Login

Publications  •  Project Statistics

Glossary  •  Schools  •  Disciplines
People Search: 
   
Title/Abstract Search: 

Dissertation Information for Elaine Janette Lawless

NAME:
- Elaine Janette Lawless

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Folklore

SCHOOL:
- Indiana University (USA) (1982)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: WOMEN'S SPEECH IN THE PENTECOSTAL RELIGIOUS SERVICE: AN ETHNOGRAPHY

Abstract: Pentecostalism is an American-born charismatic religion, arising out of the enthusiastic plain-folk religion of the late 18th century, which manifested itself in camp meetings and year-long revivals. When revivalists began regularly to speak in tongues in 1906 and 1907 in both Kansas and Los Angeles, believers claimed to be part of a second occurrence of the New Testament Holy Ghost experience which occurred on the first day of Pentecost--hence, the denominational label "Pentecostal." From its inception, women have always dominated this religion in both attendance numbers and expressive fervor. This dissertation on women's speech in the Pentecostal church seeks to remedy the dearth of analyses of the most vocal and artistic verbal performers in the Pentecostal religious service with the exception of the Pentecostal preacher. Fieldwork in southern Indiana over five years time yielded over 100 hours of recorded services, verbatim transcripts of which were utilized in this study. Analysis of women's speech was predicated by the supposition that an understanding of the importance of the religion in the lives of its adherents could be ascertained by close attention to the expressive behaviors, both verbal and non-verbal, which occurred during the religious service. Based on a performance-centered approach to folkloristics and utilizing anthropological methodologies for an ethnography of speaking, analysis of communicative competence in the religious context revealed male/female role expectations and performance forums based on sexual differentiation. While Pentecostals claim theirs is an egalitarian religion, they, nevertheless, strictly enforce rules which establish and maintain the male dominance and female submissiveness of the Pentecostal community. While women are allowed to preach, they cannot perform in the same expressive manner of fundamentalist male preachers; however, analysis of Pentecostal services revealed that from non-threatening positions, such as from a pew, the women can deliver testimonies that are closely akin to charismatic sermons. Furthermore, during the delivery of these forceful testimonies, the women in the group gain for themselves control of the situation and create an atmosphere which encourages expressive behaviors of all women present. Although the control established is short-lived, it nevertheless suggests the powerful lure of this religion for its female adherents.

MPACT Scores for Elaine Janette Lawless

A = 0
C = 1
A+C = 1
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:19:29

Advisors and Advisees Graph