Curtis J. Evans
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328189
- eISBN:
- 9780199870028
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328189.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book is about the crucial role that black religion has played in the United States as an imagined community or a united nation. The book argues that cultural images and interpretations of ...
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This book is about the crucial role that black religion has played in the United States as an imagined community or a united nation. The book argues that cultural images and interpretations of African American religion placed an enormous burden on black religious capacities as the source for black contributions to American culture until the 1940s. Attention to black religion as the chief bearer of meaning for black life was also a result of longstanding debates about what constituted the “human person” and an implicit assertion of the intellectual inferiority of peoples of African descent. Intellectual and religious capacities were reshaped and reconceptualized in various crucial historical moments in American history because of real world debates about blacks' place in the nation and continuing discussions about what it meant to be fully human. Only within the last half century has this older paradigm of black religion (and the concomitant assumption of a genetic deficiency in “intelligence”) been challenged with any degree of cultural authority. Black innate religiosity had to be denied before sufficient attention could be paid to actual proposals about black equal participation in the nation, though this should not be interpreted as a call for insufficient attention to the role of religion in the lives of African Americans and other ethnic groups.Less
This book is about the crucial role that black religion has played in the United States as an imagined community or a united nation. The book argues that cultural images and interpretations of African American religion placed an enormous burden on black religious capacities as the source for black contributions to American culture until the 1940s. Attention to black religion as the chief bearer of meaning for black life was also a result of longstanding debates about what constituted the “human person” and an implicit assertion of the intellectual inferiority of peoples of African descent. Intellectual and religious capacities were reshaped and reconceptualized in various crucial historical moments in American history because of real world debates about blacks' place in the nation and continuing discussions about what it meant to be fully human. Only within the last half century has this older paradigm of black religion (and the concomitant assumption of a genetic deficiency in “intelligence”) been challenged with any degree of cultural authority. Black innate religiosity had to be denied before sufficient attention could be paid to actual proposals about black equal participation in the nation, though this should not be interpreted as a call for insufficient attention to the role of religion in the lives of African Americans and other ethnic groups.
Richard Crouter
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195379679
- eISBN:
- 9780199869169
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195379679.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book is a primer on the political prophet and Christian social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), who is widely cited for his political realism in the aftermath of George W. Bush’s ...
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This book is a primer on the political prophet and Christian social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), who is widely cited for his political realism in the aftermath of George W. Bush’s presidency. His works are on the favorite reading list of Barack Obama. In addition to mapping the “Niebuhr revival” on the political left and right, the book’s seven chapters acquaint readers with the central teachings and ways of thinking behind this fresh interest. The core of Niebuhr’s Christian realism and the role of irony in his thought are made accessible to non-specialists in ways that explain his appeal to secular as well as deeply religious minds. The book begins with an account of the fresh interest in the Protestant thinker and argues for Niebuhr’s sense of history as a prelude to explaining how his view of the human self as sinful and self-preoccupied (individually and in groups) relates to his passion for social justice. Three chapters then examine Niebuhr’s teaching as a preacher and writer with uncommon literary sensitivity, take up his classic 1952 title, The Irony of American History as an expression of his Christian realism, and probe the reasons for his mixed reception in contemporary Christian circles, both popular and academic. A final chapter examines the ways that Niebuhr’s legacy invites levels of self-reflection that judiciously illumine the personal, political, and religious challenges that we face in the contemporary world.Less
This book is a primer on the political prophet and Christian social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), who is widely cited for his political realism in the aftermath of George W. Bush’s presidency. His works are on the favorite reading list of Barack Obama. In addition to mapping the “Niebuhr revival” on the political left and right, the book’s seven chapters acquaint readers with the central teachings and ways of thinking behind this fresh interest. The core of Niebuhr’s Christian realism and the role of irony in his thought are made accessible to non-specialists in ways that explain his appeal to secular as well as deeply religious minds. The book begins with an account of the fresh interest in the Protestant thinker and argues for Niebuhr’s sense of history as a prelude to explaining how his view of the human self as sinful and self-preoccupied (individually and in groups) relates to his passion for social justice. Three chapters then examine Niebuhr’s teaching as a preacher and writer with uncommon literary sensitivity, take up his classic 1952 title, The Irony of American History as an expression of his Christian realism, and probe the reasons for his mixed reception in contemporary Christian circles, both popular and academic. A final chapter examines the ways that Niebuhr’s legacy invites levels of self-reflection that judiciously illumine the personal, political, and religious challenges that we face in the contemporary world.
