Browsing by Author "Goff, Philip"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Billy Sunday and the Masculinization of American Protestantism: 1896-1935
    (2008) Hayat, A. Cyrus; Robbins, Kevin C.; Lindseth, Erik L.; Goff, Philip; Lantzer, Jason S.
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    Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2011-04-08) Goff, Philip; Farnsley II, Arthur E.; Wheeler, Rachel; Thuesen, Peter J.
    The NEH Summer Institute for Teachers will support the studies of twenty-five talented teachers from across the nation as they join with nationally renowned scholars to explore how religion has shaped, and been shaped by, the American experience. The institute directors, Philip Goff, Arthur Farnsley, and Rachel Wheeler, are all noted scholars in their field, whose work encompasses a wide range of subject matter and methodologies. The institute will enable participants from many different fields to develop new materials on American religion that can be incorporated into their current curricula. An English teacher introducing Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, for instance, will be better prepared to discuss the nexus of religion and race in the context of nineteenth-century America. A civics teacher focusing on the origins of the American government will be able to incorporate discussion about the religion of the founders and the ways in which the First Amendment has shaped American society. The prime goal of The Bible in American Life project is to gain insight for clergy and scholars on Bible-reading as a religious practice. We are particularly interested in how people use the Bible in their personal lives, how religious communities and even the internet shape individuals’ comprehension of scripture, and how individual and communal understandings of scripture influence American public life. Employing both quantitative methods (the General Social Survey and a local survey) and qualitative research (focus-group interviews, historical analysis, and other means), we hope to provide an unprecedented perspective on the Bible’s role outside the context of worship, in the lived religion of a broad cross-section of Americans both now and in the past. Such data will be invaluable to clergy and seminar professors seeking more effective ways to teach and preach scripture in an age saturated with information and technology. The results of the project also will help scholars seeking to understand recent changes in American Christianity.
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    Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture NEH Summer Institute for Teachers July 12-30, 2010
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2010-04-09) Goff, Philip; Farnsley II, Arthur E.; Wheeler, Rachel
    This institute will support the studies of twenty-five talented teachers from across the nation as they join with nationally renowned scholars to explore how religion has shaped, and been shaped by, the American experience. The institute directors, Philip Goff, Arthur Farnsley, and Rachel Wheeler, are all noted scholars in their field, whose work encompasses a wide range of subject matter and methodologies. The institute will enable participants from many different fields to develop new materials on American religion that can be incorporated into their current curricula. An English teacher introducing Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, for instance, will be better prepared to discuss the nexus of religion and race in the context of nineteenth-century America. A civics teacher focusing on the origins of the American government will be able to incorporate discussion about the religion of the founders and the ways in which the First Amendment has shaped American society.
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    "Death to the World" and the Aesthetics of Conspiracy
    (2024-12) Saler, Robert Cady; Goff, Philip; Steensland, Brian; Haberski, Ray; Whitehead, Andrew
    This study examines the small but influential "Death to the World" movement within U.S. Eastern Orthodoxy. The study offers the first comprehensive history of the movement from its origins into the present, and it also demonstrates how key affective components of the movement's appeal (asceticism, punk rock aesthetics, etc.) have been adapted into participation in conspiracy theorizing. The dissertation draws on contemporary conspiracy theory scholarship, religious studies, and sociology to make the case that "Death to the World" stands as a helpful case study for how the affective dimensions that make a movement successful also open it up to conspiracy theory participation.
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    Ingersoll, infidels, and Indianapolis: freethought and religion in the Central Midwest
    (2017-02) Clark, R. W. Justin; Goff, Philip
    During the “Golden Age of Freethought” in the United States from the 1870s to the 1910s, Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899) acted as one of its most popular and influential figures within the movement, whose supporters advocated for skepticism, science, and the separation of church and state. However, his role as a “public intellectual” has been challenged by scholars of the period, who argue that he was merely a popularizer of ideas. This conclusion does not adequately describe Ingersoll’s role within the period. Rather, Ingersoll was a synthesizer of ideas, making complex concepts of philosophy, theology, science, and history into palatable lectures and books for an eager and understanding public. As a complementary counterpoint to his role as synthesizer, he also spurred a multiplicity of responses from believers and nonbelievers alike who imbibed his ideas. As such, his role in the central Midwest, Illinois and Indiana in particular, supports his place as a public intellectual. From his public discourses with the evangelist Dwight Moody and other believers, his influence on the Freethinker Society of Indianapolis, to his answers to Indianapolis clergy, Ingersoll’s experiences in the Midwest solidified his place within American history as a compelling and thoughtful public intellectual.