Tusculum College’s Dr. Joel Van Amberg, associate professor of history, recently announced that his book, “A Real Presence: Religious and Social Dynamics of the Eucharistic Conflicts in Early Modern Augsburg 1520-1530” is scheduled for release this month.
Dr. Van Amberg serves as chair of the history department and received his Ph.D. in history with a concentration in early modern Europe from the University of Arizona where he was part of the Division for Late Medieval and Reformation Studies. As a graduate student he received a Fulbright Scholarship to complete his dissertation research in Germany.
“I went to Germany knowing what I was looking for, but not sure what I would find,” said Dr. Van Amberg. “Archival research is full of uncertainty, frustration and surprising discoveries. But after a few months, I began to piece the story together.”
“A Real Presence: Religious and Social Dynamics of the Eucharistic Conflicts in Early Modern Augsburg 1520-1530,” has its origins in Dr. Van Amberg’s dissertation of the same name and is the fruit of multiple trips to city archives in Augsburg, Germany. It will be published by Brill as a part of their Studies in the History of Christian Traditions line.
The book explores conflicts in Augsburg, Germany, during the first decade of the Protestant Reformation over the meaning and celebration of the Eucharist. The book seeks to account for the strong appeal among the population of a symbolic interpretation of the Eucharist. It situates the theological debate in the context of conflict between guild members and the leading citizens in city council over perceived growing political authoritarianism and the political future of the city, and between artisans and powerful merchant elites over changing economic realities of the early-modern economy.
Dr. Van Amberg’s argument is that the adoption of a symbolic interpretation of the Eucharist formed part of a broader anti-meditational ideology that its supporters applied in the realms of politics, economics and religion.
“This book should be of interest not only to those who are interested in German history and the Reformation, but also to those who are curious about what happens when political change, economic uncertainty and religious belief intersect,” said Dr. Van Amberg.
The book is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
By Ryan Barker ’14, history and creative writing major from Laurens, S.C.