Stories from Jonestown by Leigh Fondakowski

Peoples Temple began in Indiana in the 1950s as a racially integrated social gospel church. The eies of all people are uppon Us, soe that if wee shall deale falsely with our god in this worke wee have undertaken, and soe cause him to withdrawe his present help from us, wee shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. Mike Touchette įor wee must Consider that wee shall be as a Citty upon a hill. Plain and simple, we built a city out of nowhere.

In addition, this methodological approach provides a view of Peoples Temple work unencumbered by the social problems paradigm, offering instead an approach that is compatible with a social possibilities paradigm.

Examining the group’s textual practices adds depth to existing studies of Temple history by showcasing the efficacy of organizational labor that members themselves might have taken for granted. A study of these textual tools helps us to understand how Peoples Temple was able to meet its collective organizational goals and how individual members achieved personal transformations within the organization. An activity theory analysis of work oriented to the Promised Land reveals that texts-everyday genres such as forms and lists-were important tools used by the group to achieve this objective.

ABSTRACT: Peoples Temple achieved impressive objectives as an organization, the most impressive of which was establishing and maintaining an agricultural community-the Promised Land-in the remote jungle of Guyana.

Stories from Jonestown by Leigh Fondakowski