Books by Nicholas R. Werse
de Gruyter, 2019
Although many scholars recognize literary similarities between Hosea, Amos, Micah, and Zephaniah,... more Although many scholars recognize literary similarities between Hosea, Amos, Micah, and Zephaniah, defining the compositional relationship between these texts remains a matter of debate. Following the scholarly trajectory of exploring the compositional relationship between the Twelve prophets, several scholars argue that these four prophetic texts formed a precursory collection to the Book of the Twelve. Yet even among advocates for this ‘Book of the Four’ there remain differences in defining the form and function of the collection. By reexamining the literary parallels between these texts, Werse shows how different methodological convictions have led to the diverse composition models in the field today. Through careful consideration of emerging insights in the study of deuteronomism and scribalism, Werse provides an innovative composition model explaining how these four texts came to function as a collection in the wake of the traumatic destruction of Jerusalem. This volume explores a historic function of these prophetic voices by examining the editorial process that drew them together.
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Journal Articles and Book Chapters by Nicholas R. Werse
The Journal of Environmental Education, 2023
Although numerous approaches to cultivating an ecocritical awareness in students exist, much scho... more Although numerous approaches to cultivating an ecocritical awareness in students exist, much scholarly dialog has revolved around ecojustice education and ecopedagogy. Whereas the former seeks to cultivate a local ecocritical awareness in students, the latter advocates for a globalized “planetary citizenship.” While both cultivate an ecocritical awareness, they focus this awareness in different directions: the local and the global. This tension is illustrated by the 2004 disagreement between Gadotti and Bowers. In this article, I use this disagreement as a starting place to examine this tension and challenge the perceived opposition between cultivating a local and a planetary ecojustice awareness.
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British Journal of Educational Technology, 2023
Although many academic disciplines are now experiencing a process of “greening” as scholars seek ... more Although many academic disciplines are now experiencing a process of “greening” as scholars seek to cultivate an ecocritical awareness within disciplinary scholarship, Neil Selwyn notes that such ecocritical concerns rarely feature in the field of educational technology. In this paper, I bring Selwyn's call for ecocritical awareness in the field of educational technology into conversation with emerging scholarly discussions in the fields of ecojustice ethics, ecojustice education, and information and communications technology sustainability. In so doing, I expand the existing conversation about the environmental impact of educational technology consumption to argue that the process of cultivating an ecocritical awareness in the field of educational technology requires refining the discipline's focus to include the full lifespan of educational technology devices and the global inequities that feature during the production and disposal of these devices.
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Go Online! Reconfiguring Writing Courses for the New, Virtual World, 2022
Werse, N. R. “Practical and Transferable: The Quest to Design Online Writing Instruction for Ment... more Werse, N. R. “Practical and Transferable: The Quest to Design Online Writing Instruction for Mentoring Professional Doctoral Students.” In Go Online! Reconfiguring Writing Courses for the New, Virtual World. Ed. Laura Gray-Rosendale and Steven Rosendale. Peter Lang, 2022.
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Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics , 2021
Sean Murphy’s six instalment series Punk Rock Jesus explores the interaction between faith, reaso... more Sean Murphy’s six instalment series Punk Rock Jesus explores the interaction between faith, reason, the media, and American society. The narrative follows the creation, indoctrination, and apostasy of a clone of Jesus. After the traumatic events that led to his apostasy, this Jesus works to unveil the dangers of faith using his platform as a Punk Rock singer. Underneath this plot exists the sub-narrative of Jesus’ loyal bodyguard, the unwavering Catholic Thomas McKael. Unlike the biblical character Thomas who is remembered for doubting Jesus’ resurrection, McKael reflects an unwavering faith in the cloned Jesus, despite Jesus’ denunciation of his religious identity. This sub-narrative unfolds through a series of flashbacks, providing McKael’s back story and his own traumatic experiences. By presenting Jesus as an apostate and Thomas as faithful, Punk Rock Jesus cleverly reverses the biblical depiction of the disciples and Jesus. This article explores the function of borderless frames in the telling of Thomas’ and the clone Jesus’ parallel traumatic experiences, noting the connections to their different character development trajectories in light of the series’ broader socio-political critique of American society, media empires, and the political agenda of the religious right.
