Religion and beliefs Books

Book SynopsisOffers a look at the work of a group of Native American visionaries who forged syncretic religious movements that provided their peoples with the ideological means to resist white domination. This book explains the conditions giving rise to the millenarian movements and illuminates the histories, personalities, and legacies of the movement.Trade Review“In this excellent, enjoyable work, Cave explores how a series of connected religious movements led by dynamic prophets swept through Indian groups in eastern North America between 1744 and 1835. . . . Cave’s book will be useful to students of religion as well as Native American history.”—Choice“At multiple points in Prophets, Cave demonstrates his historiographical acumen. . . . Cave’s treatments, though, of Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh’s efforts is perhaps the book’s most informative historiographical contribution. . . . Cave’s is an admirable text. It is well researched and finely written. To be sure, then, Prophets of the Great Spirit is a highly serviceable and commendable introduction for any student of Native American revitalization movements, Native American history and regions, and early American history.”—Brendan Q. Swagerty, Journal of ReligionTable of Contents1. The Delaware Prophets; 2. The Shawnee Prophet; 3. Tenskwatawa, Tecumseh, and the Pan-Indian Movement; 4. The Red Sticks000; 5. The Seneca Prophet; 6. The Kickapoo Prophet

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Book SynopsisDemonstrates universal religious experience and shows how humanity's effort to live within a sacred sphere has manifested itself in myriad cultures from ancient to modern times; and, how certain beliefs, rituals, symbols, and myths have, with interesting variations, persisted.

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Book SynopsisThe only source in which Sarah is mentioned is the Book of Genesis, which contains very few highly selective and rather enigmatic stories dealing with her.Trade Review“This is a valuable piece of original research, one which makes a considerable contribution to an understanding of the obscure origins of the role women play in the Genesis narratives.” * author of The Jewish Mind and The Arab Mind *“First we had Merlin Stone’s When God Was a Woman and now we have Savina Teubal’s Sarah the Priestess. Teubal re-examines our Biblical foremothers in light of the cultural context from which they came, the ancient Mesopotamian art work, tablets, codification and legends. In her fresh, far-reaching, controversial and playful study, Teubal has altered our vision, explained mysterious references, and has produced an enormously important work.” * author of Her Mothers and A Weave of Women *“This is one of the most original and stimulating studies of patriarchal religion and traditions that has been presented to the scholarly and general public in our time. The central idea is so startling that most readers are likely to dismiss it as sheer speculation. However, the book requires the most careful and serious reading and will repay those who invest the time and effort manyfold.” * director, Studies in Religion, University of Michigan *

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Book SynopsisMarking the centenary of Walter Benjamin's immensely influential essay, Toward the Critique of Violence, this critical edition presents readers with an altogether new, fully annotated translation of a work that is widely recognized as a classic of modern political theory. The volume includes twenty-one notes and fragments by Benjamin along with passages from all of the contemporaneous texts to which his essay refers. Readers thus encounter for the first time in English provocative arguments about law and violence advanced by Hermann Cohen, Kurt Hiller, Erich Unger, and Emil Lederer. A new translation of selections from Georges Sorel's Reflections on Violence further illuminates Benjamin's critical program. The volume also includes, for the first time in any language, a bibliography Benjamin drafted for the expansion of the essay and the development of a corresponding philosophy of law. An extensive introduction and afterword provide additional context. With its challenging argument conTrade Review"This translation places before English readers for the first time the most comprehensible version yet of Benjamin's compelling and demanding essay."—Kevin McLaughlin, Brown University"Fenves and Ng have assembled the definitive scholarly edition in English of Walter Benjamin's influential 1921 essay "Toward the Critique of Violence"...An indispensable resource for those interested in Benjamin's particular intervention at a place where political theology meets questions of morality, power, and authority. Essential." –G.D. Miller, CHOICE"A new edition of Benjamin's allusive essay helps elucidate what is often enigmatic and esoteric about a text whose author is working towards a more Marxist perspective. It is fully annotated and includes a large and helpful selection of notes and fragments by Benjamin that are closely related to what he was formulating."—Sean Sheehan, The Prisma

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Book SynopsisThis book presents the first attempt by a sociologist to unearth the long hadith transmission network from ancient historical sources and analyze it using the most recent qualitative and quantitative analytical tools.Trade Review"This is an unusual and impressive piece of scholarship, bringing together the sophisticated methods of sociological network analysis, the comparative sociology of intellectual life, and the study of Islamic culture and society." -Randall Collins,University of PennsylvaniaTable of ContentsContents Preface xiii 1. Introduction 1 2. Social and Literary Structure of Isnad: Whose Narrative? 29 3. The Ceaseless Synergy between Literary and Social Structures 68 4. Reconstructing the Hadith Transmission Network: Narratives into Networks 94 5. From Synchronic to Diachronic Methods: Temporal Constraints on Action 124 6. Social and Literary Dynamics of Authority Formation: The Macro-Level LRS Effect 159 7. Narrative and Sociology of Intellectuals: From Ibn Khaldun to Collins 180 8. On the Shoulders of Giants: Chain of Memory and the Micro-Level LRS Effect 212 9. Conclusion: Speech and Action Conjoined on the Diachronic Axis 245 Notes 261 Bibliography 281 Index 297

