Social life and ritual practices in an Alaskan Pentecostal community (The First Assembly of God, Fairbanks)
dc.contributor.author | Robarge, Nickole Kathren | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2014-10-24T22:30:14Z | |
dc.date.available | 2014-10-24T22:30:14Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2013-08 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11122/4522 | |
dc.description | Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2013 | |
dc.description.abstract | This MA thesis research project focuses on the First Assembly of God Church in Fairbanks, Alaska. It seeks to better understand the implementation of Pentecostal-Charismatic (PC) Christianity in 21st century urban Alaska. While social activism and outreach form a significant portion of the success of Pentecostalism in Alaska (as anywhere else), my research shows that it is also substantially due to the appeal of ritual to newcomers. In particular, I suggest that there are forms of spiritual possession and spirit embodiment that need to be examined in relation to the attractiveness of Pentecostalism in Fairbanks. There is a gap in academic literature pertaining to Pentecostal rituals. Recent anthropological studies have focused primarily on notions of conversion, rupture, empowerment, and modernization. My research complements these studies by shedding an unprecedented light on Pentecostal processes of ritualization. Participant observation and interviews were used to examine ritual activity and the nature of spiritual gifts within PC Christianity in Fairbanks. | en_US |
dc.description.tableofcontents | Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Theoretical framework -- 2.1. Spiritual possession: The divide between possession theorists -- 2.2. Ritual -- 2.3. Mobility (fluidity) -- Chapter 3. Background -- 3.1. Christianity in Alaska -- 3.2. Brief history of Pentecostalism -- 3.3. Assembly of God Church (AG) -- 3.3.1. First Assemblies in Alaska -- Chapter 4. The culture of Pentecostalism -- 4.1. Connection between churches -- 4.2. Membership -- 4.3. Mobility and church planting -- Chapter 5. An ethnographer in the assembly -- 5.1. Participant observation in a PC community -- 5.2. Interviews and conversations with faith practitioners -- Chapter 6. Rituals and ritualized social programs in the assembly -- 6.1. Wednesday night Bible study -- 6.2. Tuesday night Bible study (women's 'Bible study) -- 6.3. Retreats -- 6.3.1. Men's retreat -- 6.3.2. Women's retreat -- 6.4. Handprint -- 6.5. Quilting circle -- 6.6. Sunday service -- 6.6.1. Usual service -- 6.6.2. Special Sunday services -- Chapter 7. Discussion of key themes -- 7.1. Socio-political themes in the assembly -- 7.2. Language versus physicality in rituals -- 7.3. Reassessing the shamanism/possession divide -- Chapter 8. Conclusion -- References cited. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
dc.title | Social life and ritual practices in an Alaskan Pentecostal community (The First Assembly of God, Fairbanks) | en_US |
dc.type | Thesis | |
dc.type.degree | ma | |
dc.identifier.department | Department of Anthropology | en_US |
dc.contributor.chair | Plattet, Patrick | |
dc.contributor.committee | Koester, David | |
dc.contributor.committee | Schweitzer, Peter | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2020-03-06T01:54:13Z |