Participation Type
Panel
Presentation #1 Title
Appalachian Sermons in Marshall's Special Collections: Holdings and Research Possibilities
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This presentation focuses on a collection of Appalachian sermons housed in the Special Collections Department at Marshall University. As the subtitle suggests, it has two main parts. The “Holdings” section provides a brief survey of these materials (the ministers represented in the collection, their denominations, when they served and where, and so on) and shows the work that has been done thus far to place the copyright-free materials online.
The “Research Possibilities” section gives an overview of the theories, topics, and approaches used in the field of sermon studies. I argue--as my colleagues and I have done in other projects--that sermons are not exclusively religious discourses of interest to preachers and theology professors. Rather, they are also historical and literary artifacts that can profitably be studied by scholars in history, English, communication studies, and even in fields such as digital media and political science. The presentation concludes with suggestions of some specific projects--both "low" and "high" tech--that could arise from the materials included in this project.
Part of the Panel: Special Collections, Creative Writing, and Sermon Studies: Faculty and Student Projects at Marshall University.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Robert H. Ellison is Assistant Professor of English at Marshall University, where he teaches mostly freshman- and senior-level writing. His research specialty is the rhetoric of preaching. His projects include directing Marshall’s Center for Sermon Studies; editing "Sermon Studies," a peer-reviewed, open access journal; and curating the Library of Appalachian Preaching, a digital project that is the focus of this presentation.
Appalachian Sermons in Marshall's Special Collections: Holdings and Research Possibilities
This presentation focuses on a collection of Appalachian sermons housed in the Special Collections Department at Marshall University. As the subtitle suggests, it has two main parts. The “Holdings” section provides a brief survey of these materials (the ministers represented in the collection, their denominations, when they served and where, and so on) and shows the work that has been done thus far to place the copyright-free materials online.
The “Research Possibilities” section gives an overview of the theories, topics, and approaches used in the field of sermon studies. I argue--as my colleagues and I have done in other projects--that sermons are not exclusively religious discourses of interest to preachers and theology professors. Rather, they are also historical and literary artifacts that can profitably be studied by scholars in history, English, communication studies, and even in fields such as digital media and political science. The presentation concludes with suggestions of some specific projects--both "low" and "high" tech--that could arise from the materials included in this project.
Part of the Panel: Special Collections, Creative Writing, and Sermon Studies: Faculty and Student Projects at Marshall University.
