Comparative history and ethnography in William Ellis’s Polynesian Researches
Journal article
Irving-Stonebraker, Sarah. (2020). Comparative history and ethnography in William Ellis’s Polynesian Researches. The Journal of Pacific History. 55(1), pp. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223344.2019.1681948
Authors | Irving-Stonebraker, Sarah |
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Abstract | This article develops recent scholarly efforts to take seriously the scientific work of evangelical missionaries in the South Pacific. Ellis’s Polynesian Researches gives us an insight into the broader issue of the way in which theological concepts could inform the framework of missionaries’ observations of the traditions, manners and functioning of human societies. Central to Ellis’s observations was the idea of idolatry. I argue that Ellis brought together a theological definition of idolatry – in which idolatry represented the sinful worship of created things rather than the creator God – with an Enlightenment idea that polytheistic idolatry was a universal stage in the historical development of civilization. Ellis’s Polynesian Researches gives us a point of entry into understanding some of the ways that European theological ideas were put to new uses in the South Pacific, against the backdrop of the increasingly global exchange of people, goods and ideas. |
Keywords | ethnography; William Ellis; missionaries; Pacific; religion; Christianity; science |
Year | 2020 |
Journal | The Journal of Pacific History |
Journal citation | 55 (1), pp. 1-17 |
Publisher | Routledge |
ISSN | 0022-3344 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/00223344.2019.1681948 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-85080119178 |
Page range | 1-17 |
Publisher's version | License All rights reserved File Access Level Controlled |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 27 Feb 2020 |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 19 Jul 2023 |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8z555/comparative-history-and-ethnography-in-william-ellis-s-polynesian-researches
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