Welcome!

My name is Albertina Oegema and on this website you can read more about my research on children, age, and the family among late ancient Jews and Christians. In my research, I am particularly interested in how age – in intersection with gender, class, freeborn/slave status, and other factors – plays a role in power processes, in social inclusion and exclusion, and in marginalizing people. Whereas Jewish and Christian children play only a marginal role in our literary sources due to the adult bias therein, the aged are both treated with respect and socially marginalized. How is this age bias reflected in the different stages of life? How do Jews and Christians deal with conflicting images of childhood and old age? And how can we bring to the fore the voice and agency of those who are marginalized on account of their age?

Are you curious about the results? Then read the project descriptions of my doctoral research, my two postdoctoral projects (here and here), and news. In addition, I tell more about my activities in the field of teaching, organisation, and editing. If you are interested in my work, please feel free to contact me.