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Book SynopsisFor Love of the Father provides a psychological explanation of the attraction of destructive and self-destructive fundamentalism in terms of male longings.Trade Review"[Stein was] a brilliant and original thinker . . . After the September 11, 2001 suicide bombings, President Bush declared that the perpetrators 'hated' Americans. Ruth Stein suggests that this was not the case. Rather, the suicide bombers were driven by love of God." -- Richard A. Koenigsberg * Library of Social Science *"This superb book, based on a great deal of original scholarship and the marvelous integration of socio-political, relational psychoanalytic, and Lacanian thought, is illuminating and a delight to read. Stein has more success than any other I have read in this field in stepping inside the unconscious mind of the terrorist. Her argument is carefully crafted and the understanding of evil that emerges is remarkably profound." —Peter Fonagy, University College, London"With this highly original and deeply thoughtful analysis of fundamentalism and destructiveness, Ruth Stein offers a most innovative and incisive use of psychoanalytic theory as well as its daily practice. Rare among psychoanalysts, Stein is able to keep a dual focus, to move persuasively between clinical vignettes and the sociocultural world . In so doing, she illuminates the perverse adoration of and submission to a powerful father figure as a solution to the problem of self-hate and the pathology of patriarchal power. Even as readers will be drawn to Stein's prose, sparkling with brilliant insight and imagination, they will be arrested and compelled by Stein's unflinching examination of the dynamics of fundamentalism. Her nuanced efforts to distinguish the sacred from the submissive, ritual from rigidity, to define where religion ends and fanaticism begins, challenge us to struggle with a level of discomfiting complexity that is too often avoided. For Love of the Father is a book that above all strives to let us use psychoanalysis at its most creative edge to 'live the questions' we cannot yet answer." -- Jessica Benjamin * New York University *"This book is the major psychoanalytic statement we need on this issue. Until we understand the terrorist mind we will be unable to combat it. Here is the first step toward such an understanding. Ruth Stein shows that the psychoanalytic way of thinking about political and religious issues is alive and well—and of utter importance to our understanding. The book is replete with striking insights into this dark subject. A must read." -- Walter A. Davis * Ohio State University *"In this scholarly and compelling exploration of the psychology of religious fundamentalism, Ruth Stein provides us with an account that is breathtakingly original. Combining a sophisticated and clinically grounded command of psychoanalytic thinking with a broad interdisciplinary reach and a direct examination of the writings of Islamic terrorists, Stein's analysis displays a depth of understanding that resonates at both intellectual and emotional levels. She has an uncanny ability to put into words insights that possess a kind of primordial plausiblity, and that capture the passion and urgency of fundamentalist experience, while at the same time subjecting it to rigorous and exacting analysis." -- Jeremy D. Safran * New School for Social Research *

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Book SynopsisMale Confessions demonstrates that men are able to talk about themselves intimately and shows how the religious imagination helps them to do so while critically examining the limits of such intimate male talk.Trade Review"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." -- Harry Brod * University of Northern Iowa *"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." -- A. W. Klink * Choice *"A gendered reading of men's confessional works is most needed. Krondorfer provides a nuanced, critical, constructive, and compelling perspective on several culturally significant exemplars of the genre. This book makes an important contribution at the intersection of confessional literature, religious studies and the growing body of literature on the critical study of men and masculinities." -- Stephen B. Boyd * Wake Forest University *"In his most recent book on men and masculinity, Bjorn Krondorfer turns his attention to the literary form of the male confession. . . The unique style and organization of the book represents an interesting experiment, for the authorial voice dances between intensely personal 'revelations' and the familiarity (and safety) of academic prose. This tension is ultimately what makes the book both interesting and successful." -- Nathaniel Van Yperen * Reviews in Religion and Theology *"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 confessional writing . . . It is a stylistically well-written and highly original book that offers meaningful readings of men's confessional writings and makes a sophisticated contribution to our understanding of the complicated moral and religious dimensions of men's lives." -- Adriaan van Klinken * Religion & Gender *"This intriguing work blends the fields of life writing, religious studies, and critical men's studies . . . Male Confessions is a creative and rewarding contribution to several academic fields . . . The whole of this book is greater than the sum of its parts, and I highly recommend it." -- John D. Barbour * Biography *

