Research On Religion » Puritans

Mark Lawson-Jones on Christmas Carols

tonygill — Sun, 24 Dec 2017 09:00:47 +0000

Christmas carols are a traditional part of the holiday season in many parts of the world. Despite singing our favorite carols year-in-and-year-out, how much do we really know about where they came from and what they mean? Moreover, why did we ever begin singing about a partridge in a pear tree, particularly when partridges are not know to be all that airborne? How did that bird get up there?! To uncover these mysteries, Rev. Mark Lawson-Jones, a chaplain for Mission to the Seafarers and former regional official in the Church in Wales, talks about his book Why Was the Partridge in the Pear Tree? The History of Christmas Carols. In addition to selling Tony on the wonder of Wales, Rev. Lawson-Jones discusses how he came to write this book. Mark has always loved Christmas caroling and leads several dozen services a year that feature these seasonal songs, and it was fortuitous one year that he was approached by a book editor to write a short history on carols. We talk about the deep history of caroling, how various songs were used during pageants during the Middle Ages and how St. Bonaventure is thought to have penned one of the oldest carols, “Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful),” which Mark reveals has an interesting “call to arms” behind its meaning. We discuss other features of carols, including the strong Christmas association with holly and ivy, how many festivals in the Middle Ages were overlays on the Saturnalia celebrations of the Roman Empire, and how rural residents would bang on trees and pots and pans to wake their orchard up in the darkest nights of winter so that they would have a bountiful harvest in the coming year. Wassailing is also discussed, both as a festive celebration of singing about town as well as a creating an alcoholic brew carried around in large bowls that usually accompanied these celebrations. The specific Welsh celebration of Mari Lwyd, and how revelers will boisterously come up to houses and be invited in or chased away all in song, is also discussed. Mark shares some of his tales of caroling in pubs, a practice that he notes is essential for building community. The conversation then takes a dark turn as we learn how the Puritans almost killed off Christmas celebrations in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, but fortunately the tradition of joyous singing survived into what Mark calls the “Golden Age of Carols” (circa 19th century). It is in this period, spurred on by the Victorian culture of rejoicing in family, that some of the best known hymns we still sing to this day were written. At this point, we review the history of several well-known carols including: The Coventry Carol, The Holly and the Ivy, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, O Come All Ye Faithful, Silent Night, and Good King Wenceslas (one of Tony’s favorite even if he cannot easily pronounce the king’s name). We conclude this review with The Twelve Days of Christmas and Mark answers the eternal philosophical question about that bird in that fruit tree. He also reveals that this song appears to have originated in a children’s book as a memory game that parents played with their kids. What does this have to do with Mark making breakfast for his children? Well, he tells you that too! We finish with some thoughts on the importance that caroling has in reminding us of difficult times, as well as the joys of the season, and how singing in groups builds strong communities. Mark also shares some of his own thoughts on what he has learned through his study, and singing, of carols. Recorded: December 12, 2017.

Note: Rev. Lawson-Jones didn’t get an opportunity to talk about one of his favorite carols — In the Bleak Midwinter — which was one of the earliest carols written by a woman, Christina Georgina Rossetti, who he pointed out should have been a poet laureate if not for her gender back in less enlightened times.

The Little Book of Wales, by Rev. Mark Lawson-Jones.

Mission to the Seafarers (where Rev. Lawson-Jones serves as a chaplain).

The Church in Wales.

A traditional recipe (one of many!) for wassail and wassail recipes.

RELATED PODCASTS

The Research on Religion Christmas Series (including episodes on St. Nicholas, It’s A Wonderful Life, a Christmas Carol, and Krampus).

Robert Coote on the 27 Most Popular Hymns and Amazing Grace.

Ryan Habig on Music Ministry and “With Us.”

Jim Houser on the Christian Music Industry.

Tracy McKenzie on the First Thanksgiving (Annual Encore)

tonygill — Sun, 19 Nov 2017 16:33:01 +0000

While Tony is taking an extended sabbatical and trying to update some technical issues with the audio, we encourage you to enjoy this annual favorite of his.

