In the extreme context of the American slavocracy, how do we account for the robust subjectivity and agency of Frederick Douglass? In an environment of extremity, where most contemporary psychological theory suggests the human spirit would be vanquished, how did Frederick Douglass emerge to become one of the most prolific thinkers of the 19th century? To address this question, this book engages in a psychoanalytic examination of all four of Frederick Douglass' autobiographies. Danjuma Gibson examines when, how, and why Douglass tells his story in the manner he does, how his story shifts and takes shape with each successive autobiography, and the resulting psychodynamic, pastoral, and practical theological implications.

The nine chapters in this book, along with a critical introduction, address complex theological issues relating to structural inequalities of our society, exacerbated by the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pastoral theology as an academic discipline is not a value-free enterprise. This book strives to speak against all forms of injustice and to advocate for those who suffer under existing structural inequalities because such a liberative and social transformative task constitutes the fundamental work of pastoral theology. Each chapter in this book analyses how private problems of individuals are occurring within the immediate world of experience with public issues historically, socially, and politically. As a whole, this book addresses racial injustice, ableism, foster family care, and issues faced by Christian churches during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Pastoral Theology.

In the extreme context of the American slavocracy, how do we account for the robust subjectivity and agency of Frederick Douglass? In an environment of extremity, where most contemporary psychological theory suggests the human spirit would be vanquished, how did Frederick Douglass emerge to become one of the most prolific thinkers of the 19th century? To address this question, this book engages in a psychoanalytic examination of all four of Frederick Douglass' autobiographies. Danjuma Gibson examines when, how, and why Douglass tells his story in the manner he does, how his story shifts and takes shape with each successive autobiography, and the resulting psychodynamic, pastoral, and practical theological implications.