J. Kameron Carter
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195152791
- eISBN:
- 9780199870578
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195152791.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Here this chapter engages the work of Albert Raboteau, the elder statesman of contemporary African American religious history, particularly his early work, Slave Religion (1978). The ambiguity of ...
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Here this chapter engages the work of Albert Raboteau, the elder statesman of contemporary African American religious history, particularly his early work, Slave Religion (1978). The ambiguity of this text, which is emblematic of the field, lies in its impression that black religion generally and Afro‐Christianity particularly is a reflex of race, an (essentialist) echo of “Africanity” or “blackness” itself. Thus, black cultural nationalism is at the root of black religion. However, such a reading of black faith only lodges it within, rather than seeing it as trying to disrupt, modernity's racial imagination.The chapter then reexamine Raboteau's early work in light of his post‐Slave Religion work, inspired as it is by icon theology. Raboteau can now historically call attention to how Afro‐Christianity disrupts the racial gaze. The book later refines and presses Raboteau's fledgling and sketchy insights in a theologically robust direction.Less
Here this chapter engages the work of Albert Raboteau, the elder statesman of contemporary African American religious history, particularly his early work, Slave Religion (1978). The ambiguity of this text, which is emblematic of the field, lies in its impression that black religion generally and Afro‐Christianity particularly is a reflex of race, an (essentialist) echo of “Africanity” or “blackness” itself. Thus, black cultural nationalism is at the root of black religion. However, such a reading of black faith only lodges it within, rather than seeing it as trying to disrupt, modernity's racial imagination.The chapter then reexamine Raboteau's early work in light of his post‐Slave Religion work, inspired as it is by icon theology. Raboteau can now historically call attention to how Afro‐Christianity disrupts the racial gaze. The book later refines and presses Raboteau's fledgling and sketchy insights in a theologically robust direction.
Will “Esuyemi” Coleman
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195167979
- eISBN:
- 9780199784981
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019516797X.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This chapter discusses the text, Tribal Talk. Topics covered include Black theology, the use of broken English in the narrative, hermeneutics, African-derived religions in the Americas, and ...
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This chapter discusses the text, Tribal Talk. Topics covered include Black theology, the use of broken English in the narrative, hermeneutics, African-derived religions in the Americas, and African-American religious history.Less
This chapter discusses the text, Tribal Talk. Topics covered include Black theology, the use of broken English in the narrative, hermeneutics, African-derived religions in the Americas, and African-American religious history.
Joanna Brooks
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195332919
- eISBN:
- 9780199851263
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195332919.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, African-American Literature
The 1780s and 1790s were a critical era for communities of color in the new United States of America. Even Thomas Jefferson observed that in the aftermath of the American Revolution, “the spirit of ...
