SERMONIC FUGUES EVALUATED IN A THEMATIC COLLECTION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN HOMILETICAL RESPONSES TO THE 9/11 TRAGEDY USING DISTANT READING ANALYTICS by TERRANCE ANDREW FORD DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Texas at Arlington May, 2021 Arlington, Texas Supervising Committee: Cedrick May, Supervising Professor Kenton Rambsy Tim Richardson Copyright © by Terrance Andrew Ford 2021 All Rights Reserved Acknowledgments I would like to first thank the professors of my dissertation committee: Cedrick May, Kenton Rambsy, and Tim Richardson. Dr. Richardson, thank you for expanding my horizon of rhetoric far beyond the vantage point I expected when I entered the PhD program. Dr. Rambsy, thanks for introducing me to Digital Humanities and igniting an enthusiasm for where it could take me in my scholarly work. Dr. May, I am tremendously appreciative for your awakening me to the world of African-American Evangelical Literature—which fits perfectly into the wheelhouse of my profession and vocation. Special thanks to my wife (and biggest cheerleader), Sarai Ford, and daughter, Audrey Ford, for being my proofreaders and sounding boards throughout this project. Lastly, but most importantly, I would like to thank God for helping me maintain a work-life-ministry-family balance and the stamina to complete this monumental task. April 1, 2021 i Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my father—the late Pastor Willie James Ford, Sr.—who inspired and shaped my love for preaching, and my mother—Rhunette Ford—who gave me my first concordance which helped nurture my logophilia. ii Abstract SERMONIC FUGUES EVALUATED IN A THEMATIC COLLECTION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN HOMILETICAL RESPONSES TO THE 9/11 TRAGEDY USING DISTANT READING ANALYTICS Terrance Andrew Ford, PhD The University of Texas at Arlington, 2021 Supervising Professor: Cedrick May This dissertation project introduces and evaluates the coined rhetorical/homiletical concept of the sermonic fugue. The term is an expanded adaptation of the musico-literary fugue principally in the context of thematic collections and homiletical analytics. It defines recurring— common or contrasting—rhetorical patterns presenting themselves particularly within multiple sermons. This research critiques the sermonic fugue against a select collection of African- American homiletical responses to the 9/11 tragedy. The evaluation is further conducted using distant reading and topic modeling analytics to identify the presence and notable patterns of sermonic fugues within the collection. The methodology of the research is performed in phases which involved collecting select sermons preached in September 2001, conducting appropriate computational analytics, constructing relevant datasets, and conveying the findings of the research through data visualizations and narrative storytelling. iii List of Figures FIGURE 1: PEW RESEARCH ‘EVANGELICAL’ TERMS VISUALIZATION GRAPHIC ............................................................ 28 FIGURE 2: PEW RESEARCH 'HISTORICALLY BLACK PROTESTANT’ TERMS VISUALIZATION GRAPHIC ........................... 29 FIGURE 3: PEW RESEARCH TERMS CATEGORIZED ....................................................................................................... 30 FIGURE 4: MICHAEL SPENCER’S SERMONIC CADENCES AS MUSIC SCORES ................................................................ 68 FIGURE 5: TOPIC MODELING “TOPIC_WORDS” RESULTS FILE ..................................................................................... 92 FIGURE 6: TOPIC MODELING “TOPICSINDOCS” RESULTS FILE ..................................................................................... 93 FIGURE 7: TOPIC MODELING “DOCSINTOPICS” RESULTS FILE ..................................................................................... 94 FIGURE 8: WORD STRING (1) W/SUBGROUPS ............................................................................................................. 96 FIGURE 9: WORD STRING (4) W/SUBGROUPS ............................................................................................................. 96 FIGURE 10: WORD STRING (4) W/SUBGROUPS AND INTERPRETED TOPIC ................................................................. 97 FIGURE 11: ALL FIVE WORD STRINGS W/INTERPRETED TOPICS AND THEMES ........................................................... 98 FIGURE 12: WORD STRING (3) W/INTERPRETED TOPIC AND SYNOPSIS ...................................................................... 99 FIGURE 13: HOMILISTS GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS. ................................................................................................... 107 FIGURE 14: HOMILISTS DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ............................................................................................ 108 FIGURE 15: SERMONIC FUGUE – GOD & COUNTRY................................................................................................... 109 FIGURE 16: SERMONIC FUGUE – TODAY ................................................................................................................... 111 FIGURE 17: SERMONIC FUGUE – HUMBLE-PRAY ....................................................................................................... 112 FIGURE 18: SERMONIC FUGUE – TERROR~................................................................................................................ 114 FIGURE 19: SERMONIC FUGUE – AMERICANISM ...................................................................................................... 115 FIGURE 20: MLK REFERENCES STATS ......................................................................................................................... 118 iv List of Tables TABLE 1: ALAN SHOCKLEY’S CHART OF VOICES FROM HOFSTADTER’S “ANT FUGUE” ................................................ 45 TABLE 2: JOHN THOMAS’ “DIALECTICAL MODEL” CHART ........................................................................................... 80 TABLE 3: REFERENCES TO AMERICA’S SYMBOLS OF POWER & MONEY.................................................................... 114 TABLE 4: CORNEL WEST’S QUOTED STATEMENT ...................................................................................................... 117 TABLE 5: “COME HOME TO ROOST” STATEMENTS ................................................................................................... 118 TABLE 6: VANTAGES OF THE AMERICANISM SERMONIC FUGUE ............................................................................. 130 TABLE 7: REFERENCES TO MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. ............................................................................................... 140 v Table of Contents Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................................... i Dedication ..................................................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ iii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................. v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 From Soloist to Symphony ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Thesis Statement........................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Challenges & Gaps ........................................................................................................................ 9 1.4 Contemporary and Scholarly Relevance ..................................................................................... 11 1.5 Research Questions and Objectives ............................................................................................ 13 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................ 16 2.1 Twenty-First Century Literature on Black Preaching .................................................................. 16 2.2 Twenty-First Century Sermonic Anthologies .............................................................................. 23 2.3 9/11 Thematic Literature & Rhetoric Projects ............................................................................ 31 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 40 3.1 Symphony Motif in Literature and Preaching ............................................................................. 40 3.2 Background and Historical Evaluation of Black Preaching .......................................................... 55 3.3 Social Influences of Black Preaching ........................................................................................... 72 3.4 Qualitative Ethnography Research Methodology ......................................................................