What events led up to the “First” Thanksgiving and what was life like for the Pilgrims who celebrated it? Prof. Tracy McKenzie, a professor in the Department of History at Wheaton College, takes up this topic from the vantage point of a Christian historian. He challenges some of our “grade school” understandings of what that event was all about, but in a manner that retains the reverence for the people and events during that time.

We start our conversation by looking at the topic of “revisionist history.” Prof. McKenzie provides a very profound and nuanced discussion of what it means to be “revisionist,” while simultaneously admitting that he is not a fan of that term. A good portion of what Tracy does in his most recent work is not only to discuss Thanksgiving, but is designed to prompt Christians to think critically about their history as a means of living their faith more honestly. As part of this, we quickly learn that the “First” Thanksgiving celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every November is not actually the first thanksgiving in the New World. Tracy explains why this is.

We then explore who the Pilgrims were and what motivated them to eventually set sail for Virginia, initially, but had them landing in modern day Massachusetts. This discussion includes what the Pilgrims believed theologically and how they acted out their faith. Surprisingly, we discover that the Pilgrims were very averse to celebrating the traditional holidays we take for granted today, such as Christmas and Easter, but rather considered only Sunday as the only “holy day.” Prof. McKenzie then shares how “days of thanksgiving” were celebrated by the Pilgrims, but not as a regular holiday but rather as a “particular holy day” that would only be called on special occasions.

We also bring up several other characteristics of the Pilgrims that might surprise us, including their dislike of the King James Bible and how they prayed with eyes upward rather than heads bowed. And one of the more interesting aspects of the Pilgrims to come up was that they never gave thanks for their food before eating, although they did pray to have the food blessed. The political views of these Separatists then comes into our discussion as well as the diversity of the passengers aboard the Mayflower and how that diversity would be managed with the Mayflower Compact. The economic conditions of the Pilgrims in their first year falls under our scrutiny, observing that they first set out with a communal farming structure but this breaks down after two years and William Bradford agrees to privatize parcels of land.

Other topics covered include relations with the Wampanoags, how the “first” Thanksgiving was celebrated, and how this event is forgotten for nearly 200 years until it came to capture the American imagination in the 1820s and ’40s. Tracy also reveals how Thanksgiving was considered a “Yankee” holiday during the secessionist crisis that led up to the Civil War and how it eventually became a nationally-recognized holiday under the FDR administration.

Prof. McKenzie finishes the interview with his own reflections on what this story of Thanksgiving has meant to him and his family, and how Christians need to celebrate their history as well as remembering it for what it really is. His insights as a father, and not just a historian, should resonate with many of our listeners. This is an encore presentation. Recorded: November 5, 2012.

Faith & History, Tracy McKenzie’s personal blog.

The First Thanksgiving, by Tracy McKenzie.

Lincolnites and Rebels: A Divided Town in the American Civil War, by Tracy McKenzie.

One South or Many? Plantation Belt and Upcountry in Civil War Era Tennessee, by Tracy McKenzie.

RELATED PODCASTS

Thomas Kidd on the Pilgrims.

Scott Carroll on the King James Bible.

Evan Haefeli on the Dutch Origins of Religious Liberty.