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Practice-based and Practice-Led Research for Dissertation Development, 2020
This chapter examines the unique writing needs of professional, scholarly-practitioner doctoral s... more This chapter examines the unique writing needs of professional, scholarly-practitioner doctoral students and the writing goals of the dissertation in practice that distinguish these students from traditional research-oriented graduate student writers. In this chapter, the authors survey emerging scholarship that establishes best practices for online writing support. Additionally, this chapter combines the insights gained from the discussion of scholarly-practitioner doctoral students’ unique needs and writing support research to establish applicable best practices to support these online scholarly-practitioner students in the dissertation in practice writing process. These best practices are further informed by the authors’ practical experience of launching an online professional doctoral degree writing center that currently serves more than 300 online students. This chapter concludes that intentional, tailored writing support complements professional and practitioner-focused graduate degree students’ course work through a structured approach to the writing process that emphasizes transferable skills and reflective value.
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Practice-based and Practice-Led Research for Dissertation Development, 2020
Ed.D. dissertations in practice often differ from traditional Ph.D. dissertations in the origin o... more Ed.D. dissertations in practice often differ from traditional Ph.D. dissertations in the origin of the questions, the foci of the study, and the positionality. While Ph.D. dissertation questions typically stem from published theory and research, Ed.D. dissertations in practice employ what is often identified as “action research” or “applied research” (see discussion in Herr & Anderson, 2005; Buss & Zambo, 2014). Drawing from the historic methodological roots of ethnography and the more contemporary, though well-established, practices of action research or applied research (Graham & Hudson-Ross, 1999; Kosnick, 2000; Moore, 1999; Ostorga & Lopez, 2009), Ed.D. dissertations in practice are grounded in an overarching philosophical worldview that emphasizes the emic (insider) perspective of the scholarly practitioner whose depth and breadth of contextual understanding of the problem under consideration uniquely position the researcher to undertake a study with applied precision. Most Ed.D. programs operate under the assumption that Ed.D. students will select foci for their problem of practice that they consider to be pragmatically important or relevant (e.g., Archbald, 2008; Willis et al., 2010; Zambo, 2011; Belzer & Ryan, 2013; Storey, 2017). Students will then use that dissertation in practice to make improvements in their disciplinary settings (Perry et al., 2015; Buss & Zambo, 2016; Perry & Jones, 2016; Ma et al., 2018). The crux of the Ed.D. dissertation in practice then roots in its pragmatism: that the value is often judged more by its ability and potential to solve specific or local problems (Archbald, 2008; Belzer & Ryan, 2013) rather than in its capacity to generate generalizable findings. Researchers are caught in between professional contexts that exist before and after their research study, which may limit their ability to conduct research more typical of a Ph.D. dissertation in which the site is removed from the researcher’s personal and professional contexts.
This proximity of the researcher to the problem means that in dissertations in practice, researcher positionality statements are all the more necessary not only for the benefit of the reader but also for that of the researcher to reflect on their connections to the research and the effect those connections has on the study. To better determine the contours of this discussion, the following chapter explores first the role of researcher perspective in the research process, then the unique nuances of the researcher positionality in dissertations in practice, followed by a discussion of the advantages and limitations of the unique positionality assumed by dissertations in practice. This chapter concludes by noting the importance of constructing conceptual coherence between the implications of the scholarly-practitioner’s positionality statement in the dissertation in practice and the discussion of the dissertations’ ethical considerations and limitations.
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HarperCollins Study Bible
“Zephaniah, Introduction to.” HarperCollins Study Bible. Edited by Corrine Carvalho. San Francisc... more “Zephaniah, Introduction to.” HarperCollins Study Bible. Edited by Corrine Carvalho. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins.
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Oxford Bibliographies in Biblical Studies, 2020
“Prophets.” Coauthored with Stephen Breck Reid. Oxford Bibliographies in Biblical Studies. Edited... more “Prophets.” Coauthored with Stephen Breck Reid. Oxford Bibliographies in Biblical Studies. Edited by Christopher Matthews. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 2020
The present article builds upon previously identified catchwords linking Joel to Hosea and Amos b... more The present article builds upon previously identified catchwords linking Joel to Hosea and Amos by arguing that Joel opens with literary connections to the beginning (Joel 1:1//Hos 1:1) and end (Joel 1:5–7//Hos 14:2–9) of Hosea in the same way Joel ends with literary links to the beginning (Joel 4:16aα [3:16aα]//Amos 1:2a) and end (Joel 4:18aα [3:18aα]//Amos 9:13b) of Amos. This article concludes by examining the compositional and literary implications of opening and closing Joel with framing language from Hosea and Amos respectively.