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The 1780s and 1790s were a critical era for communities of color in the new United States of America. Even Thomas Jefferson observed that in the aftermath of the American Revolution, “the spirit of the master is abating, that of the slave rising from the dust.” This book explores the means by which the very first black and Indian authors rose up to transform their communities and the course of American literary history. It argues that the origins of modern African American and American Indian literatures emerged at the revolutionary crossroads of religion and racial formation as early black and Indian authors reinvented American evangelicalism and created new postslavery communities, new categories of racial identification, and new literary traditions. While shedding light on the pioneering figures of African American and Native American cultural history—including Samson Occom, Prince Hall, Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and John Marrant—this work also explores a set of little-known black and Indian sermons, narratives, journals, and hymns. Chronicling the early American communities of color from the separatist Christian Indian settlement in upstate New York to the first African Lodge of Freemasons in Boston, it shows how 18th-century black and Indian writers forever shaped the American experience of race and religion.Less
The 1780s and 1790s were a critical era for communities of color in the new United States of America. Even Thomas Jefferson observed that in the aftermath of the American Revolution, “the spirit of the master is abating, that of the slave rising from the dust.” This book explores the means by which the very first black and Indian authors rose up to transform their communities and the course of American literary history. It argues that the origins of modern African American and American Indian literatures emerged at the revolutionary crossroads of religion and racial formation as early black and Indian authors reinvented American evangelicalism and created new postslavery communities, new categories of racial identification, and new literary traditions. While shedding light on the pioneering figures of African American and Native American cultural history—including Samson Occom, Prince Hall, Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and John Marrant—this work also explores a set of little-known black and Indian sermons, narratives, journals, and hymns. Chronicling the early American communities of color from the separatist Christian Indian settlement in upstate New York to the first African Lodge of Freemasons in Boston, it shows how 18th-century black and Indian writers forever shaped the American experience of race and religion.
Max. M Edling
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195148701
- eISBN:
- 9780199835096
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195148703.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Chapter 9 and the corresponding Ch. 14 in Part Three of the book offer brief sketches of the institutionalization of the military and fiscal powers granted by the US Constitution, and of the uses ...
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Chapter 9 and the corresponding Ch. 14 in Part Three of the book offer brief sketches of the institutionalization of the military and fiscal powers granted by the US Constitution, and of the uses made of them by the Federalists in the 1790s. Gives a historical account of the uses made by the national government during that period of the military powers that it was granted by the Constitution. Aims to make a judgment on the political achievement of the Federalists that hinges on the extent to which they managed to translate their principles into action when they transformed the articles of the Constitution into the policies and institutions of the new national government. Part of the discussion also addresses the fact that during the quarter century following the First US Congress, the USA had to respond repeatedly to events originating in Europe far beyond the federal government's control, and overall, drew advantage from the warfare that engulfed Britain, France, and Spain. It is noted that is not easy to answer the question of whether the federal government had any part in making this possible, but a cautious answer based on works of diplomatic history is that the reform of the federal government did make a difference to the actions of European governments.Less
Chapter 9 and the corresponding Ch. 14 in Part Three of the book offer brief sketches of the institutionalization of the military and fiscal powers granted by the US Constitution, and of the uses made of them by the Federalists in the 1790s. Gives a historical account of the uses made by the national government during that period of the military powers that it was granted by the Constitution. Aims to make a judgment on the political achievement of the Federalists that hinges on the extent to which they managed to translate their principles into action when they transformed the articles of the Constitution into the policies and institutions of the new national government. Part of the discussion also addresses the fact that during the quarter century following the First US Congress, the USA had to respond repeatedly to events originating in Europe far beyond the federal government's control, and overall, drew advantage from the warfare that engulfed Britain, France, and Spain. It is noted that is not easy to answer the question of whether the federal government had any part in making this possible, but a cautious answer based on works of diplomatic history is that the reform of the federal government did make a difference to the actions of European governments.
Randall Fuller
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195313925
- eISBN:
- 9780199787753
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195313925.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
The central question engaged in this book is the following: why does Emerson's cultural legacy continue to influence writers so forcefully? This study examines the way influential 20th-century ...
