Lexington Books / Fortress Academic
Pages: 194
Trim: 6⅜ x 9½
978-1-9787-0417-6 • Hardback • November 2019 • $111.00 • (£85.00)
978-1-9787-0419-0 • Paperback • June 2021 • $44.99 • (£35.00)
978-1-9787-0418-3 • eBook • November 2019 • $42.50 • (£35.00)
Jonathan H. Harwell is head of collections and systems and associate professor at Rollins College’s Olin Library.
Rev. Katrina E. Jenkins is dean of religious life at Rollins College.
Chapter 1 “Could Have Sworn It Was Judgment Day”: Prince, Eschatology and Afterlife
Racheal Harris
Chapter 2 “Dear Mr. Man”: The Socially Conscious Music of Prince as Black Prophetic Fire
Zada Johnson
Chapter 3 I Am Something That You’ll Never Comprehend: A Queer Theological Reading of Purple Rain
Joseph Trullinger
Chapter 4 “Flesh of My Flesh”: Prince’s Theology of Eros
Emily McAvan
Chapter 5 Parables from the (Animal) Kingdom
Will Stockton
Chapter 6 Dance with the Devil: The Paradox of Prince’s Spooky Songs
Stefan Sereda
Chapter 7 Graffiti Bridge: Prince’s Sacred Triumph over the Profane
Erica Thompson
Chapter 8 When God Appears, Everything Changes: Prince and Pentecost
Rev. Suzanne Castle
Harwell and Jenkins have successfully pulled together a scholarly Prince tribute band that traces the waves of Prince’s work into each member’s unique field of study. Like Prince’s music, Theology and Prince is a complex, multifaceted fusion of ideas and approaches. This volume presents an original contribution to the field of cultural studies utilizing the music and life of Prince to explore contemporary theological themes and the impact of faith on artistic practice.
— Reading Religion
Theology and Prince is a rare punch of pop culture scholarship. Impeccably researched and head-noddingly insightful, but packaged in a pair of purple leopard-print spandex pants. This is a book about Prince told from the perspectives of people whose lives would not have been the same without him. It’s touching, personal, and gosh-danged funny. It pulled me in and shook me out, much like the way Prince still draws me in from whatever funky galaxy he’s currently gracing with his presence. Prince lovers, lusters, likers, and the Prince-curious, this book is 4 U.— Erin Gallagher, University of Florida
Prince is perhaps the most singular pop musician of his generation, and his unapologetic faith marked him a transgressive for both the music and church worlds. Theology and Prince assembles an array of brilliant voices to illustrate that Prince was not liminal, but creative. He didn't inhabit a space between two worlds, but created something new, something that often burst from the old wineskins. You hold a book that may very well inspire you to see possibilities where before there were only borders and boundaries. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go party like it's 1999.— JR. Forasteros, author of Empathy for the Devil