College of Arts & Humanities
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1611
The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.
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Item Egyptian Pagans through Christian Eyes(2016) Juliussen-Stevenson, Heather Ann; Holum, Kenneth; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Construction of Christian identity in Egypt proceeded in pace with construction of the Egyptian pagan “Other” between the second and sixth centuries. Apologies, martyrdoms, apocalypses, histories, sermons, hagiographies, and magical texts provide several different vantage points from which to view the Christian construction of the Egyptian pagan “Other”: as the agent of anti-Christian violence, as an intellectual rival, as an object of anti-pagan violence, as an obstacle to salvation, and—perhaps most dangerously—as but another participant in a shared religious experience. The recent work of social scientists on identity, deviance, violence, social/cultural memory, and religiosity provides insight into the strategies by which construction of the “Other” was part of a larger project of fashioning a “proper” Christian religious domain.Item Retailing Religion: Business Promotionalism in American Christian Churches in the Twentieth Century(2011) Hardin, John Curran; Sicilia, David B.; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Evangelist Billy Graham once remarked, "We are selling the greatest product on earth - belief in God - why shouldn't we promote it as effectively as we promote a bar of soap?" His comparison is misleading in its simplicity, since it strikes at the heart of the complex relationship between religion and the modern American marketplace. Retailing Religion examines how American Christian churches in the twentieth century promoted their institutions and messages by adopting modern public relations, advertising, personal sales, and marketing techniques from the secular business community. Retailing Religion develops four principal themes. First, Christian churches in the twentieth century followed the promotional trends of corporate firms with only a slight lag time. Second, this borrowing nurtured the growth of rationalism and individualism in American Christianity, which contributed significantly to the religion's modernization. This transformation was especially pronounced in churches' growing dependence on rational methods and numerical metrics, and in their transition from a producer orientation to a consumer orientation. Third, church promotional efforts increased not the secularization but the pluralization of American Christianity by erecting a platform for cooperation among churches, denominations, and religions. Fourth, church promotionalism fostered an ongoing tension between their sacred mission and their secular methods. Wrestling with this tension, both advocates and critics of church promotion labored throughout the century to develop historical, theological, and pragmatic arguments to defend or denounce the practices. The tension was so complex and often contradictory that some of the strongest advocates for religious retailing were also its biggest critics. The key historical actors in this study are the leading pioneers and practitioners of church promotion: organizations such as the Religious Public Relations Council; experts such as Gaines Dobbins, Philip Kotler, Peter Drucker, and George Barna; pastors such as Robert Schuller, Bill Hybels, and Rick Warren; and critics such as David Wells and Os Guinness. In tracing their adoption, development, implementation, and dissemination of the latest business promotional methods, Retailing Religion provides a broad portrait of American religion's struggle to remain both faithful to the divine and relevant to the world.Item Untitled, Not Defined(2008-05-06) Benefiel, Christian Litty; Ruppert, John; Art; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This body of work is comprised of three untitled works made from mixed media and sail fabric. The work touches on issues of recent reliance on technology, the re-establishment of place. As a secondary function, the works explore the idea of personal space, as well as the willingness of the gallery patron to participate in art rather than observe. Through interactive media, durable items and the open invitation to touch, the pieces are meant to create an active exchange of aesthetic principles between the viewer and artist. In this dialogue, traditional roles are interchangeable, and the work is incomplete without active participation and consideration of both parties. The work is built locally, utilizing materials not exclusive to, but inherent in the culture of Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay. The materials are used in a manner that stays true to locale and purpose, while pushing the boundaries in which material, intention, and method coexist.