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The central question engaged in this book is the following: why does Emerson's cultural legacy continue to influence writers so forcefully? This study examines the way influential 20th-century critics have understood and deployed Emerson as part of their own larger projects aimed at reconceiving America. It examines previously unpublished material and original research on Van Wyck Brooks, Perry Miller, F. O. Matthiessen, and Sacvan Bercovitch along with other supporting thinkers. Emerging from this research is an in-depth account of Emerson's cultural construction as well as an institutional history of American literary studies in the 20th century. This book is also a fine-grained study of how the relationship between a scholar's individual perspective and prevailing cultural conditions merge together to impel critics to redirect the course of a present moment — often experienced as disappointing and unfulfilled — toward a desired future. When an engaged but theoretical mind meets with an impassive history, the response that follows, for some of our most imaginative and brilliant critics, has led, often and suggestively, to a turn toward Emerson.Less
The central question engaged in this book is the following: why does Emerson's cultural legacy continue to influence writers so forcefully? This study examines the way influential 20th-century critics have understood and deployed Emerson as part of their own larger projects aimed at reconceiving America. It examines previously unpublished material and original research on Van Wyck Brooks, Perry Miller, F. O. Matthiessen, and Sacvan Bercovitch along with other supporting thinkers. Emerging from this research is an in-depth account of Emerson's cultural construction as well as an institutional history of American literary studies in the 20th century. This book is also a fine-grained study of how the relationship between a scholar's individual perspective and prevailing cultural conditions merge together to impel critics to redirect the course of a present moment — often experienced as disappointing and unfulfilled — toward a desired future. When an engaged but theoretical mind meets with an impassive history, the response that follows, for some of our most imaginative and brilliant critics, has led, often and suggestively, to a turn toward Emerson.
David A. Hollinger
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158426
- eISBN:
- 9781400845996
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158426.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
This chapter develops an analogy between post-Protestant and post-Jewish cultural situations. It does so in the context of identifying and clarifying a vital issue in the study of American Jewish ...
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This chapter develops an analogy between post-Protestant and post-Jewish cultural situations. It does so in the context of identifying and clarifying a vital issue in the study of American Jewish history: to what extent is that field properly focused on communal Jewry and to what extent might its focuses be expanded to take full account of what persons of Jewish origin have done in the world, regardless of the degree of Jewish identity they, themselves, proclaim? The chapter pulls together arguments that the author has offered over the course of thirty-five years of writing about the Jewish experience in twentieth-century America. Thus, it connects After Cloven Tongues of Fire with an earlier collection, Science, Jews, and Secular Culture. A theme of several essays in each of these two volumes is the disruptive effect Jews have had on the cultural hegemony of Protestants in American life.Less
This chapter develops an analogy between post-Protestant and post-Jewish cultural situations. It does so in the context of identifying and clarifying a vital issue in the study of American Jewish history: to what extent is that field properly focused on communal Jewry and to what extent might its focuses be expanded to take full account of what persons of Jewish origin have done in the world, regardless of the degree of Jewish identity they, themselves, proclaim? The chapter pulls together arguments that the author has offered over the course of thirty-five years of writing about the Jewish experience in twentieth-century America. Thus, it connects After Cloven Tongues of Fire with an earlier collection, Science, Jews, and Secular Culture. A theme of several essays in each of these two volumes is the disruptive effect Jews have had on the cultural hegemony of Protestants in American life.
Richard S. Kirkendall (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199790562
- eISBN:
- 9780199896820
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199790562.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
The field of American history has undergone remarkable expansion in the past century, all of it reflecting a broadening of the historical enterprise and democratization of its coverage. Today, the ...
