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About
Male Confessions examines how men open their intimate lives and thoughts to the public through confessional writing. This book examines writings-by St. Augustine, a Jewish ghetto policeman, an imprisoned Nazi perpetrator, and a gay American theologian-that reflect sincere attempts at introspective and retrospective self-investigation, often triggered by some wounding or rupture and followed by a transformative experience. Krondorfer takes seriously the vulnerability exposed in male self-disclosure while offering a critique of the religious and gendered rhetoric employed in such discourse. The religious imagination, he argues, allows men to talk about their intimate, flawed, and sinful selves without having to condemn themselves or to fear self-erasure. Herein lies the greatest promise of these confessions: by baring their souls to judgment, these writers may also transcend their self-imprisonment.
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Reviews
"This is an innovative work of religious studies. Krondorfer's examination of the dynamics of self-disclosure and self-creation in men's confessional writing through the lens of masculinity studies is a valuable contribution."
University of Northern Iowa
"Krondorfer is one of the pioneers of the field of critical men's studies in religion. In this emerging field men are studied as gendered beings in relation to religion. With this book Krondorfer makes an innovative contribution to the field, and more broadly to the fields of masculinity studies, religious studies and literary studies, by providing a detailed critical gendered reading of men's con
Religion & Gender
"This is a fascinating but theoretically dense book at the intersection of narrative, gender, and religious studies. It is a notable contribution to the growing literature on men's studies in religion and an important volume for collections that support large programs in theology and/or gender studies . . . Highly recommended."
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