Thomas Kidd on Benjamin Franklin’s Faith

tonygill — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 08:00:29 +0000

Benjamin Franklin is one of America’s most famous Founding Fathers, and is widely regarded as being amongst the “Deist” camp when it comes to religiosity. Prof. Thomas Kidd, a professor of history at Associate Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, joins us to discuss the life and spiritual development of Ben Franklin. We begin with a discussion of where Franklin ended his life and why he has a reputation as being a Deist, and what Deism encompasses, particularly in the late 18th century. We then boomerang to Franklin’s early life growing up in a very strict Calvinist/Puritan household. The King James Bible had an immense formative impact on Ben’s life, who said in his autobiography that he read it by age five. We talk about the relationship he had with some of his siblings including Jane Mecon and James, under who he worked as an apprentice in the printing business. Prof. Kidd walks us through Ben’s rebellious period in his late teens and early twenties, which took him to Philadelphia and abroad to London where he lived a very licentious life for a time. We also talk about some of his early writings under the pseudonym Silence Dogood, a bit of a poke at the famous preacher Cotton Mather, but one that also showed some degree of reverence for the Christian preacher as well. Franklin never received much of a formal education despite being very smart. Tommy speculates that Ben was removed from formal schooling as his parents start to suspect that his contact with educational institutions made him more skeptical of Christianity. We see how this plays a role in his attitude towards college, including a particular view towards Harvard (which we reveal in the podcast). Upon returning from London, we learn about how Franklin’s religiosity and experience with religious diversity gives him a more mature view, forming what Dr. Kidd terms a “doctrinal-less moralist Christianity.” We talk about how religion is laced throughout his most famous writings in Poor Richard’s Almanac and how well he knew the King James Bible, better than many of the more orthodox Christians at the time. The other major influence on Franklin’s development was his relationship with George Whitefield, which first started as a business partnership (as religious tracts and hymnals were popular sellers for printers at the time), and then later becomes a personal friendship. Tommy talks about how the two had numerous respectful conversations over their theological differences. We finish our discussion with Franklin’s later life approaching the US Revolutionary War and Constitutional Convention and how the notion of God’s Providence began to play a larger role in his thinking. Prof. Kidd ends our discussion with some reflections on why understanding Franklin’s religion remains salient for our contemporary understanding of society. Recorded: May 29, 2017

Prof. Thomas Kidd’s Twitter feed and blog, The Anxious Bench (with other historians).

Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father, by Thomas Kidd.

American Colonial History: Clashing Cultures and Faiths, by Thomas Kidd.

Baptists in America: A History, by Thomas Kidd and Barry Hankins.

George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father, by Thomas Kidd.

Patrick Henry: First Among Patriots, by Thomas Kidd.

God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution, by Thomas Kidd.

The First Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America, by Thomas Kidd.

RELATED PODCASTS

Thomas Kidd on the Pilgrims.

Thomas Kidd on the Great Awakening.

Mark David Hall on Roger Sherman, Puritan Patriot.

Mark David Hall on Religion & the Founding Fathers.

Mark David Hall on Religious Minorities in the U.S. Founding.

Daniel Dreisbach on Religious Rhetoric in the Founding Era.

Should Christians Have Fought in the US Revolutionary War? A Debate.

Chris Beneke on Religion, Markets, and the Founding Era.

John Fea on Religion & the American Founding.

Jonathan den Hartog on the Spiritual and Political Life of John Jay.

Michael McClymond on Jonathan Edwards.

Andrew Hoffecker on Charles Hodge and Princeton Theological Seminary.

Jonathan den Hartog on Patriotism and Piety.

Tara Moore on Christmas Traditions … and Krampus! (Encore Presentation).

tonygill — Sun, 25 Dec 2016 09:00:54 +0000

While we are still on break, please enjoy this wonderful holiday discussion with Tara Moore from last year. We will have brand new episodes starting on January 1.

People often celebrate Christmas in different ways, but there are some common traditions that have developed over time. Where do these traditions come from, and how have they changed? Prof. Tara Moore, a part-time instructor of English at Penn State University – York, takes us on a joyous exploration of Christmas past and present, revealing little tidbits of historical information that she dug up doing research on her two books, Christmas: The Sacred to Santa and Victorian Christmas in Print (see below for links). This is definitely a podcast that you will want to listen to so as to impress your family, friends, and colleagues during the annual Christmas celebrations.

Our investigation begins with Prof. Moore herself, finding out how she came to write about Christmas. Faced with the choice in graduate school of writing a dissertation about Victorian-era nuns or Victorian-era Christmas, the nun route looked pretty grim and so she chose to write on the merry holiday of Christmas. Tara also notes that her historical studies have led her to celebrate Christmas in a more “low electricity” 19th century style and, at times, to feel the need to correct some folks regarding their misunderstandings of traditions including a play written about her church’s first pastor celebrating Christmas in 1774. Given her Presbyterian background, and her historical training, Tara noted that Presbyterians would not have been celebrating Christmas in that era, but she nonetheless performed in the play.

