New Books in History Maia Kotrosits, "After Transformation: Rewriting Time, Christian Late Antiquity, and the Present" (Duke UP, 2025)
Nov 26, 2025
Maia Kotrosits, a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Divinity School and expert in ancient Judaism and Christianity, dives into her book, *After Transformation*. She explores lyrical historiography, emphasizing how poetic forms reveal overlooked human experiences in history. Kotrosits critiques traditional narratives, highlighting the complexity of change and the nuances of lived experiences. She advocates for imaginative scholarship, calling for a rethinking of how we engage with the past, blending history with vulnerability and storytelling.
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Lyricism As A Way Of Knowing
- Lyrical history treats poetic form as an epistemology, not just decoration.
- Maia Kotrosits argues lyricism reveals lived, affective truths that standard historiography misses.
History From Below The Grid
- Writing with a smaller brush reveals everyday lived experiences that large-scale narratives obscure.
- The book surfaces restlessness, trauma, and non-dominant lives often absent from official registers.
Three Voices As Illustrative Vignettes
- Maia reads three short pieces illustrating different voices: Julius Africanus, Eusebius, and a 20th-century scholar.
- These vignettes show how form and voice reveal distinct historical sensibilities.
