The Extracurriculum of Two Black Preachers: A Descriptive Study of Culturally Learned Practices By [Copyright 2014] Kendra L. Fullwood Submitted to the graduate degree program in English and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________________________ Co- Chairperson, Frank Farmer, Ph.D. ________________________________ Co-Chairperson, Dorthy Pennington, Ph.D. ________________________________ Mary Jo Reiff, Ph.D. ________________________________ Chester Sullivan, Ph.D. ________________________________ Heidi Hallman, Ph.D. Outside Reader Date Defended: April 16, 2014 ii The Dissertation Committee for Kendra L. Fullwood certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The Extracurriculum of Two Black Preachers: A Descriptive Study of Culturally Learned Practices ________________________________ Co-Chairperson, Frank Farmer, Ph.D. ________________________________ Co-Chairperson, Dorthy Pennington, Ph.D. Date approved: April 16, 2014 iii Abstract This study examines the “extracurriculum” of the black preacher, the extracurriculum as theorized in Rhetoric & Composition, a subfield within the discipline of English. The extracurriculum is a concept characterized by one scholar (Anne R. Gere) as the various ways people learn to write outside the walls of the academy by forming their own community groups, workshops, and clubs for the purposes of improving writing, making a difference in one’s community, and creating opportunities for self-publishing. Along these lines, in studying the literacy traditions in black churches, another scholar (Beverly J. Moss) makes a case for valuing a different kind of text, a text collaboratively authored by congregation and preacher working together—and therefore, in one sense, a community text: the black sermon. This authorship results in the dialogue that the congregation gives to the preacher during delivery, and she/he depends upon that resource, “without whom the sermon event would be impossible,” as explained by Henry Mitchell in Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art (112-13). Thus, I seek to demonstrate how written and oral texts, primarily sermons, get learned elsewhere, acquired tacitly through such informal ways as merely growing up inside the lived discursive practices of a community; the sometimes (but not always) intentional modeling of predecessors, elders, and mentors; the everyday transmission of verbal customs from one generation to the next, and so on. My investigation centers upon the following question: What literacy practices of the black preacher originated in the extracurriculum of her/his training, and do those practices have any pedagogical implications for writing, particularly for college students who witness those practices in their daily lives? To acquire the qualitative data needed to understand this extracurriculum, I selected two predominantly (though not exclusively) local African American churches. I conducted oral iv interviews with twelve subjects in this study; six from each congregation, and the interviews were recorded. The subject population consisted of the following: 1) Two preachers (male and female) from two denominations (Baptist & Methodist), each of whom possesses formally certified training or degreed education, as well as at least ten years in the pulpit; 2) Four parishioners (from each congregation), two of whom were recommended by the pastor, and two of whom were randomly selected (parishioners must represent different age groups and genders, and must be active churchgoers; 3) Two personal witnesses, one from each church, who provided insight about the preacher’s development. Also, I conducted participant-observations in order to give a full description of the black church environment and the black preacher’s congregation, the audience. Additionally, I collected audio-visual recordings of observed worship services. This description and analysis will give a rich account for the complex interplay of the communally learned elements crucial to the black preacher’s effectiveness. Therefore, examining the extracurriculum of the black preacher may reveal culturally-specific rhetorical acts that have yet to be adequately examined in the context of writing instruction. v Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank the Creator for giving me life and for, as the old saints of my community would say, “keeping me in my right mind” through this roller coaster- of- a- ride- period of my life. I would also like to thank the Creator for grace and mercy, leading me, guiding me, and giving me the wisdom to ask for help and to seek help when needed by trusting in the human spirit to achieve this goal, regardless of race, gender, class, or sexual orientation. Second, my family has been my strongest encouragers –where on Earth would I be without their love?