Runions, Erin. The Babylon Complex: Theopolitical Fantasies of War, Sex, and Sovereignty (NY: Fordham University Press, 2014)
Babylon is a surprisingly multivalent symbol in U.S. culture and politics. Political citations of Babylon range widely….A composite biblical figure, Babylon is used to celebrate diversity and also to condemn it, to sell sexuality and to regulate it, to galvanize war and to worry about imperialism.
— abstract
Runions devotes 300 pages to unpacking various uses of Babylon in U.S. culture and politics. Her work, to be clear, is not about Judaism, although she focuses on the Hebrew bible; her essays encompass Christian scriptures and interpretations, as well as details that, while illuminating, are otherwise beyond the scope of this project. Still, recommend The Babylon Complex and hope to explore some of its ideas in #ExploringBabylon.
"A Song Every Day" 