Religion and the Culture of Print in Modern America (Print Culture History in Modern America) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0299225747 ISBN 13: 9780299225742

Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press, 2008

Synopsis

Religion and the Culture of Print in Modern America explores how a variety of print media - religious tracts, newsletters, cartoons, pamphlets, self-help books, mass-market paperbacks, and editions of the Bible from the King James Version to contemporary ""Bible-zines"" - have shaped and been shaped by experiences of faith since the Civil War. Edited by Charles L. Cohen and Paul S. Boyer, whose comprehensive historical essays provide a broad overview to the topic, this book is the first on the history of religious print culture in modern America and a well-timed entry into the increasingly prominent contemporary debate over the role of religion in American public life.

About this title

Review:

A fascinating foray into the modern religious worlds made by the word. - Peter J. Thuesen, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis

From the Back Cover:

Mingling God and Mammon, piety and polemics, and prescriptions for this world and the next, modern Americans have created a culture of print that is vibrantly religious. From America's beginnings, the printed word has played a central role in articulating, propagating, defending, critiquing, and sometimes attacking religious belief. In the last two centuries the United States has become both the leading producer and consumer of print and one of the most identifiably religious nations on earth. Print in every form has helped religious groups come to grips with modernity as they construct their identities. In turn, publishers have profited by swelling their lists with spiritual advice books and scriptures formatted so as to attract every conceivable niche market. " Religion and the Culture of Print in Modern America" explores how a variety of print media--religious tracts, newsletters, cartoons, pamphlets, self-help books, mass-market paperbacks, and editions of the Bible from the King James Version to contemporary "Bible-zines"--have shaped and been shaped by experiences of faith since the Civil War. Edited by Charles L. Cohen and Paul S. Boyer, whose comprehensive historical essays provide a broad overview to the topic, this book is the first on the history of religious print culture in modern America and a well-timed entry into the increasingly prominent contemporary debate over the role of religion in American public life. Within these essays are Jewish college students, medical missionaries, Mormon savants, the eccentric, and the mainstream, all of whom illuminate the manifold and sometimes surprising ways religious groups interact with the written word. This volume invites readers to discover connections that are sometimes readily apparent, sometimes obscure, but always fascinating and informative.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0299225747
• ISBN 13: 9780299225742
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 392
• Editor: Charles Lloyd Cohen, Paul S. Boyer