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Book SynopsisExploring the tremendous influence of women and African American televangelists, Colored Television: American Religion Gone Global offers a unique examination of the phenomenal growth of American religious broadcasting beyond the U.S., particularly in the Caribbean.Trade Review"Frederick has identified an important topic in the global flows of black religion through the work of influential television broadcasters. Her book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of religion in the African diaspora, religion and the American media, and Pentecostalism." -- Judith Weisenfeld * Princeton University *"No other work in black religious studies so well documents the history of television media in black Christianity in the U.S. and how it manifests itself and morphs in a global context, in this case, the Caribbean." -- Monica A. Coleman * Claremont School of Theology *"Marla Frederick who teaches African American Studies at Harvard University has quickly emerged as one of the notable ethnographers in the United States. Her latest book Colored Television is a continuation of her excellent scholarship...[This book] offers a fresh and challenging articulation of the character of the global charismatic renewal of Christianity within the framework of cities, the socio-economic situation of poor urban residents, and urban spaces." -- Nimi Wariboko * Pneuma *"Using historical trajectory and precedent, Colored Television: American Religion Gone Global anticipates a movement within mediated religious broadcasting.America, the once dominate force behind religion gone global, will not reign forever." -- Madison Tarleton * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsIntroduction chapter abstractThe introduction includes a statement on the methodology used to complete this ethnography as well as an outline of individual chapters. It further highlights the three theoretical interventions of this text. These include firstly, the insistence that the web of religious broadcasting cannot be understood without a full appreciation of the aims, motivations and desires of all those involved – producers, consumers and distributors. Secondly, Colored Television takes seriously the discourse of intersectionality, arguing that the issues of race, class and gender explored in this book help explain elements present in the rise of both gospels of prosperity and increasingly important discourses around sexuality. Finally, while not reducing religion solely to market forces, this work argues that the business of broadcasting fundamentally alters religion and the experiences of the faithful. 1"Jamaica, Land We Love" chapter abstractChapter one frames the discussion of religious broadcasting in terms of globalization, neoliberalism and the history of American religious media. Exploring briefly the history of African American religious missions, it argues that religious globalization is not new. However, in the hyper-mediated form of religious broadcasting, new elements of globalization, more resonate with neoliberal market logics, take precedence. In articulating these moves, the chapter outlines the history of American religious broadcasting, explaining the significance of the switch to paid time broadcasting that ultimately catapulted religious broadcasting into the world of religious media competition. 2"Religious Dandyism: Prosperity and Performance in Black Televangelism" chapter abstractGiven the emergence of popular images of televangelists as wealthy, status-driven media personalities who embody the prototypical, rags-to-riches American success story, Chapter Two explores the history of the emergence African Americans as televangelists. The chapter argues that race and American racism played as much a part in the development of these character types as the theologies of Word of Faith or neo-Pentecostal personalities. In many ways the presentation of "Americanness" through the acquisition of the American dream – fine cars, tailored suits, lavish lifestyles – provided an image of racial uplift that was missing from black protest religion. The story of Rev. Frederick Eikenrenkoetter and other leading black televangelists contextualize the ways in which the flamboyant dress style, or "religious dandyism" of ministers was as much about creating a narrative of possibility for colored people as it was about the fashion and egoism of the preacher. 3"Relative Prosperity: Lived Religion in the "Dying Field" chapter abstractChapter three explores how American theologies of prosperity are appropriated by viewers in Jamaica. As neoliberalism exports the utopian ideal of the "free market" to countries around the globe, developing countries are often confined by the realities of their local often underdeveloped and/or exploited (exploitable) markets. Living under challenging economic pressures, local Jamaicans make sense of imported gospels of prosperity by developing more complicated, relative understandings of the nature of prosperity. Those in the viewing audience who receive messages of health and wealth in the face of poverty and affliction often interpret prosperity as relative in terms of time, space and constitution. 4"Female Televangelists and the Gospel of Sexual Redemption" chapter abstractChapter four looks at the phenomenal influence of women televangelists. It argues that women's ascendance in religious broadcasting is often influenced by their personal testimonies of sexual trauma and God's power to redeem and restore their lives. Their "gospels of sexual redemption" recalling experiences of rape, incest, early pregnancy, divorce and sexual promiscuity opens up important, though limited, discursive space for the discussion of sexuality among female religious viewers. The chapter discusses evangelists Paula White and Joyce Meyer, giving particular attention to the influence of Juanita Bynum, an African American woman whose testimony of abuse and sexual promiscuity garnered her tremendous popularity in the US and abroad. 