1981 Ph.D Thesis on JWs

by JAVA 26 Replies latest jw friends

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  JAVA

  I just got my hands on William Zellner's 1981 thesis, Of Another World, the Jehovah's Witnesses. The 124-page work was in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Ph.D, through the Sociology Department at South Dakota State University. Zellner's work looks at how the Witnesses recruit new members and retains the converts The last part of his Abstract says:

  It is argued that the social characteristics of a group are more important in the conversion process than in the group's message.

  I've seen this discussed before, but it's interesting to see it addressed in a scholarly thesis. Comments anyone . . .
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  144thousand_and_one

  Java,

  We addressed the subject of Jehovah's Witnesses in my college sociology course and it was very revealing. How do I obtain a copy of Mr. Zellner's thesis?
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  SYN

  Time to warm up that scanner JAVA 
• 

  Fredhall

  JAVA,

  I hope that report is accurate.
• 

  dungbeetle

  They are hardly ever accurate, as we are seeing thanks to Dr. Rodney Stark.

  1) Watchtower lies through their teeth calling it Theocratic War Strategy

  2) The value of contributions from former members of the group is TOTALLY underated at best and completely derided and ridiculed at worst.

  3) These researchers do not spend anywhere near enough time looking over the group's written literature, not even the public stuff let alone the private stuff. Dr. Rodney Stark is totally busted on this, and I am not through with HIM yet either.

  4) These researchers do not spend enough time with the group and its members ina way that could be expected to elicit honest responses. what I mean is, they go in and say, hey I'm studying you and will be reporting on you and then they expect these people to behave normally? One of the biggest problems in social research is studying the subjects in a way that doesn't contribute to change in the subject.

  I stopped reading some of these studies becasue they are so obviously flawed. What would really be beneficial is the study or DOING A STUDY on jehovah's Witness. The very fact that these 'reserachers' could allegeldy spend 6 or more months with a group and not SEE the hate, misogeny, mind control, apocalyptics, child sacrificing just goes to reveal the REAL 'value' of these studies.

  The only real way is to study with the JW's for six months as a prospective convert, go all the way through with baptism, keep a diary/log of what is said, and any feelings and emotions the researcher experiences (there will be plenty) . Jerome's posts represent a very good way to research Jehovah's Witnesses, he should give classes on this. (((Jerome))))

  We need higher standards for these studies. And for the 'researchers'.
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  JAVA

  SYN & 144,001:

  Many college Intro Sociology Courses use a book coauthored by Zellner. It's called, Extraordinary Groups: An Examination of Unconventional Lifestyles. Perhaps you've seen it. There are several groups presented in the book, Jehovah's Witnesses being one of them. That's how I learned about Zellner's 1981 thesis. Extraordinary Groups is available at many college book stores, and Amazon.com has it, too. Many colleges don't lend theses, and I couldn't get it from South Dakota State University a few years ago. I work at a college and had our Research Librarian request it again. Five days later a student dropped it off at my office! I owe one Research Librarian a nice lunch.

  Edited by - JAVA on 20 June 2002 16:29:24
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  JAVA

  dungbeetle,

  Some studies are better than others, I see that all the time. However, graduate work done through accredited universities has a standard that's measured by the thesis advisor, thesis committee, and department director. No study is ever complete, and a good thesis encourages further studies. Creditable research is never the end of the matter, but will suggest possibilities. From my first glance of Zellner's work, it looks well done.
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  dungbeetle

  what's the going rate for a thesis? 25 cents a page now or something? Maybe I'll order it if we can't get it any other way.
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  JAVA

  dungbeetle & others,

  South Dakota State University Library holds theses summitted by their graduate students, which is the usual practice in education. If you have a college nearby, see if they can request the thesis. (Public libraries might not be able to get the thesis, but that's another option to check.) The title, date and author is listed in my opening post. There might be shipping and other fees, but that's the best way to proceed. The 124-page thesis is bound, and they might have more than one copy. The one I have must be returned by July 24th.

  Zellner's work was done around 1980, so the information is dated. However, I believe his research is sound, and from my perspective as a former member, his conclusions are on target, but I've only seriously read 1/3 of the thesis. He posed as a possible convert for over a year, went to the meetings, had Bible studies, and attended 6 different Kingdom Halls. As expected, Zellner's research included the usual scholarly and other literature search about the Witnesses. Of course, Franz and Penton's books were not out at that time. A lot has happened since 1981, but that doesn't discount his work.

  For a current work that just came out, look for Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, by Andrew Holden. Holden did his thesis in 1999 at Lancaster University, UK. I ordered a copy from Amazon.com, and it looks like a good read, but I've only read a few pages. So many books, so little time!

  Edited by - JAVA on 21 June 2002 10:5:50
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  dungbeetle

  You know, that might be food and fodder for a possible new campaign--targeting Watchtower researchers. bwahahah

  thanks java