Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
From Repertorium to Database: Research Resources for Sermon Scholars
Presentation #1 Abstract
Two of the most fundamental—and most vexing—questions in sermon studies are “What is a sermon?” and “How can I find the sermons I need?” Tools for answering the latter question go by many names, ranging from the common (“bibliography,” “database”) to the obscure (“nomenclator,” “repertorium”). This paper will begin with a historical survey of these terms, from roughly the 17th century to the present day; after that, I will discuss and evaluate some of the more beneficial electronic resources currently available to sermon scholars.
At-A-Glance Bios- Presenter #1
Robert H. Ellison is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Center for Sermon Studies at Marshall University in Huntington, WV, USA. He is the lead curator of the Library of Appalachian Preaching: A Digital Repository of Sermons and co-editor (with Keith Francis) of A Companion to Preaching and the Sermon, the 20th Century, which is under contract with Brill. An expanded version of his presentation will appear as one of the chapters in that volume.
Recommended Citation
Ellison, Robert H., "From Repertorium to Database: Research Resources for Sermon Scholars." Paper presented at the Conference on Sermon Studies: "Presentations," , October 2022.
https://mds.marshall.edu/sermon_conference/2022/presentations/1
From Repertorium to Database: Research Resources for Sermon Scholars
Two of the most fundamental—and most vexing—questions in sermon studies are “What is a sermon?” and “How can I find the sermons I need?” Tools for answering the latter question go by many names, ranging from the common (“bibliography,” “database”) to the obscure (“nomenclator,” “repertorium”). This paper will begin with a historical survey of these terms, from roughly the 17th century to the present day; after that, I will discuss and evaluate some of the more beneficial electronic resources currently available to sermon scholars.
