Disappointment in Early Pentecostalism: Toward a Historical Methodology

Early Pentecostal historiography displays an ethos of disappointment. As charted through historians and scholars of Pentecostalism such as Robert Mapes Anderson, Grant Wacker, and Heather Curtis, it is clear that disappointment served as an impetus for the movement's founding and a key factor in its continual development. Nevertheless, because of limited and/or hagiographical sources, individuals' disappointments are often missing in primary literature. Following historian of emotion Jan Plamper yet utilizing philosopher Charles Taylor, this essay develops a means for examining historical emotions in instances where emotionally-charged language is lacking. The essay utilizes the proposed methodology to reexamine early Pentecostal leader William Seymour, revealing the possibilities for exploring the role of unexpressed yet present disappointment in future historical work in and beyond early Pentecostalism.