Annotated Bibliography
Web Sources:
"Cult." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 23 Jan. 2012. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
This encyclopedia entry explains the term cult. Through its explanation there are many links that can be made to the Fellowship of the Sun
J. Ryan Parker. "Vampires Define Them: The Portrayal of Religion in TRUE BLOOD'." Patheos. Faith Forward. 9 April. 2010. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
This is a blog post that delves very deeply into religion found in the television series 'True Blood.' It explores the religion of the community of Bon Temps, which can be applied to the novels as well.
"Maenad." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 4 Dec. 2011. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
This Wikipedia entry defines the term Maenad and allows for conclusions to be drawn from Harris' use of the creatures.
McGary, Gerard. "Charlaine Harris - 'Living Dead in Dallas' - Book Review." UnrealityShout. n.p. 29 May. 2010. Web. 8 Feb. 2012
McGary's book review provides some insight into the origins of The Fellowship of the Sun. He explores some of the possible influences which brought to fruition Charlaine's idea of the Fellowship of the Sun.
Rappoport-Hankins, Clarissa. "'True Blood': Romance, Religion, and Shakespeare." The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group. 12 July. 2010. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
This web magazine article also is written regarding the television adaption. However it speaks about the use of vampire blood in the show, which is also found in the novels, and regards it as sacred and its consumption therefore as blasphemy.
Religion Nerd. "Real Witches Cry Foul at Portrayal on 'True Blood'." ReligionNerd. Religion Nerd. Wordpress. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
This blog post provides some insight into the roles that real witches play in today's society. Although it comments on the television adaptation of the novels, there are still some similarities between the portrayal of witches in the novel and the witches in the adaptation.
Taren. "'Living Dead in Dallas' by Charlaine Harris." TheChickManifesto. Blogspot. 25 April. 2009. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.
This particular blog by Taren offers some more insight into the Fellowship of the Sun. She draws parallels to the Westboro Baptsist Church while commenting on Harris' possible influences for this creation. Taren also touches on the relation to gay rights and slavery rights to the rights of the vampires in her blog.
Terra on the Shelf. "Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris." TerraontheShelf. Blogspot. 20 Sept. 2009. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
Terra on the Shelf gives a synopsis of Harris' Dead to the World in her blog, spending a significant amount of time explaining the portrayal of Wiccans in the novel. She gives her very own candid opinion towards the representation of Wiccan, giving explicit reasons why she thinks so.
"'True Blood Maryann Forrester Mystery - What the Heck is a Maenad?" BestFantasyStories.com. n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
This post seeks to explain the origins of a maenad and its role in both the television series and the novels. It gives a brief summary of how the maenad functions within the novels and what associations are made with it.
"Vampire God: A Review." PopTheology.com. Pop Theology. Where Religion Meets Pop Culture. 25 March. 2010. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
This Book Review reveals the insights of the book "Vampire God" by Mary Y. Hallab, which draws conclusions about the portrayal of vampires in literature and how they represent religion.
"Wicca." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 7 Feb. 2012. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
Explores the beliefs, practices, traditions, and history of Wicca. Provides insight into the real religion of Wicca and allows for conclusions to be drawn about Harris' portrayal of Wiccans.
Articles:
Kermani, Susann Zohreh. Parenting in Neverland: Childhood religion and family values in
contemporary American Paganism. Diss. Harvard University, 2010. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.
Kermani's dissertation about Paganism in modern day America focuses its attention on family values. There is a chapter reserved for solely family values that provides insight to the values that modern Paganists choose to instill in their families. This relates to the character of Holly in Harris' novels, who is a Pagan mother raising a young child.
Lyles-Scott, Cynthia. "The Dark Frontier of Dixie." Dissections: The Journal of Contemporary Horror. Feb. 2008. n. pag. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.
Lyles-Scott writes about Southern Horror novels in her article, touching on authors such as Charlaine Harris and Anne Rice. In the section focused on Harris, Lyles-Scott discusses Sookie's southern values and how Harris chose to incorporate them into Sookie's character. This is relevant when discussing Sookie's own faith.
Mutch, Deborah. "Coming out of the Coffin: The Vampire and Transnationalism in the Twilight and Sookie Stackhouse Series." Critical Survey 23.2 (2011): n. pag. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.
Mutch discusses the Sookie Stackhouse novels and the Twilight novels with respect to group identity and national identity. She places the role of vampires in Harris' series into a much broader national context and what role the vampires play within their nations and groups, and also how they accept the definitions of race and nation. Therefore, the acceptance of these roles also includes the acceptance of religion within their respecting nation and group and pertains to this research.
Sanz Alonzo, Irene. "Why Do Vampires Prefer Louisiana?" Neoamericanist.org 5.2 (2011): n.pag. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.
Alonzo's article is a commentary on Southern Vampire novels from both Anne Rice and Charlaine Harris. Alonzo attempts to discover why Louisiana is the setting of choice for both authors. She delves into the personal lives of both authors and also the history of Louisiana as apparent reasons. The history of Louisiana is of particular interest as it is rich in its history and tinged with religion.
Shuffelt, Catherine Armetta. 'Something wicked this way comes': Constructing the Witch in contemporary American popular culture. Diss. Bowling Green State University, 2007. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.
Shuffelt spends a substantial amount of her time in his dissertation speaking about how witches are constructed in films, literature, and media. It is interesting to see whether Harris conformed to these conventions.
Books:
Mazur, Eric Michael. God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture. London; New York: Routledge, 2011. Print. Mazur studies the representation of religion in American popular culture in his book, dedicating a part of it to the television adaption of Harris' novels, True Blood. This provides some insight into the themes of religion found in the original novel series.
Stein, Rebecca L. The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
This book goes into great detail about the way magic is regarded by anthropologists and different religions. There is some focus on Paganism and Neopagan Wicca. It explains the history of Wicca and their current practices. Conclusions regarding Harris' version of Wiccans and WItchcraft can be drawn from this text.
Wilcott, Becca. Truly, Madly, Deadly: The Unofficial True Blood Companion. Toronto: ECW Press, 2010. Print.
Wilcott's True Blood Companion includes a special section on Charlaine Harris herself. In it Wilcott touches on Harris' influences while creating the Sookie novels. This pertains to my topic of research as it is interesting to see whether Harris includes religion into any of her influences for her writing subject, setting, characters, etc.