Barry Featured on the New Books Network Podcast

Associate Professor of Religious Studies Jennifer Barry was recently featured on the New Books in Late Antiquity podcast, part of the New Books Network, in conversation with host Miranda Melcher of King’s College London.

In this episode, Barry discusses her recent monograph, Gender Violence in Late Antiquity: Male Fantasies and the Christian Imagination (University of California Press, 2025). The conversation explores how early Christian authors used narratives of gendered harm — particularly domestic violence, martyrdom, and sexualized suffering — to shape theology, consolidate authority, and imagine social order.

Barry and Melcher also reflect on how feminist horror theory, trauma studies, and womanist scholarship open new pathways for interpreting ancient texts and understanding their enduring legacies in modern Christian thought. The full episode is available online through the New Books Network: Gender Violence in Late Antiquity