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Apr. 7 | MAASA Joint Conference—April, 2011
Joint conference on material culture, April 7-11, 2011, UW-Madison
Resources: Abstracts of American Studies Dissertations
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DeWolfe, Elizabeth A. "'Erroneous Principles, Base Deceptions, and Pious Frauds': Anti-Shaker Writing, Mary Marshall Dyer, and the Public Theater of Apostasy," American Studies Program, Boston University, May 1996.
From 1780 to 1870 seceders from Shakerism argued in print how the celibate, communal sect presented a genuine threat to American society. Viewing anti-Shaker acts as a form of public theater and the anti-Shaker book as a powerful actor, I illustrate how anti-Shakerism reflected societal concerns about the changing structure of the family and of religion. I focus on Mary Marshall Dyer’s (1780-1867) extensive anti-Shaker activities which included publication of five books. Dyer’s quest to retrieve her Shaker-held children generated considerable public discussion as her powerless position echoed tension inherent in a rapidly changing society.
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