5Redeeming Sexuality chapter abstractChapter five examines how the social and economic conditions in which Jamaican women find themselves often inform their experiences of sexuality. These experiences in turn influence how women relate to the messages of sexual redemption preached by televangelists. The chapter argues that while religious broadcasting offers a conservative approach to the practice of sexuality, confining sexual activity to marriage and offering a masculinist narrative of female submission to male authority, it also offers women an opportunity to redefine their sexual histories and make sense of personal tragedy. For women from traditional religious backgrounds, the personal theodicies of women evangelists who share their stories of abuse, out of wedlock childbirth and sexual promiscuity offer viewers opportunities to recast their own sexual histories in light of redemptive narratives. 6"Distributing the Message: Globalization and the Spread of Black Televangelism" chapter abstractChapter six explores the power of distributors and the meanings of race in the global market. Scholars of religious broadcasting have long discussed the influence of politically and theologically conservative Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the largest religious cable network in the world. This chapter explores the emergence of black owned networks and networks which cater to "urban" African American markets, such as TV One in the United States and Mercy and Truth Ministries and Love TV in Jamaica, which make room for a different kind of religious broadcasting format, presumably informed by different social commitments. It asks how these new outlets for religious broadcasting negotiate the demands of the neoliberal marketplace and attempt to create an alternative vision of the intersection of religion and the market in a post-civil rights, post-apartheid, post-colonialist historical moment. 7"Conclusion: Voices of the Next Generation" chapter abstractThe Conclusion focuses on the increasing influence of the Internet, over and against religious television broadcasting. Here questions are raised as to how the emergence of the Internet, like the shift to paid time broadcasting in the 1960s, might ultimately reshape religious broadcasting. Focused on the success of a ministry in Atlanta, Ga that has grown largely through internet broadcasting, the final chapter wonders whether, given the changes in technology, whether the the contours of what we have come to understand as popular religion will eventually shift to something that moves beyond prosperity messages and self help proclamations? As the democratization of religious media through the internet and social media sites takes full shape, it is likely that popular religious media narratives will be disrupted by people from across the globe and the theological spectrum, not just those savvy and wealthy enough to survive on religious television.

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Book SynopsisExploring the tremendous influence of women and African American televangelists, Colored Television: American Religion Gone Global offers a unique examination of the phenomenal growth of American religious broadcasting beyond the U.S., particularly in the Caribbean.Trade Review"Frederick has identified an important topic in the global flows of black religion through the work of influential television broadcasters. Her book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of religion in the African diaspora, religion and the American media, and Pentecostalism." -- Judith Weisenfeld * Princeton University *"No other work in black religious studies so well documents the history of television media in black Christianity in the U.S. and how it manifests itself and morphs in a global context, in this case, the Caribbean." -- Monica A. Coleman * Claremont School of Theology *"Marla Frederick who teaches African American Studies at Harvard University has quickly emerged as one of the notable ethnographers in the United States. Her latest book Colored Television is a continuation of her excellent scholarship...[This book] offers a fresh and challenging articulation of the character of the global charismatic renewal of Christianity within the framework of cities, the socio-economic situation of poor urban residents, and urban spaces." -- Nimi Wariboko * Pneuma *"Using historical trajectory and precedent, Colored Television: American Religion Gone Global anticipates a movement within mediated religious broadcasting.America, the once dominate force behind religion gone global, will not reign forever." -- Madison Tarleton * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsIntroduction chapter abstractThe introduction includes a statement on the methodology used to complete this ethnography as well as an outline of individual chapters. It further highlights the three theoretical interventions of this text. These include firstly, the insistence that the web of religious broadcasting cannot be understood without a full appreciation of the aims, motivations and desires of all those involved – producers, consumers and distributors. Secondly, Colored Television takes seriously the discourse of intersectionality, arguing that the issues of race, class and gender explored in this book help explain elements present in the rise of both gospels of prosperity and increasingly important discourses around sexuality. Finally, while not reducing religion solely to market forces, this work argues that the business of broadcasting fundamentally alters religion and the experiences of the faithful. 