Revolution Through Revelation: Jim Jones And The Peoples Temple In American Cultural History

<p>This thesis examines the influence of American culture on Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. While most scholarship applies a religious, sociological, or psychological approach to understating the Jonestown tragedy, this paper endeavors to understand the man, his church, and the event through the lenses of American cultural history. Specifically, this analysis looks at the influence of Pentecostalism, egalitarianism, and socialism as well as cultural events such as the civil rights movement on the Reverend Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple church. Using FBI documents gathered during the investigation into the murder of the congressman Leo Ryan at Jonestown, audio recordings of Jim Jones' sermons and speeches, and secondary works relating to the Peoples Temple and broader themes in American cultural history, this thesis provides an in depth historical analysis of Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Grantor dc:publisher

Eastern Kentucky University

Year

2018

Author dc:creator

• Sowers, Alexandria Ryan

• Jim Jones
• Jonestown
• Peoples Temple
• Rev. Jim Jones
• United States History

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2018 Alexandria Ryan Sowers

Repository record dc:identifier

https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/492

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1490