David Bjorlin - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by David Bjorlin
Social movements are singing movements. Such a confident assertion may strike the reader as an ex... more Social movements are singing movements. Such a confident assertion may strike the reader as an exaggeration, but history repeatedly bears witness to the power of song in not only creating solidarity amongst a movement's members but also of stating simply and clearly the foundational beliefs of the movement. A key tool in understanding the Lutheran Reformation, the American Revolution, the Civil War, the abolitionist struggle, the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War protest, and the fight against apartheid in South Africa is the songs of the movements: "A mighty fortress is our God," "Yankee Doodle," "Dixie," "John Brown's Body," "We shall overcome," "Give peace a chance," and "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika." While studying a movement's leaders, writers, and academics is essential to understanding its basic beliefs, it is also incumbent upon the scholar to study the songs of a movement, for it is often ...
Methodist history, 2014
For the historical development of hymnody, nineteenth-century America is a particularly fruitful ... more For the historical development of hymnody, nineteenth-century America is a particularly fruitful period for research. Building upon the foundations of European tradition, Christians in the United States began developing a hymnic corpus unique to their own experience. American hymn writers began composing their own texts; the folk shape-note expression of the era furnished hymnody with many enduring hymn tunes (i.e., “Amazing Grace”/“New Britain,” “Foundation,” “Beach Spring,” “Holy Manna”); the African American spirituals were forged in the crucible of slavery and continued legal forms of oppression (i.e. Jim Crow segregation); finally, from these many sources, the uniquely American genre of gospel music was born, developing and strengthening at camp-meetings and revivals that swept across the American landscape. With Methodism’s close ties to the frontier religion of the camp-meeting and revivals, the story of U.S. Methodist hymnody is intertwined with that of gospel music, as many...
The Hymn, 2021
This paper will first provide an in-depth analysis of contrasting popular worship songs that rely... more This paper will first provide an in-depth analysis of contrasting popular worship songs that rely on imagery of enslavement and freedom, noting the ways these
images are contextualized and embodied both musically and lyrically by white evangelicals. It is these same white evangelical congregations that rely so heavily on
the language of enslavement that are also the most reticent to admit to slavery’s lasting impact in terms of racial oppression and inequality. Using Michael Emerson and
Christian Smith’s concept of the “white evangelical tool kit,” we will argue that the tendency toward individualism, antistructuralism, and ahistoricism has led White
evangelical congregations to appropriate language of enslavement and freedom in correspondingly narrow and ahistoric—and therefore problematic—ways. Finally,
we will end by suggesting possible strategies for White congregations to better use concepts of enslavement and freedom within their congregational songs.
This dissertation explores the liturgical work and influences of Methodist theologian Georgia Har... more This dissertation explores the liturgical work and influences of Methodist theologian Georgia Harkness in the broader context of mainline American Christianity and theological liberalism of the twentieth century. Through an examination of Harkness’s writing about worship as well as the resources she produced for worship, the thesis argues that her often overlooked liturgical work was central to her self-understanding as an applied theologian and shaped her theological interests and evolution throughout her career. This study begins by showing the centrality of prayer and worship in the personal and professional biography of Harkness. Through analysis of her many articles and sections of books on prayer and public worship, it leads to an assessment of Harkness’s own growing commitment to the liturgical life of the church and demonstrates how a self-described “evangelical liberal” built on her personalist foundations to help modern Christians reclaim the church’s liturgical tradition ...
Social movements are singing movements. Such a confident assertion may strike the reader as an ex... more Social movements are singing movements. Such a confident assertion may strike the reader as an exaggeration, but history repeatedly bears witness to the power of song in not only creating solidarity amongst a movement's members but also of stating simply and clearly the foundational beliefs of the movement. A key tool in understanding the Lutheran Reformation, the American Revolution, the Civil War, the abolitionist struggle, the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War protest, and the fight against apartheid in South Africa is the songs of the movements: "A mighty fortress is our God," "Yankee Doodle," "Dixie," "John Brown's Body," "We shall overcome," "Give peace a chance," and "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika." While studying a movement's leaders, writers, and academics is essential to understanding its basic beliefs, it is also incumbent upon the scholar to study the songs of a movement, for it is often ...
Methodist history, 2014
For the historical development of hymnody, nineteenth-century America is a particularly fruitful ... more For the historical development of hymnody, nineteenth-century America is a particularly fruitful period for research. Building upon the foundations of European tradition, Christians in the United States began developing a hymnic corpus unique to their own experience. American hymn writers began composing their own texts; the folk shape-note expression of the era furnished hymnody with many enduring hymn tunes (i.e., “Amazing Grace”/“New Britain,” “Foundation,” “Beach Spring,” “Holy Manna”); the African American spirituals were forged in the crucible of slavery and continued legal forms of oppression (i.e. Jim Crow segregation); finally, from these many sources, the uniquely American genre of gospel music was born, developing and strengthening at camp-meetings and revivals that swept across the American landscape. With Methodism’s close ties to the frontier religion of the camp-meeting and revivals, the story of U.S. Methodist hymnody is intertwined with that of gospel music, as many...
The Hymn, 2021
This paper will first provide an in-depth analysis of contrasting popular worship songs that rely... more This paper will first provide an in-depth analysis of contrasting popular worship songs that rely on imagery of enslavement and freedom, noting the ways these
images are contextualized and embodied both musically and lyrically by white evangelicals. It is these same white evangelical congregations that rely so heavily on
the language of enslavement that are also the most reticent to admit to slavery’s lasting impact in terms of racial oppression and inequality. Using Michael Emerson and
Christian Smith’s concept of the “white evangelical tool kit,” we will argue that the tendency toward individualism, antistructuralism, and ahistoricism has led White
evangelical congregations to appropriate language of enslavement and freedom in correspondingly narrow and ahistoric—and therefore problematic—ways. Finally,
we will end by suggesting possible strategies for White congregations to better use concepts of enslavement and freedom within their congregational songs.
This dissertation explores the liturgical work and influences of Methodist theologian Georgia Har... more This dissertation explores the liturgical work and influences of Methodist theologian Georgia Harkness in the broader context of mainline American Christianity and theological liberalism of the twentieth century. Through an examination of Harkness’s writing about worship as well as the resources she produced for worship, the thesis argues that her often overlooked liturgical work was central to her self-understanding as an applied theologian and shaped her theological interests and evolution throughout her career. This study begins by showing the centrality of prayer and worship in the personal and professional biography of Harkness. Through analysis of her many articles and sections of books on prayer and public worship, it leads to an assessment of Harkness’s own growing commitment to the liturgical life of the church and demonstrates how a self-described “evangelical liberal” built on her personalist foundations to help modern Christians reclaim the church’s liturgical tradition ...