Penn states hosts Springsteen Symposium

As my friends know - more than they probably care to - I am a huge Bruce Springsteen fan. His music has deeply influenced my life and even played a role in my spiritual journey toward becoming a Christian. His work has become the subject of scholarly inquiry in a number of fields. Theologians also have written frequently about his use of religious imagery.

Now 14 papers will be presented on "Theology and Springsteen" at a symposium on the artist's work. The symposium to be held September 9-11 is being sponsored by the Monmouth University campus of Penn State. The papers invoke Tillich, liberation theology, narrative theology. Paul J. Contilino, co-editor of Christianity and Literature, is presenting 'The Cross of My Calling': The Christocentric imagination of Bruce Springsteen. In the paper's abstract, Contilino writes that he will be "employing William F. Lynch's influential Christ and Apollo, specifically employing his idea that the descent into the particular and finite generates the ascent upward into insight and redemption." (As any Springsteen fan would know, 'The Cross of My Calling' refers to the doomed firefighter in "The Rising" on his way to the World Trade Tower disaster: "Left the house this morning/ Bells ringing filled the air/Wearin' the cross of my calling."

In all, 150 papers are being presented under general topics that include "Redemption and Springsteen," "Comparative Studies and Springsteen," and "Springsteen as narrative poet."

Karl E. Martin, a professor of literature at Point Loma Nazarene University, will be putting his Ph.D. dissertation on Flannery O'Connor to use in a paper on Images of the Automobile in the writings of Flannery O'Connor and Bruce Springsteen.

The abstract for his paper reads:
In 1997, Springsteen said, "The really important reading that I did began in my late twenties, with authors like Flannery O'Connor. There was something in those stories of hers that I felt captured a certain part of the American character that I was interested in writing about." O'Connor presents characters who, foolishly from the narrator's perspective, associate automotive mobility with a certain kind of human freedom. Hazel Motes says, "Nobody with a good car needs to be justified." And Mr. Shiftlet, says, " . . . but the spirit, lady, is like an automobile: always on the move, always . . . " Cars play a central role in Springsteen's songs. My thesis is that Springsteen, like O'Connor, creates characters who believe they will be "saved" in some way by automotive mobility. Springsteen, like O'Connor, finds a way, from his narrative perspective and in the music, to undercut this belief in the saving power of mobility.

Speakers also will include photographer Frank Stefanko as well as rock critic and Springsteen hagiographer Dave Marsh. Participants can take a break from all the intellectual stimulation and enjoy some concerts, including Gary "U.S." Bonds, during the weekend as well. There also will be walking tours of Freehold, New Jersey, otherwise known as Mecca for those of us who love the Boss.

The full conference fee is $245, but the concerts are extra.