God's Fields - Landscape, Religion, and Race in Moravian Wachovia (Paperback)

"Provides a fascinating and nuanced study of the transformations in religious and social ideals among Moravians as they worked to implement their aspirations in the harsh realities of a North Carolina landscape shaped by racism. Ferguson reveals the intersecting dynamics of religious aspirations, sectarian prejudices, conflicting designs across cultural landscapes, paradoxical divergences of religious ideals and social realities, and the life stories of African Americans working to navigate such contested terrain."--Christopher C. Fennell, author of "Crossroads and Cosmologies" "A fascinating examination of the tension of race relations in the antebellum South. "God's Fields" unfolds like a murder mystery and is hard to put down."--Christopher E. Hendricks, author of "The Backcountry Towns of Colonial Virginia" The Moravian community of Salem, North Carolina, was founded in 1766, and the town--the hub of nearly 100,000 piedmont acres purchased thirteen years before and named "Wachovia"--quickly became the focal point for the church's colonial presence in the South. While the brethren preached the unity of all humans under God, a careful analysis of the birth and growth of their Salem settlement reveals that the group gradually embraced the institutions of slavery and racial segregation in opposition to their religious beliefs. Although Salem's still-active community includes one of the oldest African American congregations in the nation, the evidence contained in "God's Fields" reveals that during much of the twentieth century, the church's segregationist past was intentionally concealed. Leland Ferguson's work reconstructing this "secret history" through years of archaeological fieldwork was part of a historical preservation program that helped convince the Moravian Church in North America to formally apologize in 2006 for its participation in slavery and clear a way for racial reconciliation. Leland Ferguson is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of anthropology at the University of South Carolina. He is the author of "Uncommon Ground: Archaeology and Colonial African America, 1650-1800," a recipient of the Southern Anthropological Society's James Mooney Award.

General

Imprint:	University Press of Florida
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	September 2013
First published:	October 2011
Authors:	Leland Ferguson
Foreword by:	Paul Shackel
Dimensions:	234 x 155 x 17mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	288
ISBN-13:	978-0-8130-4956-4
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > American history > General Books > Humanities > Archaeology > Archaeology by period / region > General Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > General Books > History > American history > General Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > General Books > Christianity Promotions
LSN:	0-8130-4956-3
Barcode:	9780813049564

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!