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The field of American history has undergone remarkable expansion in the past century, all of it reflecting a broadening of the historical enterprise and democratization of its coverage. Today, the shape of the field takes into account the interests, identities, and narratives of more Americans than at any time in its past. Much of this change can be seen through the history of the Organization of American Historians, which, as its mission states, “promotes excellence in the scholarship, teaching, and presentation of American history, and encourages wide discussion of historical questions and equitable treatment of all practitioners of history.” This century-long history of the Organization of American Historians—and its predecessor, the Mississippi Valley Historical Association—explores the thinking and writing by professional historians on the history of the United States. It looks at the organization itself, its founding and dynamic growth, the changing composition of its membership and leadership, the emphasis over the years on teaching and public history, and pedagogical approaches and critical interpretations as played out in association publications, annual conferences, and advocacy efforts. The majority of the book emphasizes the writing of the American story by offering a panorama of the fields of history and their development, moving from long-established ones such as political history and diplomatic history to more recent ones, including environmental history and the history of sexuality.Less
The field of American history has undergone remarkable expansion in the past century, all of it reflecting a broadening of the historical enterprise and democratization of its coverage. Today, the shape of the field takes into account the interests, identities, and narratives of more Americans than at any time in its past. Much of this change can be seen through the history of the Organization of American Historians, which, as its mission states, “promotes excellence in the scholarship, teaching, and presentation of American history, and encourages wide discussion of historical questions and equitable treatment of all practitioners of history.” This century-long history of the Organization of American Historians—and its predecessor, the Mississippi Valley Historical Association—explores the thinking and writing by professional historians on the history of the United States. It looks at the organization itself, its founding and dynamic growth, the changing composition of its membership and leadership, the emphasis over the years on teaching and public history, and pedagogical approaches and critical interpretations as played out in association publications, annual conferences, and advocacy efforts. The majority of the book emphasizes the writing of the American story by offering a panorama of the fields of history and their development, moving from long-established ones such as political history and diplomatic history to more recent ones, including environmental history and the history of sexuality.
Reid L. Neilson and Terryl L. Givens
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195369786
- eISBN:
- 9780199871292
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369786.003.001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
As scholars of the American religious past and present continue to move away from the consensus model, in which the upstart Latter-day Saint tradition had no real fit, and embrace conflict, contact, ...
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As scholars of the American religious past and present continue to move away from the consensus model, in which the upstart Latter-day Saint tradition had no real fit, and embrace conflict, contact, and other methodologies, Joseph Smith is beginning to get a new hearing in scholarly surveys, monographs, textbooks, and articles. The rationale behind this collection is that the day has come when the founder of Mormonism and his prominent role in American history and religious thought can not be denied. The attention paid to Smith’s teachings, charismatic ministry, and religion-making imagination now extends to scholars in American history, religious studies, sociology, biblical studies, Christian philosophy, Literature, and the Humanities--all of whom are represented in this collection. It is our intent to reflect in these pages the wide-ranging interest in Joseph Smith that the commemorative conferences only suggested.Less
As scholars of the American religious past and present continue to move away from the consensus model, in which the upstart Latter-day Saint tradition had no real fit, and embrace conflict, contact, and other methodologies, Joseph Smith is beginning to get a new hearing in scholarly surveys, monographs, textbooks, and articles. The rationale behind this collection is that the day has come when the founder of Mormonism and his prominent role in American history and religious thought can not be denied. The attention paid to Smith’s teachings, charismatic ministry, and religion-making imagination now extends to scholars in American history, religious studies, sociology, biblical studies, Christian philosophy, Literature, and the Humanities--all of whom are represented in this collection. It is our intent to reflect in these pages the wide-ranging interest in Joseph Smith that the commemorative conferences only suggested.
Alan M. Dershowitz
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195158076
- eISBN:
- 9780199869848
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195158075.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Presents the author's strong opinions on the ending of the 2000 US presidential election. Starts by pointing out that the five justices who ended the 2000 election by stopping the Florida hand ...
