
Transforming Words
The Early Methodist Revival from a Discourse Perspective
Jean-Pierre van Noppen(Author)
Peter Lang Verlag
Published on 1. May 1999
Book
Paperback/Softback
248 pages
978-3-906762-52-4 (ISBN)
Description
Hitherto, the language of the Methodist revival has received only moderate, and mainly descriptive, attention. This study moves beyond description and approaches the phenomenon from a «discourse» angle. A corpus-based investigation of the workings of Methodism in its many different discourse aspects highlights how and why Methodism in its early Wesleyan stage was remarkably efficient in providing a multi-modal message which answered the needs and aspirations of the underprivileged. A critical assessment shows that there is little reason to indict the Wesleyans with any manipulative intent. Wesley's discourse did, however, contain some elements which were misunderstood and misapplied when later Methodism lost its Wesleyan touch; but the Methodist revival as a whole cannot be indicted with deliberate manipulation of the working masses.
Reviews / Votes
«Van Noppen has done much more than introduce to Methodist studies a current type of linguistic analysis. He has added a new tool to uncover further dimensions of historical understanding to early Methodism, casting much light on the audience as well as the well-publicised leaders.» (Henry D. Rack, Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Bern
Switzerland
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Dimensions
Height: 22 cm
Width: 15 cm
Weight
360 gr
ISBN-13
978-3-906762-52-4 (9783906762524)
Schweitzer Classification
Person
The Author: Jean-Pierre van Noppen graduated from the Université Libre de Bruxelles with a doctoral dissertation on communication problems in popular theology. He now holds a professorship in English linguistics at the same university, where he has been active as a grammarian, lexicographer, bibliographer and journal editor. His current teaching and research interests are in non-literary (pragma)stylistics and critical linguistics. His publications include Theolinguistics, Metaphor and Religion, How to Do Things with Metaphor, an English grammar, two bibliographies on Metaphor, and the collective volumes New Horizons in Stylistics and Text and Ideology.
Content
Contents: Dimensions of Discourse Analysis: Participation - Purpose - Medium (Sermons, Hymns, Tracts, Magazines, Journals) - Settings (Field Preaching, Itinerance, Societies, Sunday Schools) - Form (Language, Gender, Class, Register, Imagery, Semantics) - Content (Theological, Social, Ethical) - Norms of Interpretation - Reception - Political Impact.