This thesis is submitted by Frances E. F. Ward for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and entitled `Writing the Body of Christ: A Study of an Anglican Congregation". Month and Year of Submission: January 2000. On the basis of ethnographic research and data collected from interviews, this thesis presents an analysis of the relations of power within an Anglican congregation, and explores the ways in which Christological reflection might arise from the context of the local congregation, and inform the practices of the same. The introduction places the work within the disciplines of Congregational Studies and practical theology, and problematizes the practice of writing. The first chapter describes the research methods used, and the congregation concerned. Chapters two and three analyse different theories of power, and particularly the work of Michel Foucault on power. Chapters four and five offer a detailed description and analysis of the liturgical practices and preaching of the congregation, arguing that a dominant discourse subordinated members of different cultural origins. Chapters six offers a critique of the ways in which congregations have been written about within Congregational Studies, and the lack of attention that issues of power concerning race and gender receive within that discipline. Chapters seven and eight develop the theme of the practice of writing, and the function of the author as the regulator of data, by drawing upon contemporary ethnography. Chapter nine analyses how congregational members registered `silent' discontent, particularly by an analysis of gossip. Chapters ten and eleven suggest ways in which the Body of Christ can be thought to be embodied within the local congregation by drawing upon the metaphor of `hybridity' and developing the idea of the Body of Christ as hybrid.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:504211 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Ward, Frances Elizabeth Fearn |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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