where he studied with
Frederick Sontag Frederick Earl Sontag (October 2, 1924 – June 14, 2009Professor Fred Sont ...
, briefly with
Masao Abe was a Japanese Buddhist philosopher and religious studies scholar who was emeritus professor at Nara University. He is best known for his work in comparative religion, developing a Buddhism and Christianity, Buddhist-Christian interfaith dialog ...
and, during a term at
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, with
Stephanie Dalley Stephanie Mary Dalley FSA (''née'' Page; March 1943) is a British Assyriologist and scholar of the Ancient Near East. She has retired as a teaching Fellow from the Oriental Institute, Oxford. She is known for her publications of cuneiform te ...
. He then earned his M.Div. and M.T.S. in New Testament from Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky (1985, 1986), and his Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament from
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in New Haven, Connecticut (1990) where he studied with Robert R. Wilson,
Brevard S. Childs Brevard Springs Childs (September 2, 1923 – June 23, 2007) was an American Old Testament scholar and Professor of Old Testament at Yale University from 1958 until 1999 (and Sterling Professor after 1992), who is considered one of the most influe ...
, and
Mark S. Smith Mark Stratton John Matthew Smith (born December 6, 1956) is an American biblical scholar, anthropologist, and professor. Early life and education Born in Paris to Donald Eugene Smith and Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Reichert, Smith grew up in Washin ...
. He taught on the faculty of
Hastings College Hastings College is a private Presbyterian college in Hastings, Nebraska. History The college was founded in 1882 by a group of men and women seeking to establish a Presbyterian college dedicated to high academic and cultural standards. Ha ...
in Hastings, Nebraska (1993-1999) and then joined the Department of Religion of
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
in Syracuse, New York (1999- ), where he served as Department Chair from 2009 to 2015.


Academic work

James W. Watts has advocated a rhetorical approach to analyzing the contents and influence of
biblical literature A biblical canon is a set of texts (also called "books") which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. The English word ''canon'' comes from the Greek , meaning " rule" or " measuring stick". The us ...
. He applied this method to the
Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...
(1999)> and especially to the book of the Leviticus (2007, 2013).> Watts argued that the ritual rhetoric of Leviticus empowered the temple priests of Jerusalem and Samaria, who in turn ritualized the
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
/Pentateuch containing Leviticus as Judaism's first, and most important, scripture.> Watts also drew attention to "iconic books"—written texts that are revered primarily as objects of power or influential symbols rather than just as words of instruction, information, or insight. In 2001, he and Dorina Miller Parmenter founded the Iconic Books Project at Syracuse University (Watts 2013). In 2010, together with S. Brent Plate, they founded the Society for Comparative Research in Iconic and Performative Texts (SCRIPT).> Watts (2013, 2019) has advocated a three-dimensional model for understanding how religious communities
ritualize ''Ritualize'' is a collaborative studio album by Lushlife and CSLSX. It was released on Western Vinyl on February 19, 2016. Production Philadelphia rapper and record producer Lushlife contacted local record production trio CSLSX to see if they wa ...
their scriptures and other sacred texts: in the iconic dimension of the text's visual appearance, material form, and physical manipulation; in the expressive (or performative) dimension of the text's expression in oral words and mental thoughts, as well as in song, visual art, theater and film; and in the semantic dimension of the text's interpretation in preaching, commentary, and ritualized study. Watts brought these two research programs together into a religious studies approach to
biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...
. He argued that ritualizing first the
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
/Pentateuch (2017) and then
biblical literature A biblical canon is a set of texts (also called "books") which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. The English word ''canon'' comes from the Greek , meaning " rule" or " measuring stick". The us ...
generally (2021a) in these three dimensions generated their status as scripture. Their continuing
ritualization Ritualization is a behavior that occurs typically in a member of a given species in a highly stereotyped fashion and independent of any direct physiological significance. It is found, in differing forms, both in non-human animals and in humans. In ...
by Jews and Christians in all three dimensions reinforces their scriptural status.


Published books

* 1992: ''Psalm and Story: Inset Hymns in Hebrew Narrative''. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 139. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1992. (Revision of the author's Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, 1990, titled "Psalms in narrative contexts of the Hebrew Bible.") * 1996: (Co-editor with Paul R. House) ''Forming Prophetic Literature: Essays on Isaiah and the Twelve in Honor of John D. W. Watts''. Journal for the study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 235. Sheffield Academic Press, 1996. * 1999: ''Reading Law: The Rhetorical Shaping of the Pentateuch''. Biblical Seminar 59. Sheffield Academic Press, 1999. * 2001: (Editor) ''Persia and Torah: The Theory of Imperial Authorization of the Pentateuch''. Symposium Series. Society of Biblical Literature, 2001. * 2001: (Co-editor with Stephen L. Cook and Corrine L. Patton) ''The Whirlwind: Essays on Job, Hermeneutics and Theology in Memory of Jane Morse''. Journal for the study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 336. Sheffield Academic Press, 2001. * 2007: ''Ritual and Rhetoric in Leviticus: From Sacrifice to Scripture''. Cambridge University Press, 2007. * 2013: ''Leviticus 1-10, Historical Commentary on the Old Testament''. Leuven: Peeters, 2013. * 2013: (Editor) ''Iconic Books and Texts''. Sheffield: Equinox, 2013. * 2017: ''Understanding the Pentateuch as A Scripture''. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2017. * 2018: (Editor) ''Sensing Sacred Texts''. Sheffield: Equinox, 2018. * 2019: ''How and Why Books Matter: Essays on the Social Function of Iconic Texts''. Sheffield: Equinox, 2019. * 2021a: ''Understanding the Bible as A Scripture in History, Culture, and Religion''. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2021. * 2021b: (Co-author with Yohan Yoo) ''Cosmologies of Pure Realms and the Rhetoric of Pollution''. New York: Routledge, 2021. * 2021c: (Co-editor with Yohan Yoo) ''Books as Bodies and as Sacred Beings''. Sheffield: Equinox, 2021.


References


External links


The Society for Comparative Research on Iconic and Performative Texts (SCRIPT)

The Iconic Books Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, James Washington Living people 1960 births Syracuse University faculty Pomona College alumni Hastings College faculty American biblical scholars Religious studies scholars