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Presents the author's strong opinions on the ending of the 2000 US presidential election. Starts by pointing out that the five justices who ended the 2000 election by stopping the Florida hand recount have damaged the credibility of the US Supreme Court, and that their lawless decision in Bush vs Gore promises to have a more enduring impact on Americans than the outcome of the election itself. The USA accepted the election of George W. Bush, as it must under the rule of law, but the unprecedented decision of the five justices to substitute their political judgement for that of the people threatens to undermine the moral authority of the high court for generations to come — for the Supreme Court consists of only nine relatively unknown justices with small staffs, and it has wielded an enormous influence on US history. The majority ruling in Bush vs Gore has marked a number of significant firsts in American history; these are outlined and it is noted that there is now a widespread loss of confidence that reaches to the highest part of the judiciary, that the Supreme Court decision may well have violated Article II of the Constitution, and, furthermore, determined a presidential election on doubtful equal protection grounds. Attempts to explain the Court's decision and the justices concerned, and establish how the USA has reached the point where five unelected judges could have had so much influence on the political destiny of a nation.Less
Presents the author's strong opinions on the ending of the 2000 US presidential election. Starts by pointing out that the five justices who ended the 2000 election by stopping the Florida hand recount have damaged the credibility of the US Supreme Court, and that their lawless decision in Bush vs Gore promises to have a more enduring impact on Americans than the outcome of the election itself. The USA accepted the election of George W. Bush, as it must under the rule of law, but the unprecedented decision of the five justices to substitute their political judgement for that of the people threatens to undermine the moral authority of the high court for generations to come — for the Supreme Court consists of only nine relatively unknown justices with small staffs, and it has wielded an enormous influence on US history. The majority ruling in Bush vs Gore has marked a number of significant firsts in American history; these are outlined and it is noted that there is now a widespread loss of confidence that reaches to the highest part of the judiciary, that the Supreme Court decision may well have violated Article II of the Constitution, and, furthermore, determined a presidential election on doubtful equal protection grounds. Attempts to explain the Court's decision and the justices concerned, and establish how the USA has reached the point where five unelected judges could have had so much influence on the political destiny of a nation.
Reid L. Neilson and Terryl L. Givens (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195369786
- eISBN:
- 9780199871292
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369786.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Mormon founder Joseph Smith is one of the most controversial figures of 19th-century American history, and a virtually inexhaustible subject for analysis. In this book, fifteen scholars offer their ...
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Mormon founder Joseph Smith is one of the most controversial figures of 19th-century American history, and a virtually inexhaustible subject for analysis. In this book, fifteen scholars offer their thoughts on how to interpret and understand Smith and his legacy. Including chapters by both Mormons and non-Mormons, this collection is a survey of contemporary scholarly opinion on the extraordinary man who started one of the fastest growing religious traditions in the modern world.Less
Mormon founder Joseph Smith is one of the most controversial figures of 19th-century American history, and a virtually inexhaustible subject for analysis. In this book, fifteen scholars offer their thoughts on how to interpret and understand Smith and his legacy. Including chapters by both Mormons and non-Mormons, this collection is a survey of contemporary scholarly opinion on the extraordinary man who started one of the fastest growing religious traditions in the modern world.
James Davison Hunter
Joshua J. Yates (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199769063
- eISBN:
- 9780199896851
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199769063.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of the renewed importance of the concept of thrift in American consciousness in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. It then presents ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of the renewed importance of the concept of thrift in American consciousness in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. It then presents reasons for studying thrift including its absence in moral philosophy and moral theology and its rather sudden and seemingly arbitrary appearance in history. It further argues that a social history and moral philosophical reflection on thrift is a window into the changing culture of capitalism, and this claim begins to gesture at the ambition of this volume. This book aims to offer a conceptually fresh, empirically vibrant, and largely unprecedented account of thrift in American history. Underpinning the rich diversity of disciplinary perspectives are two overarching claims: firstly, what is striking from even a cursory glance at the history of thrift is its astonishing capaciousness and dynamism, challenging the narrow and attenuated rendering of thrift as mere frugality; and, secondly, the idiom of thrift has served as the primary language Americans have used for articulating the normative dimensions of economic life throughout their history. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of the renewed importance of the concept of thrift in American consciousness in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. It then presents reasons for studying thrift including its absence in moral philosophy and moral theology and its rather sudden and seemingly arbitrary appearance in history. It further argues that a social history and moral philosophical reflection on thrift is a window into the changing culture of capitalism, and this claim begins to gesture at the ambition of this volume. This book aims to offer a conceptually fresh, empirically vibrant, and largely unprecedented account of thrift in American history. Underpinning the rich diversity of disciplinary perspectives are two overarching claims: firstly, what is striking from even a cursory glance at the history of thrift is its astonishing capaciousness and dynamism, challenging the narrow and attenuated rendering of thrift as mere frugality; and, secondly, the idiom of thrift has served as the primary language Americans have used for articulating the normative dimensions of economic life throughout their history. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.
