Talk:Theodore Parker

Grodzins bio
Has anyone read Dean Grodzin's 2002 bio? I added it to Further Reading. It's won several prizes and since its appearance has been considered the standard work on early Parker.

Perhaps there are some watchers out there who'd like to improve this already solid page by referencing this work? I'll revisit and add what I'm able to, as I'm able.Ath271 (talk) 06:43, 8 June 2014 (UTC)
 * please use Grodzin--here are some cites that use the book & maybe that can help from Google Scholar Rjensen (talk) 06:53, 8 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Super thanks Rjensen. I've got notes on his book too and will cull that resource and yours at next opportunity.Ath271 (talk) 18:33, 9 June 2014 (UTC)

Even given the accolades for the book, why is Grodzins the only source in Further Reading whose listing reads like a free advertisement (complete with purchase link and blurb)? I'm not experienced enough to say if there's a policy violation in that, but it seems questionable to me Gevzgno (talk) 14:56, 11 September 2019 (UTC)

Proposal
Currently our article is structured so:

Biography Social Criticism and Beliefs
 * Early Life
 * Career
 * Death

Legacy and Honors

This is a good starting point, but it separates Parker’s career from his beliefs; puts his death before his developing theology/practice; has no clear place for marriage and family; and conflates his legacy with honors (surely there is some criticism regarding his legacy?).

We also have some sequencing and citation issues, e.g. pulpits were closed to him in Boston after not before his 1841 sermon (which is titled “Transient and Permanent” not “Permanent and Transient” as we now have it); he studied with Convers Francis before divinity school not during; and so on.

I’ve worked in depth with Grodzins and rjensen’s related RS to address these issues and based on this, propose restructuring the article as follows:

'''Early Life

College and Divinity School, 1830-1836 [not “Education,” since we cover early education in the first section]

Early Family and Career, 1836-1843

Mature Family and Career, 1843-1859 Death
 * Marriage
 * First Pastorate
 * Transcendentalism
 * Break with Orthodoxy
 * First Travel to Europe
 * Independent Boston Pastorate
 * Reform Movements and Social Theology

Legacy
 * Honors
 * Criticisms

Not a radical shift, but hopefully adds some detail and depth. But I realize it might be hard to discuss periodization and other details until there’s more new material to work with. That's all waiting in the wings. So unless someone sees a better way of structuring this at the moment, I’ll post it in a day or two. Ath271 (talk) 03:50, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

Recent changes and ideas for improvement
So sorry, I realized just at the end of making changes that I hadn't tagged edits with a description in the revision history. I kept much from the original article but revised/expanded/improved sourcing. All open to discussion re: content and sourcing, of course.

Ideas for improvement:


 * Add more variety of sources. Henry Steel Commager's bio is not best and recent, and much in it has been revised, re-examined, and superseded. However some points can be gathered from it, and this would round out sourcing and give a sense of historiography.


 * What about Georgie, the adopted son/nephew of Theodore and Lydia? He should be added.


 * Add more on Transcendentalism, without overlapping with the Transcendental entry itself. Notably Parker’s engagement with Brook Farm, Fruitlands, etc.


 * More on his relationships with other notable reformers and theologians, esp. liberal theologians (Emerson, Fuller, Stanton, Douglass, Horace Bushnell, HW Beecher, etc) and comparisons among them


 * The Legacy section could be better; for NPOV, we should separate Honors, References, and Criticisms (criticisms could include questions re: anti-semitism, his questionably gendered disparaging comments re: Margaret Fuller, etc)


 * Add more RS such as Gary Dorrien (he has a good comparison to Horace Bushnell and other liberal theologians, plus more): http://books.google.com/books?id=L50mveyi6WoC&q=theodore+parker#v=snippet&q=theodore%20parker&f=false


 * Additional RS: William Hutchison: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=y5BGwvwP5zMC&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=liberal+theology+theodore+parker&ots=6uexC8vnYU&sig=519hgWBoaeqvSSO2k-E2z4cVoNk#v=onepage&q=theodore%20parker&f=false Ath271 (talk) 19:38, 15 August 2014 (UTC)


 * Go through his major writings (History of the Jews, Transient and Permanent, De Witte, etc) and provide a synopsis - in general describe his beliefs in more depth and detail as they developed over time Ath271 (talk) 23:02, 15 August 2014 (UTC)


 * Add links to refs in google books (Grodzins, Commager, others) Ath271 (talk) 21:00, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

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