Abstract
This article seeks to analyze a contextually-reflexive reading of Genesis 1:26–31 that was produced by a group of contemporary “ordinary” readers – in this case, a group of South Derbyshire coal miners. The coal miners used Genesis 1:26–31 as a literary platform upon which they interrogated two principal issues: How ‘masculinity’ is constructed, performed, understood, enforced, and legitimized in coal mining culture; and, what the relationship is between humanity and Earth. This resulted in a reading whereby an attempt was made to synthesize how a man’s understanding of ‘masculinity’ impacts upon his relationship with, and attitude towards, Earth.
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Article note:
I would like to gratefully acknowledge that my research has been funded by the University of Sheffield’s Hossein Farmy PhD Scholarship. I would like to thank Professor James Crossley and Dr. Anthony Rees for taking the time to read the initial drafts of this paper and for providing me with invaluable feedback. Finally, I would like to thank the coal miners who participated in this study. Without their wonderful willingness to contribute, my research would never have made it past the proposal stage.
©2015 by De Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- The Reception of the Bible in the Construction of Masculinities in Jewish and Christian Con/Texts
- Articles
- “A Miner Knows Better Than Anybody You Have Little Power Over Mother Nature”: Exploring Genesis 1:26–31 and the Concepts of Control and Power with South Derbyshire Coal Miners
- Masculinity, Moral Agency, and Memory: The Spirit of the Deity in Judges, Samuel, and Beyond
- Man and New Man: David’s Masculinity in Film
- “Behold the Man”? Subverting Imperial Masculinity in the Gospel of John
- Destabilizing Masculinity: Paul in the Book of Acts and Beyond
- Joseph of Nazareth in the Protevangelium of James
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- The Reception of the Bible in the Construction of Masculinities in Jewish and Christian Con/Texts
- Articles
- “A Miner Knows Better Than Anybody You Have Little Power Over Mother Nature”: Exploring Genesis 1:26–31 and the Concepts of Control and Power with South Derbyshire Coal Miners
- Masculinity, Moral Agency, and Memory: The Spirit of the Deity in Judges, Samuel, and Beyond
- Man and New Man: David’s Masculinity in Film
- “Behold the Man”? Subverting Imperial Masculinity in the Gospel of John
- Destabilizing Masculinity: Paul in the Book of Acts and Beyond
- Joseph of Nazareth in the Protevangelium of James