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The Oxford Handbook of the Minor Prophets, 2020
While the theme of violence assumes different nuances in the different voices within the Book of ... more While the theme of violence assumes different nuances in the different voices within the Book of the Twelve (Minor Prophets), these texts reflect certain patterns in their response to violence. This article explores the prophetic response to violence in two social spheres. First, the texts speaking into preexilic Israelite and Judean societies respond to the internal violence within these societies by proclaiming divine violence utilizing foreign nations as judgment against these societies. Second, the texts speaking into the postexilic experience respond to the violence of foreign nations by proclaiming divine retributive violence against the nations. In both cases, God responds to violence with violence. While this worldview would seem to produce an endless cycle of violence, some of these texts proclaim a possible path to peace and restoration beyond the violence, which is inextricably linked to the theme of violence.
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Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2020
Many scholars recognize select points of contact between the text of Zephaniah and the language o... more Many scholars recognize select points of contact between the text of Zephaniah and the language of the Primeval History in Genesis 1-11. Scholars frequently note the similarities between Zeph 1:2-3 and the reversal of creation found in the flood narrative (cf.1:29; 6:1, 7); as well as the thematic similarities between the Tower of Babel story in Gen 11 and Zeph 3:9-10. Additionally, Adele Berlin notes a series of parallels between the Oracles Against the Nations in Zephaniah and Genesis 10. James Nogalski combines the conclusions of previous redaction critics concerning the composition of Zeph 1:2-3 and 3:9-10 with Berlin’s synchronic observations in order to argue that the book of Zephaniah underwent a comprehensive editorial update under the influence of Genesis 1-11. He argues that the same editors supplied Zeph 1:2-3, 2:11bβ, 12-15; 3:9-10 in order to frame Zephaniah’s message as one of the de-creation and re-creation of the cosmos. Nogalski’s proposed redactional layer, however, does not fully account for two significant points of contact with the text of Isaiah. I propose a paper that builds upon Nogalski’s observations in order to account for the parallel between Zeph 2:15 and Isa 47:8, as well as the lexical links between Zeph 3:9-10 and Isa 18-19. These parallels with the text of Isaiah suggest that Zeph 2:15; 3:9-10 share a common literary horizon with the Isaianic themes of Zeph 3:14-20. Through this common literary horizon, this paper will argue that Zeph 2:13-15 serves as a hinge text between the cosmic destruction in Zeph 1:3 and the Zion reconstruction in 3:9-10, 14-20.
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The Book of the Twelve: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation, 2020
“Obadiah in the Book of the Twelve.” Coauthored with Anna Sieges. Pages 151–163 in The Book of th... more “Obadiah in the Book of the Twelve.” Coauthored with Anna Sieges. Pages 151–163 in The Book of the Twelve: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation. Eds. Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer and Jakob Wöhrle. FIOTL/VTSup. Leiden: Brill, 2020.
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An Angel Of the Lord Appeared to Them: Essays in Medieval Angelology in the Abrahamic Traditions, 2021
Werse, Nicholas R. “The Many Faces of the Angel of Death in Rabbinic Thought.” In An Angel Of the... more Werse, Nicholas R. “The Many Faces of the Angel of Death in Rabbinic Thought.” In An Angel Of the Lord Appeared to Them: Essays in Medieval Angelology in the Abrahamic Traditions. Ed. Jun-Ann T. Greeley. Cardiff: University of Wales Press
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The Routledge Handbook of Death and the Afterlife. Ed. Candi K. Cann. New York: Routledge, 2018
From its earliest scriptures, Judaism has never had a single systematic picture of death and the ... more From its earliest scriptures, Judaism has never had a single systematic picture of death and the afterlife. Rather, throughout its history Judaism has employed various images, metaphors, and ways of speaking about the afterlife. Jewish teachers across the ages disagree on many interpretive aspects of these various images. These images have developed through each successive era of Jewish history as each new generation returns to the traditions of the past with new questions from the present. A single chapter on the Jewish views of death and the afterlife, therefore, cannot adequately survey the full breadth of this rich tradition. The present chapter surveys some of the key developments in five important eras of Jewish thought: Biblical Judaism, late Second Temple Judaism, Rabbinic Judaism, medieval Judaism, and modern Judaism. While each era develops the diversity of Jewish thought, it does so by responding to the questions and theological trajectories emerging from the received traditions of the past. Thus in the midst of this diversity, key themes develop across the generations as central components to the Jewish understanding of the afterlife. Across this mosaic of tradition, the Jewish views of death and the afterlife frequently reflect the conviction that the afterlife is a place of justice over which God remains sovereign. Whether one speaks of the resurrection or postmortem existence in Sheol, the Garden of Eden, or the World to Come, the afterlife serves as a time for distributing the just rewards and punishments merited by one’s physical life.