1"Jamaica, Land We Love" chapter abstractChapter one frames the discussion of religious broadcasting in terms of globalization, neoliberalism and the history of American religious media. Exploring briefly the history of African American religious missions, it argues that religious globalization is not new. However, in the hyper-mediated form of religious broadcasting, new elements of globalization, more resonate with neoliberal market logics, take precedence. In articulating these moves, the chapter outlines the history of American religious broadcasting, explaining the significance of the switch to paid time broadcasting that ultimately catapulted religious broadcasting into the world of religious media competition. 2"Religious Dandyism: Prosperity and Performance in Black Televangelism" chapter abstractGiven the emergence of popular images of televangelists as wealthy, status-driven media personalities who embody the prototypical, rags-to-riches American success story, Chapter Two explores the history of the emergence African Americans as televangelists. The chapter argues that race and American racism played as much a part in the development of these character types as the theologies of Word of Faith or neo-Pentecostal personalities. In many ways the presentation of "Americanness" through the acquisition of the American dream – fine cars, tailored suits, lavish lifestyles – provided an image of racial uplift that was missing from black protest religion. The story of Rev. Frederick Eikenrenkoetter and other leading black televangelists contextualize the ways in which the flamboyant dress style, or "religious dandyism" of ministers was as much about creating a narrative of possibility for colored people as it was about the fashion and egoism of the preacher. 3"Relative Prosperity: Lived Religion in the "Dying Field" chapter abstractChapter three explores how American theologies of prosperity are appropriated by viewers in Jamaica. As neoliberalism exports the utopian ideal of the "free market" to countries around the globe, developing countries are often confined by the realities of their local often underdeveloped and/or exploited (exploitable) markets. Living under challenging economic pressures, local Jamaicans make sense of imported gospels of prosperity by developing more complicated, relative understandings of the nature of prosperity. Those in the viewing audience who receive messages of health and wealth in the face of poverty and affliction often interpret prosperity as relative in terms of time, space and constitution. 4"Female Televangelists and the Gospel of Sexual Redemption" chapter abstractChapter four looks at the phenomenal influence of women televangelists. It argues that women's ascendance in religious broadcasting is often influenced by their personal testimonies of sexual trauma and God's power to redeem and restore their lives. Their "gospels of sexual redemption" recalling experiences of rape, incest, early pregnancy, divorce and sexual promiscuity opens up important, though limited, discursive space for the discussion of sexuality among female religious viewers. The chapter discusses evangelists Paula White and Joyce Meyer, giving particular attention to the influence of Juanita Bynum, an African American woman whose testimony of abuse and sexual promiscuity garnered her tremendous popularity in the US and abroad. 5Redeeming Sexuality chapter abstractChapter five examines how the social and economic conditions in which Jamaican women find themselves often inform their experiences of sexuality. These experiences in turn influence how women relate to the messages of sexual redemption preached by televangelists. The chapter argues that while religious broadcasting offers a conservative approach to the practice of sexuality, confining sexual activity to marriage and offering a masculinist narrative of female submission to male authority, it also offers women an opportunity to redefine their sexual histories and make sense of personal tragedy. For women from traditional religious backgrounds, the personal theodicies of women evangelists who share their stories of abuse, out of wedlock childbirth and sexual promiscuity offer viewers opportunities to recast their own sexual histories in light of redemptive narratives. 6"Distributing the Message: Globalization and the Spread of Black Televangelism" chapter abstractChapter six explores the power of distributors and the meanings of race in the global market. Scholars of religious broadcasting have long discussed the influence of politically and theologically conservative Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the largest religious cable network in the world. This chapter explores the emergence of black owned networks and networks which cater to "urban" African American markets, such as TV One in the United States and Mercy and Truth Ministries and Love TV in Jamaica, which make room for a different kind of religious broadcasting format, presumably informed by different social commitments. It asks how these new outlets for religious broadcasting negotiate the demands of the neoliberal marketplace and attempt to create an alternative vision of the intersection of religion and the market in a post-civil rights, post-apartheid, post-colonialist historical moment. 7"Conclusion: Voices of the Next Generation" chapter abstractThe Conclusion focuses on the increasing influence of the Internet, over and against religious television broadcasting. Here questions are raised as to how the emergence of the Internet, like the shift to paid time broadcasting in the 1960s, might ultimately reshape religious broadcasting. Focused on the success of a ministry in Atlanta, Ga that has grown largely through internet broadcasting, the final chapter wonders whether, given the changes in technology, whether the the contours of what we have come to understand as popular religion will eventually shift to something that moves beyond prosperity messages and self help proclamations? As the democratization of religious media through the internet and social media sites takes full shape, it is likely that popular religious media narratives will be disrupted by people from across the globe and the theological spectrum, not just those savvy and wealthy enough to survive on religious television.

