The Awakening-Cycle Controversy

Participants in a 1983 symposium in Sociological Analysis debated the existence of periodic “awakenings” in American society. The precise issues in dispute were often blurred by a tendency to equate awakenings with peaks in revival activity, at best an imperfect measure. The awakening-cycle construc...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Barkun, Michael (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: [publisher not identified] 1985
In: Sociological analysis
Year: 1985, Volume: 46, Issue: 4, Pages: 425-443
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Participants in a 1983 symposium in Sociological Analysis debated the existence of periodic “awakenings” in American society. The precise issues in dispute were often blurred by a tendency to equate awakenings with peaks in revival activity, at best an imperfect measure. The awakening-cycle construct may be further clarified by comparing it with related cyclical models: Whitney Cross's linkage of revivals and economic downturns; E.P. Thompson's “chiliasm of despair” thesis; Anthony F.C. Wallace's model of “revitalization”: and Thomas Kuhn's model of scientific revolutions. An examination of these approaches suggests that the awakening-cycle theory remains promising but requires modification, principally by assigning greater significance to outbursts of millennialism as a key indicator.
ISSN:2325-7873
Contains:Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2307/3711158