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Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 2019
This article argues that Zeph 1:18aβ-2:3, and 3:6-8 frame the OAN, dividing Zephaniah into a trip... more This article argues that Zeph 1:18aβ-2:3, and 3:6-8 frame the OAN, dividing Zephaniah into a tripartite structure. The synchronic analysis identifies the hinge function of this frame in the macrostructure of Zephaniah. The diachronic analysis identifies a two stage composition process. The first stage (2:1-3 and 3:6-7) presents the OAN as a warning to Jerusalem and the second stage (1:18aβb and 3:8) presents the nations as the objects of divine wrath in anticipation of Jerusalem’s restoration. Finally, this article explores the “meaning” of the tripartite structure of Zephaniah, which binds the nations and Judah into a shared paradigm of judgment and restoration.
Zeph 1,18aβ–2,3 und 3,6–8 rahmen die Sprüche gegen die Fremdvölker und geben Zephanja eine dreigliedrige Struktur. Die synchrone Analyse stellt eine Scharnierfunktion dieses Rahmens in der Makrostruktur von Zephanja fest, die diachrone Analyse eine zweistufige Komposition. Die erste Stufe (2,1–3 und 3,6–7) beschreibt die Sprüche gegen die Fremdvölker als eine Warnung für Jerusalem, die zweite Stufe (1,18aβb und 3,8) die Fremdvölker als Objekt göttlichen Zorns in Erwartung der Wiederherstellung Jerusalems. Abschließend untersucht der Artikel die »Bedeutung« der dreigliedrigen Struktur Zephanjas, die die Nationen und Judah in ein gemeinsames Paradigma von Gericht und Wiederherstellung einfügt.
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Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2019
The Jeremiah LXX selectively employs the term ψευδοπροφήτης in nine instances within the four con... more The Jeremiah LXX selectively employs the term ψευδοπροφήτης in nine instances within the four conflict pericopes of Jer 33-36 (MT 26-29) and one oracle (6:13-15). Scholars struggle to explain the reason for this selective use in light of the vast number of instances in which the LXX presents a false prophet with the common term προφήτης. This article argues that by selectively employing ψευδοπροφήτης in these passages, the translator links the false prophets of the conflict pericopes (Jer 33-36 [MT 26-29]) with the condemnation of false prophets in Jer 6:13-15 for trivially responding to the destruction of the Lord’s people. This concern with the false prophets’ response unifies these five pericopes and distinguishes them from the broader condemnation of false prophets in Jeremiah LXX. This selective use of ψευδοπροφήτης fits within the broader theological concern of Jeremiah LXX over the destruction of Jerusalem.
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The Baylor Annotated Study Bible. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2019
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Journal for the Study of Judaism, 2018
The present study focuses on the representation of exile and restoration in Josephus’s Antiquitie... more The present study focuses on the representation of exile and restoration in Josephus’s Antiquities of the Jews. This study first builds upon Feldman’s observations, arguing that Josephus interprets the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple as the Judean restoration marking the end of exilic judgment. Second, this study examines Josephus’s interpretation of subsequent post-restoration oppression and suffering. Josephus interprets this post-restoration suffering through the theological lens of the exile, but not as a continuation or even return to a single “exile” event. Rather, for Josephus, the exile is the archetypal experience of divine judgment for disobedience. Thus subsequent disobedience in the post-restoration age could lead to a repeat of this “sin-punishment” paradigm. Josephus utilizes this repeatable paradigm to explain periods of Jewish suffering after their restoration from exile.