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Book SynopsisThe civil rights movement was arguably the most successful social movement in US history. In this assessment, David Chappell argues that the story of civil rights is not a story of the ultimate triumph of liberal ideas after decades of gradual progress, but of the power of religious tradition.

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Book SynopsisResponsibility is the queen of modern virtues, Winston Davis argues, even if there is no consensus as to what responsibility means. These essays, by scholars of philosophy, anthropology, history, religious studies, classics and law, encompass conceptions of responsibility around the globe.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisIlluminates the creative strategies playwrights used to grapple with religion.Trade Review"Helps us see secularization in a new light." * American Quarterly *"Craig Prentisss compelling study, Staging Faith, illuminates the intersections of African American dramaturgy and theology. This original book methodically and brilliantly probes the nuances of Christian and Afro-centric religious influences. It is one of the most original and engaging studies on African American theater, enriching the field and advancing the subject in new and invigorating ways." -- David Krasner,author of A Beautiful Pageant"Establishes both the significance of theater to African American religion and the importance of religious themes to a range of early 20th century playwrights. Through lively descriptions of the plays themselves, compelling analysis of central themes, and careful attention to historical context, Prentiss provides an exciting new perspective on African Americans varied religious experiences and expressions as well as understandings of the place of religion in social and political life. This volume is a must read for anyone interested in understanding how African Americans worked through the arts to define, discuss, and debate the importance of religious ideas, institutions, and practices." -- Judith Weisenfeld,author of Hollywood Be Thy Name: African American Religion in American Film, 1929-1949"Prentiss contributes a vital work on a rich area of African American artistic culture . . . brings a careful eye and robust discussion to works that were not only labors of artistic love, but also platforms for social change. He sets groundwork for the continued investigation of African American theater as a vehicle through which possibilities for black spiritual, political, and social life expanded in great measure." -- Kyle Brooks * Practical Matters *"Craig Prentiss surveys a range of theatrical responses to organized religion and personal faith by African American playwrights in the first half of the twentieth century. As he notes, correctly, analysis of and theorizing about representations of religion, especially Christianity are underrepresented in studies of African-American drama.Staging Faithis an excellent pioneer in terms of addressing that lack." * Studies of Theatre and Performance *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Setting the Stage 2 New Territory 3 Lynching and the Faraway God 4 Caught within the Shadow 5 Blackness in the Image of God Conclusion List of Acronyms Notes Selected Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisIlluminates the creative strategies playwrights used to grapple with religion.Trade Review"Helps us see secularization in a new light." * American Quarterly *"Craig Prentisss compelling study, Staging Faith, illuminates the intersections of African American dramaturgy and theology. This original book methodically and brilliantly probes the nuances of Christian and Afro-centric religious influences. It is one of the most original and engaging studies on African American theater, enriching the field and advancing the subject in new and invigorating ways." -- David Krasner,author of A Beautiful Pageant"Establishes both the significance of theater to African American religion and the importance of religious themes to a range of early 20th century playwrights. Through lively descriptions of the plays themselves, compelling analysis of central themes, and careful attention to historical context, Prentiss provides an exciting new perspective on African Americans varied religious experiences and expressions as well as understandings of the place of religion in social and political life. This volume is a must read for anyone interested in understanding how African Americans worked through the arts to define, discuss, and debate the importance of religious ideas, institutions, and practices." -- Judith Weisenfeld,author of Hollywood Be Thy Name: African American Religion in American Film, 1929-1949"Prentiss contributes a vital work on a rich area of African American artistic culture . . . brings a careful eye and robust discussion to works that were not only labors of artistic love, but also platforms for social change. He sets groundwork for the continued investigation of African American theater as a vehicle through which