Description

Prince was a spiritual and musical enigma who sought to transcend race and gender through his words, music, and fashion. Raised as a Seventh-Day Adventist and later going door-to-door as a Jehovah’s Witness, he expressed his faith overtly and allegorically, erotically and poetically. Theology and Prince is an edited collection on theology and the life, music, and films of Prince Rogers Nelson. Written for academics yet accessible for the layperson, this book explores Prince’s ideas of the afterlife; race and social justice activism; eroticism; veganism; spiritual alter egos (with a deep dive into the dark character of “Spooky Electric”); a queer listening of the Purple Rain album; the theology of the Graffiti Bridge film (featuring interviews with co-star Ingrid Chavez and other collaborators), and a story from Texas of a Christian worship service designed around Prince’s music in the wake of his passing. Those interested in theology and popular culture; scholars of social justice, racial identity, LGBTQ+ studies, and gender studies; as well as Prince “fams” will find new ways of viewing Prince’s old and new works.

Table of Contents

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

Product details

Published 21 Nov 2019
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 178
ISBN 9781978704176
Imprint Fortress Academic
Dimensions 240 x 160 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

ONLINE RESOURCES

Bloomsbury Collections

This book is available on Bloomsbury Collections where your library has access.

Related Titles

Get 30% off in the May sale - for one week only

Environment: Staging