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Vetus Testamentum, 2018
The MT of Zephaniah 1:5 contains an odd accusation that the Judeans swear “to YHWH…” “by their ki... more The MT of Zephaniah 1:5 contains an odd accusation that the Judeans swear “to YHWH…” “by their king.” Whereas the MT reads “their king,” the Old Greek, Vulgate, and Syriac all read “Milcom,” and the Targum reads “their idols.” Scholarship debates, therefore, whether to follow the MT tradition, which is theologically unexpected in light of other references to “swearing” in the Hebrew Bible, or emend the Hebrew to follow the Greek manuscript tradition. Scholarly proposals broadly reflect four solutions to the difficulty. Two of these solutions require emendation whereas two do not. First, some scholars defend the MT reading of “their king” as a reference to a human ruler. Second, some scholars defend the MT reading of “their king,” but interpret it as a title for a deity. Third, some scholars emend to follow the Old Greek reading “Milcom.” Finally, some scholars emend to read “Molech.” I propose a textual critical assessment that outlines the full range of manuscript possibility. I will then argue for reading “Milcom” based upon consistent usage patterns of שבע in the Hebrew Bible, and comparative evidence of “oath” and “swearing” practices in the ancient Near East. I explain the MT reading as a later interpretive tradition distancing the Davidic monarchy from “Milcom” worship as seen in similar textual critical differences in 2 Sam 12:30 and 1 Chr 20:2.
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Books by Nicholas R. Werse
Journal Articles and Book Chapters by Nicholas R. Werse
This proximity of the researcher to the problem means that in dissertations in practice, researcher positionality statements are all the more necessary not only for the benefit of the reader but also for that of the researcher to reflect on their connections to the research and the effect those connections has on the study. To better determine the contours of this discussion, the following chapter explores first the role of researcher perspective in the research process, then the unique nuances of the researcher positionality in dissertations in practice, followed by a discussion of the advantages and limitations of the unique positionality assumed by dissertations in practice. This chapter concludes by noting the importance of constructing conceptual coherence between the implications of the scholarly-practitioner’s positionality statement in the dissertation in practice and the discussion of the dissertations’ ethical considerations and limitations.
Zeph 1,18aβ–2,3 und 3,6–8 rahmen die Sprüche gegen die Fremdvölker und geben Zephanja eine dreigliedrige Struktur. Die synchrone Analyse stellt eine Scharnierfunktion dieses Rahmens in der Makrostruktur von Zephanja fest, die diachrone Analyse eine zweistufige Komposition. Die erste Stufe (2,1–3 und 3,6–7) beschreibt die Sprüche gegen die Fremdvölker als eine Warnung für Jerusalem, die zweite Stufe (1,18aβb und 3,8) die Fremdvölker als Objekt göttlichen Zorns in Erwartung der Wiederherstellung Jerusalems. Abschließend untersucht der Artikel die »Bedeutung« der dreigliedrigen Struktur Zephanjas, die die Nationen und Judah in ein gemeinsames Paradigma von Gericht und Wiederherstellung einfügt.
This proximity of the researcher to the problem means that in dissertations in practice, researcher positionality statements are all the more necessary not only for the benefit of the reader but also for that of the researcher to reflect on their connections to the research and the effect those connections has on the study. To better determine the contours of this discussion, the following chapter explores first the role of researcher perspective in the research process, then the unique nuances of the researcher positionality in dissertations in practice, followed by a discussion of the advantages and limitations of the unique positionality assumed by dissertations in practice. This chapter concludes by noting the importance of constructing conceptual coherence between the implications of the scholarly-practitioner’s positionality statement in the dissertation in practice and the discussion of the dissertations’ ethical considerations and limitations.
Zeph 1,18aβ–2,3 und 3,6–8 rahmen die Sprüche gegen die Fremdvölker und geben Zephanja eine dreigliedrige Struktur. Die synchrone Analyse stellt eine Scharnierfunktion dieses Rahmens in der Makrostruktur von Zephanja fest, die diachrone Analyse eine zweistufige Komposition. Die erste Stufe (2,1–3 und 3,6–7) beschreibt die Sprüche gegen die Fremdvölker als eine Warnung für Jerusalem, die zweite Stufe (1,18aβb und 3,8) die Fremdvölker als Objekt göttlichen Zorns in Erwartung der Wiederherstellung Jerusalems. Abschließend untersucht der Artikel die »Bedeutung« der dreigliedrigen Struktur Zephanjas, die die Nationen und Judah in ein gemeinsames Paradigma von Gericht und Wiederherstellung einfügt.