James T. Kloppenberg
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199790562
- eISBN:
- 9780199896820
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199790562.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
A half century or more ago, historians combined social and intellectual history into one course. More recently, the topics have been separated, but this book returns “to the older, and wiser, ...
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A half century or more ago, historians combined social and intellectual history into one course. More recently, the topics have been separated, but this book returns “to the older, and wiser, tradition of joining together thought and practice, ideas and behavior, as aspects of the single, albeit multifaceted, reality that all of us American historians study”.Less
A half century or more ago, historians combined social and intellectual history into one course. More recently, the topics have been separated, but this book returns “to the older, and wiser, tradition of joining together thought and practice, ideas and behavior, as aspects of the single, albeit multifaceted, reality that all of us American historians study”.
Spencer R. Crew
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199790562
- eISBN:
- 9780199896820
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199790562.003.0032
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter explores the “clash of values” between academic and public historians. It defines the similarities and differences between them and the reasons for the formation of separate ...
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This chapter explores the “clash of values” between academic and public historians. It defines the similarities and differences between them and the reasons for the formation of separate organizations for public historians and suggests that the American Historical Association responded more positively to the challenge from public historians than the Organization of American Historians has until recently.Less
This chapter explores the “clash of values” between academic and public historians. It defines the similarities and differences between them and the reasons for the formation of separate organizations for public historians and suggests that the American Historical Association responded more positively to the challenge from public historians than the Organization of American Historians has until recently.
Abigail A. Kohn
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195150513
- eISBN:
- 9780199944095
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195150513.003.0015
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture, Sport and Leisure
This chapter discusses the role of cowboy lawmen in gun culture in the U.S. It explains that Americans have long romanticized the American West and the frontier as places that forged some of the most ...
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This chapter discusses the role of cowboy lawmen in gun culture in the U.S. It explains that Americans have long romanticized the American West and the frontier as places that forged some of the most legendary heroes of American history. These heroes were the gun-toting cowboy lawmen. This chapter suggests that cowboy action shooting dramatizes the central theme of American mythic history: that American identity was reborn and remade through violent conflict, and it contributes to the ritual enactment to this legendary time in American history.Less
This chapter discusses the role of cowboy lawmen in gun culture in the U.S. It explains that Americans have long romanticized the American West and the frontier as places that forged some of the most legendary heroes of American history. These heroes were the gun-toting cowboy lawmen. This chapter suggests that cowboy action shooting dramatizes the central theme of American mythic history: that American identity was reborn and remade through violent conflict, and it contributes to the ritual enactment to this legendary time in American history.
William H. Chafe
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199790562
- eISBN:
- 9780199896820
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199790562.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter summarizes the discussions in Chapters 2 to 4. It notes that, throughout the past century, professional historians have struggled over whether they should seek scientific detachment and ...
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This chapter summarizes the discussions in Chapters 2 to 4. It notes that, throughout the past century, professional historians have struggled over whether they should seek scientific detachment and objectivity or engage in advocacy to advance the principles of a democratic society.Less
This chapter summarizes the discussions in Chapters 2 to 4. It notes that, throughout the past century, professional historians have struggled over whether they should seek scientific detachment and objectivity or engage in advocacy to advance the principles of a democratic society.
Stanley N. Katz
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199790562
- eISBN:
- 9780199896820
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199790562.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter focuses on the early history of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association (MVHA). It details the decision to change the name of MVHA to the Organization of American Historians (OAH) ...
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This chapter focuses on the early history of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association (MVHA). It details the decision to change the name of MVHA to the Organization of American Historians (OAH) in 1964 and the OAH's efforts to become a modern and democratic learned society during the 1960s and 1970s.Less
This chapter focuses on the early history of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association (MVHA). It details the decision to change the name of MVHA to the Organization of American Historians (OAH) in 1964 and the OAH's efforts to become a modern and democratic learned society during the 1960s and 1970s.