possibilities for black spiritual, political, and social life expanded in great measure." -- Kyle Brooks * Practical Matters *"Craig Prentiss surveys a range of theatrical responses to organized religion and personal faith by African American playwrights in the first half of the twentieth century. As he notes, correctly, analysis of and theorizing about representations of religion, especially Christianity are underrepresented in studies of African-American drama.Staging Faithis an excellent pioneer in terms of addressing that lack." * Studies of Theatre and Performance *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Setting the Stage 2 New Territory 3 Lynching and the Faraway God 4 Caught within the Shadow 5 Blackness in the Image of God Conclusion List of Acronyms Notes Selected Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisWho was Elizabeth Tuttle?In most histories, she is a footnote, a blip. At best, she is a minor villain in the story of Jonathan Edwards, perhaps the greatest American theologian of the colonial era. Many historians consider Jonathan Edwards a theological genius, wildly ahead of his time, a Puritan hero. Elizabeth Tuttle was Edwards's crazy grandmother, the one whose madness and adultery drove his despairing grandfather to divorce.In this compelling and meticulously researched work of micro-history, Ava Chamberlain unearths a fuller history of Elizabeth Tuttle. It is a violent and tragic story in which anxious patriarchs struggle to govern their households, unruly women disobey their husbands, mental illness tears families apart, and loved ones die sudden deaths. Through the lens of Elizabeth Tuttle, Chamberlain re-examines the common narrative of Jonathan Edwards's ancestry, giving his long-ignored paternal grandmother a voice. Tracing this story into tTrade ReviewThis fascinating revision of the tragic story of Jonathan Edwards' 'crazy grandmother' is one of the most important books in Edwards studies in many years. This book is a must reading for Edwards scholars, historians of gender, sex, power, and mental illness in America, and anyone else interested in New England cultural history. * Sweeney's Booknotes *Chamberlain's book does far more than make a signal contribution to Edwards studies. Even readers with no investment in Edwards will find her book a remarkably reliable and expansive treatment of marriage, family, and gender relations in colonial New England. * The Journal of Religion *The overall result is inspiring. At the very least, her monograph should be appreciated as a foil to the plentiful trade books that roll off the presses each year which show little or no interaction with manuscripts and primary sources, and simply repackage the same stories in a different style of prose. * CHURCH HISTORY *This book will be very valuable for those studying early American history, sociology, and religion. * Choice *Scholarly and careful, Chamberlain tells a vivid story about how history itself is constructed according to each era's own desires. * Boston Sunday Globe *Chamberlain is sure-footed and imaginative as she scampers over the four centuries of the aftermath of a troubled life. -- Bruce C. Daniels * The Journal of American History *For any scholar thinking through the challenges of working with incomplete, inconclusive, or absent archives, the book is both a model and a small triumph. -- Jordan Alexander Stein * Early American Literature *Long before there was Lizzie Borden, there were ax murders, insanity, and torn families in New England. No one has tackled the issues of domestic violence, divorce, murder, and madness in colonial New England in the masterly way that Chamberlain does in this historical detective story. The saga of Elizabeth Tuttle and her extended family sheds a light on the sometimes unpleasant realities of a romanticized past. At every turn, the author grounds the individual tragedies of Elizabeth and her families in the rich context of early modern Anglo-American society, drawing meaning from individual events. Anyone interested in seriously confronting the true past behind Elizabeth's grandson Jonathan Edwards, America's most influential religious figure, must come to grips with this revealing study. -- Kenneth P. Minkema,Executive Editor, Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale UniversityThis is a lucid, insightful and persuasive publication. Making the most of fragmentary evidence, Chaberlain weaves a compelling and ingenious narrative that challenges the centuries-old myth about Elizabeth Tuttle. This work is an especially necessary corrective to the cottage industry that has generated extensive scholarship on and about Jonathan Edwards over the last several decades; one which tends to focus more often on this minister's theology and ethics than on the social and historical circumstances of his family life....This book will ensure that historical context, family dynamics and gender relations are essential aspects of the Edwardsian legacy. -- Janet Moore Lindman * Women's History Review *With indefatigable thoroughness, lucid prose, and a clear