17th century Doopsgezinden were fascinated by the workings of language. As poets, preachers, translators, writers, theorists, and publishers, they were interested in understanding the way words work (or do not work) and the arts of using one’s voice. During his Allard Pierson Fellowship in the Doopsgezinde Bibliotheek, Chris Huebner has been exploring this investment in the way of words. Drawing on the approach of “ordinary language philosophy”, which observes that we don’t just say things with our words but also do things with them, this lecture will present some of the ways that Doopsgezinden used their voices and how they did things with words. In doing so, it will explore the interdependence of the community on the work of communication and the way religion seeks to cultivate relational bonds of intimacy with the world, with others, and with God.
Bio
Chris K. Huebner is associate professor of theology and philosophy at the Canadian Mennonite University. His scholarship explores the intersection of epistemology and ethics, with particular attention to the ways in which these fields converge in the figure of the martyr. He is the author of two books: A Precarious Peace (2006) and Suffering the Truth (2019). His forthcoming book, Wisdom and Her Daughters, explores common themes in the 10th-century martyr drama Sapientia by Hrotsvit of Gandersheim and the late plays of William Shakespeare.