Thomas Borstelmann
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691141565
- eISBN:
- 9781400839704
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691141565.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This introductory chapter reveals that the years between 1973 and 1979 witnessed a critical transition that made American society simultaneously more equal and less equal, and American culture still ...
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This introductory chapter reveals that the years between 1973 and 1979 witnessed a critical transition that made American society simultaneously more equal and less equal, and American culture still more individualistic, than they had been before. Like a line of thunderstorms rolling across the prairie, a series of jolts hit Americans in 1973, leaving them uncertain of what new weather would come along behind this powerful storm front. U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam; the cover-up of the Watergate scandal unraveled amid calls for the president's impeachment; the oil embargo by Arab members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) began, while Nixon unplugged the dollar from the gold standard and average real wages (adjusted for inflation) declined for the first time in forty years.Less
This introductory chapter reveals that the years between 1973 and 1979 witnessed a critical transition that made American society simultaneously more equal and less equal, and American culture still more individualistic, than they had been before. Like a line of thunderstorms rolling across the prairie, a series of jolts hit Americans in 1973, leaving them uncertain of what new weather would come along behind this powerful storm front. U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam; the cover-up of the Watergate scandal unraveled amid calls for the president's impeachment; the oil embargo by Arab members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) began, while Nixon unplugged the dollar from the gold standard and average real wages (adjusted for inflation) declined for the first time in forty years.
Joshua Yates and James Davison Hunter (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199769063
- eISBN:
- 9780199896851
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199769063.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
This book is about the seminal importance of thrift to American culture and history. Underpinning the diversity of disciplinary perspectives presented in this volume are two overarching claims. ...
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This book is about the seminal importance of thrift to American culture and history. Underpinning the diversity of disciplinary perspectives presented in this volume are two overarching claims. First, far from the narrow rendering of thrift as a synonym of saving and scrimping, thrift possesses a surprising capaciousness and dynamism. Second, the idiom of thrift has, in one form or another, served as the primary language for articulating the normative dimensions of economic life throughout much of American history. This book puts thrift in this more expansive light where it reveals its rich and compelling etymology: thrift originally referred to the condition of “thriving.” This deeper meaning has always operated as the subtext of thrift and at times has even been invoked to critique more restricted notions of thrift. So understood, thrift moves beyond the instrumentalities of “more or less” and begs the question: what does it mean and take to thrive? Examining how Americans have answered this question not only provides insight into evolving meanings of material well-being, but also into the changing understandings of the good life and the good society more generally. In the chapters here, thrift becomes a powerful, but evolving moral idea and practice that has indelibly marked the character of American life since its earliest days. Thrift remains, if perhaps in unexpected and counter-intuitive ways, a key to the complex issues of contemporary and economic life.Less
This book is about the seminal importance of thrift to American culture and history. Underpinning the diversity of disciplinary perspectives presented in this volume are two overarching claims. First, far from the narrow rendering of thrift as a synonym of saving and scrimping, thrift possesses a surprising capaciousness and dynamism. Second, the idiom of thrift has, in one form or another, served as the primary language for articulating the normative dimensions of economic life throughout much of American history. This book puts thrift in this more expansive light where it reveals its rich and compelling etymology: thrift originally referred to the condition of “thriving.” This deeper meaning has always operated as the subtext of thrift and at times has even been invoked to critique more restricted notions of thrift. So understood, thrift moves beyond the instrumentalities of “more or less” and begs the question: what does it mean and take to thrive? Examining how Americans have answered this question not only provides insight into evolving meanings of material well-being, but also into the changing understandings of the good life and the good society more generally. In the chapters here, thrift becomes a powerful, but evolving moral idea and practice that has indelibly marked the character of American life since its earliest days. Thrift remains, if perhaps in unexpected and counter-intuitive ways, a key to the complex issues of contemporary and economic life.
