| |
| author |
Midori E. Hartman
| | title |
Citizenship and Enslaveability in Late Antiquity: Augustine's Letter 10*
| | abstract |
This dissertation examines the relationship between citizenship and slavery in late antiquity by using Augustine's Letter 10* (c. 428 CE) as a guide text.
Informed by H. Arendt's (1951) concept of citizenship as a "right to rights," I read the letter in the context of the long-term impact of the extension of
universal Roman citizenship following the Edict of Caracalla (212 CE). Using Roman legal sources on slavery, I analyze how Augustine indirectly appeals to the
imperial Roman government for intervention against human trafficking, which he does on behalf of Roman freedom. I limit my engagement to three thematic lenses
(ethnicity, animality, and gender/sexuality). I argue that Augustine's argument ultimately depends upon a host of excluded "others" to justify the protection of
provincial citizens, namely barbarians, animals, and so-called "true slaves." I suggest use of the term "enslaveable" (enslaveability) to account for the
reality that in Roman late antiquity, many beings found themselves on a sliding scale of actual or potential enslavement; citizenship was not enforceable for
many people at the edge of empire.
| | school |
The Theological School, Drew University
| | degree |
Ph.D. (2019)
|
| advisor |
Virginia Burrus
|
| committee |
Melanie Johnson-DeBaufre
Stephen D Moore
|
| full text | MEHartman.pdf - requires Drew uLogin |
| |
