So, anyway, I wrote this thesis and submitted it, but I'm still trying to figure out exactly what it was about. Is that a bad sign? (Can I just note that after I handed in my thesis, Andrew gave me a card, in which he congratulated me and added 'In this regard, I have always thought it important that my wife submit.') I've written a synopsis for the purpose of applying for postdocs, which goes like this:
This thesis examines the construction of suffering in early English Methodism, with particular reference to the hymns of Charles Wesley, co-founder of the movement. Wesley wrote thousands of hymns, many of which focus on the experience of overwhelming pain. As eighteenth-century men and women sang or read these hymns, they were encouraged to adopt a distinctive approach to suffering, one which drew upon long-standing elements in Christian tradition, as well as new patterns in English culture. Identifying the construction of suffering in the hymns illuminates the culture of early Methodism and its complex relationship to its eighteenth-century English context.
My analysis places the hymns within the broader 'narrative culture' of early Methodism, which encouraged individuals to interpret their lives and experiences as part of a story of great spiritual significance. The hymns engaged men and women with a spiritual drama of conviction, conversion, sanctification and heavenly reward. Suffering was central to Wesley's depiction of this drama. I examine his construction of the suffering of Christ, the suffering of Christians, and Christian responses to the suffering of others, demonstrating that each of these had an important place in his portrayal of the normative Christian experience. Those who read or sang the hymns were encouraged to embrace suffering as an experience that offered opportunities for intimacy with, and imitation of, Christ.
Recognising Wesley's construction of suffering does not explain exactly how Methodist men and women responded to affliction, but it does illuminate these responses. The letters and journals of Methodist men and women reveal that not all early Methodists adopted Wesley's construction of suffering. The broad contours of his construction are, however, reflected in early Methodist attitudes to affliction. This construction of suffering helps explain some distinctive aspects of early Methodist culture, in particular the role of women in the movement, the intensity of early Methodist fellowship and the involvement of Methodists in social reform.
Does that make any kind of sense to the general reader?
This thesis examines the construction of suffering in early English Methodism, with particular reference to the hymns of Charles Wesley, co-founder of the movement. Wesley wrote thousands of hymns, many of which focus on the experience of overwhelming pain. As eighteenth-century men and women sang or read these hymns, they were encouraged to adopt a distinctive approach to suffering, one which drew upon long-standing elements in Christian tradition, as well as new patterns in English culture. Identifying the construction of suffering in the hymns illuminates the culture of early Methodism and its complex relationship to its eighteenth-century English context.
My analysis places the hymns within the broader 'narrative culture' of early Methodism, which encouraged individuals to interpret their lives and experiences as part of a story of great spiritual significance. The hymns engaged men and women with a spiritual drama of conviction, conversion, sanctification and heavenly reward. Suffering was central to Wesley's depiction of this drama. I examine his construction of the suffering of Christ, the suffering of Christians, and Christian responses to the suffering of others, demonstrating that each of these had an important place in his portrayal of the normative Christian experience. Those who read or sang the hymns were encouraged to embrace suffering as an experience that offered opportunities for intimacy with, and imitation of, Christ.
Recognising Wesley's construction of suffering does not explain exactly how Methodist men and women responded to affliction, but it does illuminate these responses. The letters and journals of Methodist men and women reveal that not all early Methodists adopted Wesley's construction of suffering. The broad contours of his construction are, however, reflected in early Methodist attitudes to affliction. This construction of suffering helps explain some distinctive aspects of early Methodist culture, in particular the role of women in the movement, the intensity of early Methodist fellowship and the involvement of Methodists in social reform.
Does that make any kind of sense to the general reader?
1 comment:
Thanks - yes, I spent a while unpacking my use of that phrase in the thesis, but still not sure I did it justice. In the case of the hymns, I argued that it was particularly appropriate to talk about 'construction' because the hymns are clearly tools for interpreting and managing experience - for giving experience meaning. I wanted to avoid a 'hard constructionist' perspective that assumed there's nothing to experience other than construction.
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