Perry Miller and the Meaning of America (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Perry Miller and the Meaning of America
Author: Abram Van Engen
Abstract: Offers a biography of Perry Miller and explains how he made Winthrop's "city on a hill" sermon so famous.
Date: 02/18/2018
Conference Name: Notre Dame Colloquium on Religion and History

City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism (Book) [show prizes]
Title: City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism
Author: Abram Van Engen
Abstract: In this illuminating book, Abram C. Van Engen shows how the phrase “city on a hill,” from a 1630 sermon by Massachusetts Bay governor John Winthrop, shaped the story of American exceptionalism in the twentieth century. By tracing the history of Winthrop’s speech, its changing status through time, and its use in modern politics, Van Engen asks us to reevaluate our national narratives. He tells the story of curators, librarians, collectors, archivists, antiquarians, and other often anonymous figures who emphasized the role of the Pilgrims and Puritans in American history, paving the way for the saving and sanctifying of a single sermon and its eventual transformation into an American tale. This sermon’s rags‑to‑riches rise reveals the way national stories take shape and shows us how they continue to influence competing visions of the country—the many different meanings of America that emerge from its literary past.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300229752/city-hill
Publisher: Yale University Pres
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 0300229755
Copy sent to NEH?: No

White Evangelicals and the New American Exceptionalism of Donald Trump (Article)
Title: White Evangelicals and the New American Exceptionalism of Donald Trump
Author: Abram Van Engen
Abstract: Public humanities article about Donald Trump and American exceptionalism.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://religionandpolitics.org/2020/09/29/white-evangelicals-and-the-new-american-exceptionalism-of-donald-trump/
Primary URL Description: website of the Religion and Politics Journal
Access Model: open access
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Religion and Politics
Publisher: Religion and Politics

Os Guinness, Eric Metaxas, and Their Dangerous Myths of American History (Article)
Title: Os Guinness, Eric Metaxas, and Their Dangerous Myths of American History
Author: Abram Van Engen
Abstract: Public humanities article about the problems of Christian nationalism and its histories of America.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2020/07/os-guinness-eric-metaxas-and-their-dangerous-myths-of-american-history/
Primary URL Description: website of Patheos
Access Model: open access
Format: Other
Periodical Title: Patheos
Publisher: Patheos

Democrats are trying to reclaim American exceptionalism. Will it work? (Article)
Title: Democrats are trying to reclaim American exceptionalism. Will it work?
Author: Abram Van Engen
Abstract: Public humanities piece in the national newspaper about American exceptionalism and where it fits in the Democratic Party.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/01/05/democrats-are-trying-reclaim-american-exceptionalism-will-it-work/
Primary URL Description: Washington Post
Format: Newspaper
Periodical Title: Washington Post
Publisher: Washington Post

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