Roland Theodore Boer (born 1961[1]) is an Australian theologian and scholar of Marxism.[2] He was awarded the Deutscher Memorial Prize in 2014.
Career
[edit]Boer obtained a bachelors degree in divinity from the University of Sydney.[3] He was a professor at University of Newcastle (Australia).[3] In 2004, he founded the peer-reviewed academic journal The Bible and Critical Theory.[4]
In 2018, he was described by Xinhua as one of the world's top experts on Marxism.[5] He teaches at the Dalian University of Technology's School of Marxism.[6]
He runs the blog Stalin's Moustache.[3]
Notable works
[edit]Political Myth: On the Use and Abuse of Biblical Themes
[edit]Political Myth: On the Use and Abuse of Biblical Themes was released in 2009. It examines the political narratives that emerge out of the Hebrew Bible on the political right and provides a framework to critique those narratives from the political left.[7]
The Sacred Economy of Ancient Israel
[edit]The Sacred Economy of Ancient Israel, released in 2015, examines the intersection of economics and religion in ancient Israel through the lens of Marxist critical theory.[8]
The Criticism of Heaven and Earth
[edit]The Criticism of Heaven and Earth is a series of books which explores the intersection of Marxism and religion. The fifth book in the series, In the Vale of Tears: On Marxism and Theology V, was released in 2012. In 2014 it was awarded the Deutscher Memorial Prize.[3]
Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Guide for Foreigners
[edit]In Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Guide for Foreigners, released in 2021, Boer describes Gordon H. Chang's The Coming Collapse of China (2001) as an example of the "China doomer" approach to historical nihilism.[9] Other examples cited by Boer include anti-communist tropes and atrocity propaganda, as well as "betrayal" narratives in which Deng Xiaoping is cast as a "traitor" who supposedly undid the achievements of China's revolution and brought capitalism to China—Boer characterises these as historical nihilism.[9]
Works
[edit]Books
[edit]- — (1997). Novel Histories: The Fiction of Biblical Criticism. Playing the Texts. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-85075-835-8.
- — (1999). Knockin' on heaven's door: the Bible and popular culture. Biblical limits. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-19410-5.
- — (2001). Last stop before Antarctica: the Bible and postcolonialism in Australia. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-84127-170-5.
- — (2003). Marxist criticism of the Bible. London; New York: T&T Clark. ISBN 978-0-8264-6327-2. OCLC 54054313.
- — (2007). Bakhtin and genre theory in biblical studies. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 978-90-04-15737-8.
- — (2007). Criticism of heaven: on Marxism and theology. Historical Materialism Book Series. Vol. I. Leiden, The Netherlands; Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-16111-5. OCLC 141384381.
- — (2007). Rescuing the Bible. Blackwell Manifestos. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-4051-7020-8.
- — (2008). Last stop before Antarctica: the Bible and postcolonialism in Australia. Semeia Studies (2nd ed.). Leiden; Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-13080-7. OCLC 213466101.
- —; Økland, Jorunn (2008). Marxist feminist criticism of the Bible. Bible in the Modern World. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press. ISBN 978-1-906055-35-6.
- — (2009). Criticism of religion: on Marxism and theology, II. Historical Materialism Book Series. Vol. 22. Leiden; Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-17646-1. OCLC 317573556.
- — (2009). Political grace: the revolutionary theology of John Calvin (1st ed.). Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-23393-8. OCLC 300279962.
- — (2009). Political myth: on the use and abuse of Biblical themes. New Slant. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-4335-6. OCLC 255016937.
- — (2011). Criticism of theology: on Marxism and theology, III. Historical Materialism Book Series. Vol. 27. Leiden; Boston: Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-18974-4. OCLC 727950316.
- — (2012). Criticism of earth: on Marx, Engels, and theology, IV. Historical Materialism Book Series. Vol. 35. Leiden: Brill Publishers. ISBN 9789004225589. OCLC 796383691.
- — (2012). Nick Cave: a study of love, death, and apocalypse. Studies in Popular Music. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing. ISBN 9781908049674. OCLC 730414507.
- — (2013). Lenin, religion, and theology. New Approaches to Religion and Power (1st ed.). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-32389-7. OCLC 822532801.
- —; Petterson, Christina (2014). Idols of nations: biblical myth at the origins of capitalism. Minneapolis: 1517 Media. ISBN 978-1-4514-6544-0. OCLC 866619973.
- — (2014). In the vale of tears: on Marxism and theology, V. Historical Materialism Book Series. Vol. 52. Leiden: Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-25232-5. OCLC 862050346.
- — (2014). Secularism and biblical studies. BibleWorld. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781315478531. OCLC 980282933.
- — (2014). Symposia: dialogues concerning the history of biblical interpretation. BibleWorld. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781315711225. OCLC 958109369.
- — (2015). Marxist criticism of the Hebrew Bible (2nd ed.). London: T&T Clark. ISBN 978-0-567-12870-6. OCLC 896822487.
- — (2015). The sacred economy of ancient Israel. Library of ancient Israel. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-1-61164-555-2. OCLC 909903384.
- — (2017). Stalin: From Theology to the Philosophy of Socialism in Power. Singapore: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-6367-1. ISBN 978-981-10-6367-1.
- —; Petterson, Christina (2017). Time of troubles: a new economic framework for early Christianity. Minneapolis: 1517 Media. ISBN 978-1-5064-0631-2. OCLC 966572632.
- — (2021). Friedrich Engels and the Foundations of Socialist Governance. SpringerBriefs in Philosophy. Singapore: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-981-16-4695-9. ISBN 978-981-16-4694-2. OCLC 1275357049.
- — (2021). Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Guide for Foreigners. Singapore: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-981-16-1622-8. ISBN 978-981-16-1622-8. OCLC 1249470522.
