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juushikaTitle: The Apocalyptic Meaning of History (from Apocalyptic Vision in America: Interdisciplinary Essays on Myth and Culture)
Author: Debora Bergoffen (editor Lois Parkinson Zamora)
Published: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, Kentucky: 1982
Pages: 23
Total pages: 166
Text number: 2
Read for: Apocalyptic Theme in Literature course
In brief: A unique and well-argued thesis that makes for a good introductory text to the theme of the apocalypse. Although clearly laid out, the article does lack support near the end and competing concepts throughout.
One of the most original and convincing texts of its sort that I've read. The apocalyptic mindset/theme is often assumed but rarely discussed, and in her discussion Bergoffen redefines its unchallenged, assumed meaning. She she's the American concept of the apocalypse as anti-historical (viewing history as an evil to be transcended), cataclysmic (requiring the destruction of the world as we know it), moralistic (the good will transcend into the new world created by the apocalypse), and hopeful (the evils of today make way for the world-changing and good apocalypse of the future).
Bergoffen's arguments are laid out in clearly labeled, distinct sections, and the reasoning that connects her arguments is usually succinct and well supported. The clear layout makes the scholarly diction and themes much easier to understand than they would be otherwise. In all, the article is particularly convincing, and it is a very good introductory text to an apocalyptic themes course.
That said, there are two problems with the text: gaps in reasoning, and thesis-derived content. The former appears mostly at the end of the text, where Bergoffen very briefly summarizes modern-day apocalyptic conceptions. Simple stated, the evidence is not there: arguments are presented without any recognizable support. The latter is present throughout: it is difficult to imagine a text where the content is not dependent on the thesis, but here it appears that the thesis was conceived before research is done and that the resulting article never tackles the pros, cons, or mere existent of competing understandings of the apocalypse. For these two reasons, this text should not stand alone as an introduction to the theme; instead, the article should be combined with an article containing a competing thesis, allowing the reader to form and independent but educated conclusion.
Author: Debora Bergoffen (editor Lois Parkinson Zamora)
Published: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, Kentucky: 1982
Pages: 23
Total pages: 166
Text number: 2
Read for: Apocalyptic Theme in Literature course
In brief: A unique and well-argued thesis that makes for a good introductory text to the theme of the apocalypse. Although clearly laid out, the article does lack support near the end and competing concepts throughout.
One of the most original and convincing texts of its sort that I've read. The apocalyptic mindset/theme is often assumed but rarely discussed, and in her discussion Bergoffen redefines its unchallenged, assumed meaning. She she's the American concept of the apocalypse as anti-historical (viewing history as an evil to be transcended), cataclysmic (requiring the destruction of the world as we know it), moralistic (the good will transcend into the new world created by the apocalypse), and hopeful (the evils of today make way for the world-changing and good apocalypse of the future).
Bergoffen's arguments are laid out in clearly labeled, distinct sections, and the reasoning that connects her arguments is usually succinct and well supported. The clear layout makes the scholarly diction and themes much easier to understand than they would be otherwise. In all, the article is particularly convincing, and it is a very good introductory text to an apocalyptic themes course.
That said, there are two problems with the text: gaps in reasoning, and thesis-derived content. The former appears mostly at the end of the text, where Bergoffen very briefly summarizes modern-day apocalyptic conceptions. Simple stated, the evidence is not there: arguments are presented without any recognizable support. The latter is present throughout: it is difficult to imagine a text where the content is not dependent on the thesis, but here it appears that the thesis was conceived before research is done and that the resulting article never tackles the pros, cons, or mere existent of competing understandings of the apocalypse. For these two reasons, this text should not stand alone as an introduction to the theme; instead, the article should be combined with an article containing a competing thesis, allowing the reader to form and independent but educated conclusion.