—and this degree belongs to them as well. Their names deserved to be called: Marlene (Ma), Alfonza (Dad), Ebony (Sister), Cedric (Brother). Thank you for your unwavering support and commitment, for I simply could not have done it without all of you. I love you. Third, I would like to thank my committee members for their willingness, valuable advice and assistance in this endeavor. In particular, I would like to thank my Committee Co- Chairs, Dr. Frank Farmer and Dr. Dorthy Pennington for their patience and tireless efforts, meeting with me during and beyond the academic year to help me with this project. The way in which you’ve assisted me is a model that I will take with me and adapt as my own when I become a professor in my own right. Also, you not only advised a future academic but also mentored me, the person, the woman, and I thank you. Additionally, I would like to thank other family members that have been supportive. My family is so large that the names are too numerous to list, but here are a few: Todd, Trevor, Kesia, Tremain, Kayla, and of course my one and only niece, Tia—thank you so much for your own particular way of showing support, especially when I’ve come home for the holidays. To others, I’ll just say thank you to the Fullwood and Parker families and friends for your support through cards, phone calls, email and text messages. vi And last but certainly not least, I would like to thank the Department of English for allowing me to use their digital recorder to record the oral interviews that I conducted with my research subjects (that saved me so much time and money!). Also, I would like to thank the department for the Dissertation Graduate Research Assistantships that I applied for and was one of the students awarded. This gave me time off from teaching, so that I may fully concentrate on dissertation writing and research. vii Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 SITUATING THE EXTRACURRICULUM PRACTICES OF THE BLACK PREACHER: A REVIEW OF THE RELEVANT LITERATURE . 1 Introduction: A Personal Narrative about Black Preaching . 1 The Art of Black Preaching . 6 Black Preaching in Rhetoric & Composition . 17 Conclusion . 42 CHAPTER 2 USING GROUNDED THEORY AS A METHODOLOGY TO INVESTIGATE THE EXTRACURRICULUM OF THE BLACK PREACHER . 47 Introduction: Two Noteworthy Methodologies . 47 The Methodology of Grounded Theory . 50 Grounded Theory in the Extracurriculum . 58 Research Design and Method . 61 Conclusion . 73 CHAPTER 3 ‘MY SOUL HAS BEEN ANCHORED’: ENGAGING CULTURALLY LEARNED PRACTICES AT CHURCH A . 75 Introduction: Details about Church A . 75 Discussion of Results: Data Grounded in Realities . 85 Conclusion: Toward a Grounded Understanding of the Black Preacher . 133 viii CHAPTER 4 ENTER TO WORSHIP, DEPART TO SERVE: PARTICIPATING IN WORSHIP TO BUILD COMMUNITY AT CHURCH B . 139 Introduction: Details about Church B . 139 Discussion of Results: Data Grounded in Realities . 148 Conclusion: Toward a Grounded Understanding of the Black Preacher. .186 CHAPTER 5 ‘SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW’: TEACHING IMPLICATIONS OF THE BLACK PREACHER’S EXTRACURRICULUM. 191 Introduction: Building onto the Past to Rebuild for the Future . 191 ‘Something Old’: The Call to Reconsider . 192 ‘Something New’: Answering and Echoing the Call . 205 Conclusion: Writing Processes to Transfer . 210 NOTES . 221 WORKS CITED . 226 APPENDIX A: HUMAN SUBJECTS COMMITTEE APPROVAL FORMS . 235 APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS . 240 APPENDIX C: REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEWS. 242 APPENDIX D: REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF FIELD NOTES . 256 APPENDIX E: TABLE OF CODED INTERVIEWS OF SUBJECTS . 263 ix Table of Figure Figure 1: Grounded Theory in Action .......................................................................................... 72 1 CHAPTER 1 SITUATING THE EXTRACURRICULUM PRACTICES OF THE BLACK PREACHER: A REVIEW OF THE RELEVANT LITERATURE Introduction: A Personal Narrative about Black Preaching Preaching is a service-centered career, a vocation for those in the ministry to adhere to the biblical mandate: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (New International Version, St. Mark 16.15). With traditional African American preachers,1 one may often hear them use the terms “call” or “calling” in their discourse about becoming preachers. Moreover, one may also hear them acknowledge this vocation as one not made by their own choosing but through a mysticism of acute hearing—obedience to the divine call from God to preach the gospel. Additionally, even children of preachers understand “the call” as something not only significant but sacred, even though there are pressures from