- — (2023). Socialism in Power: On the History and Theory of Socialist Governance. Singapore: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-981-19-5414-6. ISBN 978-981-19-5413-9. OCLC 1372399583.
Book chapters
[edit]- — (2003). "Sanctuary and womb: Henri Lefebvre and the production of ancient space". In —; Conrad, Edgar W. (eds.). Redirected travel: alternative journeys and places in biblical studies. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. London; New York: T&T Clark. pp. 162–184. ISBN 978-0-8264-6766-9. OCLC 276838400.
- — (2012). "The Anomaly of Interpretation; A Web of Fascination: Marxism and The Bible". In Conrad, Edgar W.; Carden, Michael; Kelso, Julie; — (eds.). The one who reads may run: essays in honour of Edgar W. Conrad. Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament studies. New York, NY: T&T Clark. ISBN 978-0-567-60217-6. OCLC 761380392.
- — (2020). "Lenin and Non-Antagonistic Contradictions". In Joffre-Eichhorn, Hjalmar Jorge; Anderson, Patrick (eds.). Lenin 150. Hamburg: Kick Ass books. pp. 79–88. ISBN 978-3-00-066212-6.
- — (2020). "The State and Minority Nationalities (Ethnic Groups) in China". In Ratuva, Steven (ed.). The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 93–107. ISBN 978-981-13-2899-2.
- — (2023). "The Philosophical Economist: The Contribution of Cheng Enfu". Innovative Marxist School in China: Comments by International Scholars on Cheng Enfu's Academic Thoughts. Berlin, Germany: Canut International Publishers. pp. 367–390. ISBN 978-605-4923-74-8.
Articles
[edit]- —; Chin, Kenpa (24 June 2016). "Chinese Christian communism in the early twentieth century". Religion, State and Society. 44 (2): 96–110. doi:10.1080/09637494.2016.1169752. ISSN 0963-7494.
- — (31 March 2016). "Concerning the "Warm Stream" within Marxism". International Critical Thought. 6 (1): 13–28. doi:10.1080/21598282.2016.1142384. ISSN 2159-8282.
- — (10 October 2017). "After October: Towards a Theory of the Socialist State". International Critical Thought. 7 (3): 309–326. doi:10.1080/21598282.2017.1355742. ISSN 2159-8282.
- — (4 April 2019). "Marx's Ambivalence: State, Proletarian Dictatorship and Commune". International Critical Thought. 9 (1): 109–127. doi:10.1080/21598282.2019.1585603. ISSN 2159-8282.
- — (January 2020). "Seeking a Xiaokang Society: Deng Xiaoping and the Reinterpretation of the Confucian Tradition in Chinese Marxism" (PDF). Berlin Journal of Critical Theory. 4 (1): 181–210.
- —; Yan, Ping (7 May 2021). ""Not Some Other -ism"—On Some Western Marxist Misrepresentations of Chinese Socialism". International Critical Thought. 11 (2): 171–189. doi:10.1080/21598282.2021.1923171. ISSN 2159-8282.
- — (12 May 2021). "Socialism and the Market: Returning to the East European Debate". New Political Economy. 28 (1): 1–12. doi:10.1080/13563467.2021.1926958. ISSN 1356-3467.
- — (January 2023). "Inner Transcendence and "Beyond": The Debate in Chinese Philosophy" (PDF). Berlin Journal of Critical Theory. 7 (1): 83–102. eISSN 2567-4056. ISSN 2567-4048.
- — (24 February 2023). "A Truncated Marxism: On the Ideological Structure of Western Marxism". Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences. 16 (2): 145–170. doi:10.1007/s40647-023-00366-0. ISSN 1674-0750.
- — (March 2023). "The End of Western Marxism? On the Unravelling of an Ideological Structure". Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences. 16 (2): 123–143. doi:10.1007/s40647-023-00369-x. ISSN 1674-0750.
- — (31 December 2023). "Abstract or Concrete Utopia? Concerning the Ideal Society in Chinese Philosophy and Culture". Religions. 15 (1): 55. doi:10.3390/rel15010055. ISSN 2077-1444.
- — (20 April 2024). "A New Socioeconomic Formation? Philosophical Reflections on China's "New Projectment Economy"". World Marxist Review. 1 (1): 77–98. doi:10.62834/rdgm2d20. ISSN 3023-672X.
References
[edit]- ^ "Notice de personne—Boer, Roland". Bibliothèque nationale de France.
- ^ "Roland Theodore Boer 薄国强". Roland Theodore Boer 薄国强. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Left of his field". newcastle.edu.au. Newcastle University. 13 December 2013. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ Boer, Roland (2004). "Editorial" (PDF). The Bible and Critical Theory. 1 (1). doi:10.2104/bc040001 (inactive 1 November 2024). ISSN 1832-3391.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link) - ^ "Marx big again in China". theaustralian.com.au/. The Australian. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ Eysel, Benjamin. "Plötzlich eine "Demokratie"?". tagesschau.de. Tagesschau. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ Schweitzer, Steven J. (21 December 2011). "Roland Boer, Political Myth: On The Use And Abuse Of Biblical Themes". Perspectives on Hebrew Scriptures VII. Gorgias Press. pp. 727–729. doi:10.31826/9781463234904-079. ISBN 978-1-4632-3490-4.
- ^ Cherney, Kenneth A. "The Sacred Economy of Ancient Israel by Roland Boer". Wisconsin Lutheran Review.
- ^ a b Boer, Roland (2021). Socialism with Chinese characteristics: a guide for foreigners. Singapore: Springer. pp. 10–12. ISBN 978-981-16-1622-8. OCLC 1249470522.
