Augustine the African [Hardcover]

A This biography of St. Augustine casts the philosopher not only as a theologian who profoundly shaped Christian orthodoxy but also as a person indelibly marked by his status as an African in the Roman Empire&. Conybeare... intertwines learned exegesis with examples of Augustines human idiosyncrasies, offering illuminating analyses of the philosophers seminal texts and ideasincluding his theory of original sinand of the role that his heritage played in his self-conception. Excellent, short, and highly readable.... Traces a grittier story of a life lived almost entirely in a small area of what is now eastern Algeria, where Augustines local origins and experience profoundly shaped both his life and his thought. Conybeares argument is that because of his contributions to the genres of philosophy, autobiography, and Christian theology, a core strand of the culture that Europe claims as its own stems from Africa. I read a lot of books about Augustine this year; this one was probably my favorite&.Its wonderful to read this narratively compelling, brilliantly researched biographical study and see how different everything looks thanks to Conybeares focus on Augustines Africanness&.Really an astonishing book. Refreshens and deepens appreciation of Augustines thought.... convincingly relating his greatest achievements to his sense of being caught between Rome and North Africa. Beautifully written, thoroughly engaging and highly recommended. Classicist Catherine Conybeares fascinating biography of St. Augustine anchors his philosophy in his African origins and presents an illuminating portrait of one of historys greatest thinkers. Throughout her biography, Conybeare offers a reading of Augustines life that takes seriously his insider-outsider status as a man from Roman North Africa who is trying to navigate systems of domination both in the Catholic Church and the Roman Empire. There is much to learn from the insider-outsider Conybeare uses to frame the bi