We then turn the first Christmas with Tony noting how lucky it was that Jesus was born on that day. Dr. Moore quickly sets Tony right and we enter into an interesting discussion about the birth of Jesus, thinking about when the birth actually did occur (which would more likely have been springtime). Tara reviews how we have settled on a late December date for Jesus’s birth, being a symbolic choice for nine months after the assumed date of the Annunciation. She further notes that Christmas was not a major holiday in the early centuries of the Church and only becomes an official holiday in 336 A.D., and not becoming more universally celebrated until 350 A.D. Tara provides other interesting observations about the birth narrative of Jesus, discussing the role of shepherds and wise men, and also pointing out that while Romans celebrated birthdays, Judeans typically did not.

The early medieval celebrations of Christmas tended to be periods of fasting, particularly within the Eastern Orthodox tradition. The celebration of the holiday in Western Europe started in Rome and gradually spread to other parts of Europe by the 9th century. Early gift giving during this time was centered around food and the noted 12 days of Christmas (which ran past the December 25th date in early celebrations) was all about preparing feats. A tradition also developed early on with respect to reversing social roles. At first, the rich would provide food to the poor, but eventually it became a “topsy turvy” part of the calendar when peasants would dress as royalty, and choir boys would get to play the role of bishops. At one point, the upending of social roles and customs became so raucous that King Henry VIII ended the practice of role reversals. All of this leads to a discussion of the raucous nature of the holiday, and Tara recounts that in many ways it was a rather adult holiday with drunken carousing (giving way eventually to more tame caroling) and all sorts of fascinating local practices. She notes that in Haverford, England, local residents celebrate by putting a cake on the horn of an ox, and at other times splash animals with beer! As print media began to spread throughout Europe, many traditions became more standardized, though local idiosyncrasies persist until today.

This then prompts Tony to ask about a number of the more popular traditions and characters associated with the season. We start with the Christmas tree, and Dr. Moore explains that the origin of this tradition is hard to trace. While Romans were known to decorate trees in imperial days, and trees did figure into miracle plays, it wasn’t until the 1700s that trees became a centerpiece of Christmas celebrations. (Interestingly, the use of trees led to some problems of deforestation and the Salzburg town government had to ban the removal of trees from local forests.) We talk about the origins of ornaments a bit, noting that they started as cookies and in some places Christmas trees were hung from the ceiling upside down to prevent rodents from going after the baked goods dangling from the limbs. Of course, we discuss the origins and development of Santa Claus, with Tara recounting the historical details of St. Nicholas of Myra, how he was one of the most popular saints in the 1500s, and then how the Santa arose from this. While not directly related to St. Nicholas, Santa Claus comes from a variety of sources and tended to start out as a “wild man” of Europe that only became tamed in the mid-19th century with the painting of him done by Thomas Nast and the famous poem by Clement Moore. This invariably leads to Krampus and the Scandinavian Nisse (woe be unto farmers, we find out).

Our conversation ends with discussion on when and why Christmas was banned at various times and places, as well as some of Tara’s thoughts on commercialization and how Christ has come back into Christmas in recent times. Prof. Moore shares a few of her favorite family holiday traditions to close us out. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! Recorded: December 8, 2015.

RELATED LINKS

Christmas: The Sacred to Santa, by Tara Moore.

Victorian Christmas in Print, by Tara Moore.

RELATED PODCASTS

John Mark Reynolds on Dickens and “A Christmas Carol.”

Adam English on the Real Santa Claus.

Jon Sweeney on “Its a Wonderful Life.”

J. Wallace Warner on Cold-Case Christianity and Christmas.

Pamela Edwards on Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Michael Foley on Religion and Booze.

Thomas Kidd on the Pilgrims (Encore Presentation)

tonygill — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 09:00:54 +0000

Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, and part of our rotating encore feature this week, Prof. Thomas Kidd (Baylor University) returns to our podcast series to cover the history of a group of religious dissenters known as the Pilgrims. After Tony attempts to recite a rather famous poem about the Pilgrims, we explore the roots of this group dating back to the English Reformation and how dissent within the Church of England in the 16th century set a group of individuals from Scrooby, England on a journey that would eventually land them on Plymouth Rock. We follow the Pilgrims to the Netherlands and talk about their experiences there and discuss the reasons why they were able to obtain a charter for settlement in the North American colonies of Britain. Prof. Kidd details the importance of the Mayflower Compact and what life was like for settlers in a new land, including a tangential discussion on the importance of beer to the Puritans. (You will want to hear how brewing was beneficial to the Puritans and why the Puritans were not as prudish as one might think.) We finish our podcast with Prof. Kidd’s thoughts on the legacy of the Pilgrims for American development and a brief history of the holiday we have come to know as Thanksgiving. This podcast serves as a great introduction or review of the Pilgrims for high schoolers and homeschoolers and we encourage you to bring it to the attention of all those who might be interested. Prof. Kidd is associate professor of history at Baylor University, senior fellow at Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, and co-director of Baylor’s Program on Historical Studies of Religion. Recorded: October 5, 2010.

Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion.

American Colonial History: Clashing Cultures and Faiths, by Thomas Kidd.

George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father, by Thomas Kidd.

Baptists in America: A History, by Thomas Kidd and Barry Hankins.

The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America, by Thomas Kidd.

God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution, by Thomas Kidd.

Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father, by Thomas Kidd.

RELATED PODCASTS

Tracy McKenzie on the First Thanksgiving.

Thomas Kidd on the Great Awakening.

Evan Haefeli on the Dutch Origins of Religious Liberty.

Tara Moore on Christmas Traditions

tonygill — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 09:00:53 +0000

People often celebrate Christmas in different ways, but there are some common traditions that have developed over time. Where do these traditions come from, and how have they changed? Prof. Tara Moore, a part-time instructor of English at Penn State University – York, takes us on a joyous exploration of Christmas past and present, revealing little tidbits of historical information that she dug up doing research on her two books, Christmas: The Sacred to Santa and Victorian Christmas in Print (see below for links). This is definitely a podcast that you will want to listen to so as to impress your family, friends, and colleagues during the annual Christmas celebrations.

RELATED LINKS

Christmas: The Sacred to Santa, by Tara Moore.

Victorian Christmas in Print, by Tara Moore.

RELATED PODCASTS

John Mark Reynolds on Dickens and “A Christmas Carol.”

Adam English on the Real Santa Claus.

Jon Sweeney on “Its a Wonderful Life.”

J. Wallace Warner on Cold-Case Christianity and Christmas.

Pamela Edwards on Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Michael Foley on Religion and Booze.

Tracy McKenzie on The First Thanksgiving (Encore Presentation)

tonygill — Sun, 22 Nov 2015 09:00:59 +0000

What events led up to the “First” Thanksgiving and what was life like for the Pilgrims who celebrated it? Prof. Tracy McKenzie, the chair of the Department of History at Wheaton College, takes up this topic from the vantage point of a Christian historian. He challenges some of our “grade school” understandings of what that event was all about, but in a way that retains the reverence for the people and events during that time.

Other topics covered include relations with the Wampanoags, how the “frist” Thanksgiving was celebrated, and how this event is forgotten for nearly 200 years until it came to capture the American immagination in the 1820s and ’40s. Tracy also reveals how Thanksgiving was considered a “Yankee” holiday during the secessionist crisis that led up to the Civil War and how it eventually became a nationally-recognized holiday under the FDR administration.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Tracy McKenzie’s bio at Wheaton College Department of History.

Faith & History, Tracy McKenzie’s personal blog.

The First Thanksgiving, by Tracy McKenzie.

Lincolnites and Rebels: A Divided Town in the American Civil War, by Tracy McKenzie.

One South or Many? Plantation Belt and Upcountry in Civil War Era Tennessee, by Tracy McKenzie.

RELATED PODCASTS

Scott Carroll on the King James Bible.

Thomas Kidd on the Pilgrims.

Evan Haefeli on the Dutch Origins of Religious Liberty.

