Defense Date

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

English

First Advisor

Caddie Alford

Second Advisor

David Coogan

Third Advisor

Angelina Overvold

Abstract

My project is focused on identifying and responding to Christian nationalism in United States politics by utilizing Albert Camus’s novel The Plague. The Plague found heightened popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic and its lasting legacy points to what should be long-term prominence in the public eye. With its popularity and anti-fascist content, The Plague is an appropriate text to utilize for addressing America’s Christian nationalism. My paper functions with a foundation on the work of Kenneth Burke, particularly his focus on literature’s utility as equipment for living.

I use my project to suggest that The Plague is not in an optimal position to provide equipment for living that combats Christian nationalism on its own. I argue that using the work of French theologian Simone Weil, a philosopher admired by Camus, as a supplement to The Plague puts the book in position to strengthen interreligious resistance that Christian nationalism can’t afford.

I introduce Christian nationalism by highlighting the Republican party’s decision to make unprecedented political moves following the January 6th attack on the Capitol. I utilize scholarship on Christian nationalism and scholarship on the rhetorical strategies of fascism to highlight how Christian nationalism takes advantage of citizens. I use Speaker of the House Mike Johnson as my primary example of Christian nationalism’s rise in Congress and how his rhetoric relies on demagoguery that warps Christianity. I then turn to The Plague and review its unique relationship to the COVID moment, showing what makes it so valuable and how academic discourse continues to value the book. This conversation highlights the need to acknowledge the politics of working with Albert Camus and what his legacy brings to engaging with his texts. Finally, I pair Simone Weil with The Plague by analyzing how many of her essays identify what Camus called the absurd. I explore Weil’s ability to recognize the existentialism of the absurd while maintaining her faith. I argue that this ability allowed her to effectively empathize with suffering people and to communicate strategies of resistance that intensely supported interreligious relations. As a result, I present how The Plague and Weil outline an approach to interreligious cooperation that resists fascistic messaging, which prepares the text to be more effective equipment for living.

Rights

© The Author

Is Part Of

VCU University Archives

Is Part Of

VCU Theses and Dissertations

Date of Submission

5-6-2024

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