literature, theology, and pragmatist philosophy.Knutson grounds her study with the testimonies collected by the Puritan minister Thomas Shepard, which reveal an active pursuit of belief
occurring at the intersection of perception, intellection, affection, and doctrine. This pursuit of belief, codified in the morphology of conversion, was originally undertaken by the Puritans as a way to conceptualize redemption in a fallen state. It established the epistemological contours for what Edwards, Emerson, and James would theorize as a conductive imaginary-consciousness, a state both receptive and active, as a force responsible for translating the effects of experience and
generating original relations with self, community, and God. With an interdisciplinary approach that combines religion, literature, and philosophy, Knutson demonstrates how the triad of
writers discussed here "ministered" to their audiences, encouraging the attachment of new meaning to ordinary contexts in a continual effort toward regeneration.
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