Thomas Kidd on the Pilgrims (Encore Presentation)

tonygill — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 09:00:13 +0000

While Tony is on a short break, we dip into the archive to bring you an encore presentation for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, Prof. Thomas Kidd (Baylor University) returns to our podcast series to cover the history of a group of religious dissenters known as the Pilgrims. After Tony attempts to recite a rather famous poem about the Pilgrims, we explore the roots of this group dating back to the English Reformation and how dissent within the Church of England in the 16th century set a group of individuals from Scrooby, England on a journey that would eventually land them on Plymouth Rock. We follow the Pilgrims to the Netherlands and talk about their experiences there and discuss the reasons why they were able to obtain a charter for settlement in the North American colonies of Britain. Prof. Kidd details the importance of the Mayflower Compact and what life was like for settlers in a new land, including a tangential discussion on the importance of beer to the Puritans. (You will want to hear how brewing was beneficial to the Puritans and why the Puritans were not as prudish as one might think.) We finish our podcast with Prof. Kidd’s thoughts on the legacy of the Pilgrims for American development and a brief history of the holiday we have come to know as Thanksgiving. This podcast serves as a great introduction or review of the Pilgrims for high schoolers and homeschoolers and we encourage you to bring it to the attention of all those who might be interested. Prof. Kidd is associate professor of history at Baylor University, senior fellow at Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, and co director of Baylor’s Program on Historical Studies of Religion. Recorded: October 5, 2010.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Thomas Kidd’s website.

Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion and Program on Historical Studies of Religion.

The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America by Thomas Kidd.

God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution by Thomas Kidd.

The Protestant Interest: New England after Puritanism by Thomas Kidd.

RELATED PODCASTS

Thomas Kidd on the Great Awakening.

Tracy McKenzie on the First Thanksgiving.

Tracy McKenzie on the First Thanksgiving

tonygill — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 09:00:13 +0000

What events led up to The “First” Thanksgiving and what was life like for the Pilgrims who celebrated it? Prof. Tracy McKenzie, the chair of the Department of History at Wheaton College, takes up this topic from the vantage point of a Christian historian. He challenges some of our “grade school” understandings of what that event was all about, but in a way that retains the reverence for the people and events during that time.

We start our conversation by looking at the topic of “revisionist history.” Prof. McKenzie provides a very profound and nuanced discussion of what it means to be “revisionist,” while simultaneously admitting that he is not a fan of that term. A good portion of what Tracy does in his most recent work is not only to discuss Thanksgiving, but is designed to prompt Christians to think critically about their history as a means of living their faith more honestly. As part of this, we quickly learn that The “First” Thanksgiving celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every November is not actually the first thanksgiving in the New World. Tracy explains why this is.

Christopher Grenda on Religious Satire during the Enlightenment (and Today)

tonygill — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 09:00:38 +0000

Can satire be used to prompt religious reform? Prof. Christopher Grenda, an associate professor of history at CUNY- Bronx Community College, discusses his recent research on satire during the English Enlightenment (c. late 17th and 18th centuries). Chris tells us how he stumbled onto this research topic and then we spend some time discussing what satire is relative to other forms of humor such as parody and irony. Our conversation uses several contemporary instances where satire has led some individuals to get into trouble, including humorist Mark Steyn who was brought up before a Canadian Human Rights Commission for his satirical writings. We then move backwards in time to the English Enlightenment. Chris lays out the historical context of what is happening in jolly old England in terms of politics and religion. It is a time of great ferment, with the early Stuart monarchs trying to consolidate their power at the time when religious dissent is arising. Early satirists such as Charles Blount (a Deist) and Ralph Wallis (an orthodox Christian) become some of the first writers to critique the Church of England for its seemingly corrupt practices. Our conversation then takes various historical turns (not always in sequence) as we discuss other authors such as Thomas Paine, John Witherspoon, David Hume, and Anthony Ashley-Cook (a.k.a. the Third Earl of Shaftesbury). We explore the different ways in which each of these writers used wit to lampoon the powerful ecclesiastics of their day, and Chris provides some memorable and surprisingly cutting quotes from their works. Chris mentions that satire becomes increasingly “democratized” with the spread of literacy and printing technology, and how this affects the style of writing in order to reach new and different audiences. Throughout the podcast, we also learn about how the authorities responded to such satire and how many of these literary figures had to use pen names or circulate their missives underground. We close with some thoughts on satire in the contemporary world and how our present society may be a bit less tolerant of such dissent than in the past. Recorded: February 12, 2013.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Christopher Grenda at CUNY.

“The Right to Ridicule” by Ronald Dworkin in the New York Times Review of Books.

The First Prejudice: Religious Tolerance and Intolerance in Early America, by Chris Beneke and Christopher Grenda.