Mountains in Micah and Coherence: A "SynDiaTopic" Suggestion

Abstract

Abstract:With recourse to some relevant postmodern sensibilities—especially the pertinence of peripheries and the value of plurality—this article examines the occurrences of mountain(s) in Micah with a view to highlighting the tension between the abstractness of space conceived of with a single center and the complex pluriformity of places that it overwrites. The work proceeds in two movements: (1) a syntopic (contra synchronic) reading that builds on the ancient western Asian worldviews of space, and (2) guided by theories of critical spatiality, a diatopic (contra diachronic) reading that highlights some peripheral details that contribute to the Mican vision, paving the way for a "syndiatopic" suggestion.