eye for interpersonal dynamics embedded in court records, Ava Chamberlain has left no stone unturned in describing the tragic aspect of the Edwards family's history. Students of colonial New England will find this deep investigation into the life and legacy of Elizabeth Tuttle nothing less than enthralling. -- Amanda Porterfield,Florida State UniversityThe Notorious Elizabeth Tuttle is a pleasure to read. Its compact size, clear and graceful prose, and layered insights into the enduring nature of American attitudes toward gender and family would make it easily adaptable for classroom use. -- Michelle Marchetti Coughlin * The New England Quarterly *Ava Chamberlain has constructed an amazing little book using shards, simple ingenuity, and adroitly focused scholarship upending a 300 year old myth about Elizabeth Tuttle, the allegedly crazed, sex-starved, divorced grandmother of the great eighteenth-century Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards. Chamberlain recovers a woman who exemplified the tragedy of a failed marriage in a society that, disastrously for Tuttle, saw poisonous accusation as the only way to explain common human foibles. That Tuttle's painful saga opened the way for the careers of both Jonathan Edwards and his father Timothy is only one of the ironies exposed by Chamberlain's ingenious book. -- Jon Butler,Yale UniversityRecovering a lost chapter of early American intellectual and religious history, Chamberlain reveals not a harridan but a woman whose life was ruined by wrong choices and inconsolable griefs. * Publishers Weekly *Ava Chamberlain's The Notorious Elizabeth Tuttle: Marriage, Murder, and Madness in the Family of Jonathan Edwards is an excellent example of just how interesting and worthwhile a microhistorical study can be if done well. * Philobiblios *Chamberlains book does far more than make a signal contribution to Edwards studies. Even readers with no investment in Edwards will find her book a remarkably reliable and expansive treatment of marriage, family, and gender relations in colonial New England. * Journal of Religion *In Ava Chamberlain's new book [...] she produces a groundbreaking microhistory that is inspiring in its meticulous research. [Her] book is inspiring. * Exploring the Study of Religious History *Chamberlain's book is a powerful, useful, and smart work of history. * H-Net *Chamberlain (religion, Wright State Univ.), an expert on religion in Colonial America, beautifully displays her expertise in this microhistory about Puritan goodwife Elizabeth Tuttle, the paternal grandmother of theologian Jonathan Edwards...Chamberlain paints a more human and sympathetic portrait. She condenses an immense amount of information into a relatively short book, with extensive notes showcasing the depth of research. The lack of a written record by Tuttle herself is a drawback, but Chamberlain uses the many other primary sources surrounding Tuttles life to flesh out the narrative. This is a lovely book that will appeal to all readers intrigued by American history, womens history, gender studies, or religious studies. * Library Journal *Table of Contents[ 1 ] Hardy Puritan Pioneers [ 2 ] Three Struggling Patriarchs [ 3 ] A Brutal Murder [ 4 ] A Criminal Lunatic [ 5 ] A Messy Divorce [ 6 ] The Inheritance [ 7 ] Blood Will Tell

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Book SynopsisThe "Left Behind" series is about those "left behind" after Christ removes true believers, leaving everyone else to suffer seven years of Tribulation. This work assesses these novels and shows how the ultimate vision put forth by the series' authors inadvertently undermines itself as the series unfolds.Trade Review"A timely analysis of a religious movement that is quietly exercising enormous political influence today. Shuck's careful reading of LaHaye's troubling vision establishes unexpected connections with the leading edge of contemporary network culture." -- Mark C. Taylor,author of About Religion: Economies of Faith in Virtual Culture"With this book, Glenn W. Shuck establishes himself as one of the foremost scholars of American evangelical Christianity. This work is both wonderfully written and creative. Based on Shuck's even-handed and insightful analysis, the reader learns about the meaning and astonishing popularity of books about end times, especially the Left Behind series. Marks of the Beast provides a dynamic lens into the meaning of religion in modern times." -- Michael O. Emerson,Director, Du Bois Center for the Advanced Study of Religion and Race, University of Notre Dame"A provocative study." * Berkshire Eagle *"Well-researched work employing sociological, literary, and theological perspectives." * Choice *Table of ContentsContentsAcknowledgments Preface: About American Evangelicals Introduction: First Words on Last Things1 Signs of the Times: The Dispensational Background of Evangelical Prophecy Belief 2 Reluctant Rebels: The Left Behind Novels and the Politics of Evangelical Identity 3 The Emergence of the Network Culture/Beast System 4 Technologies of Transcendence: "Beast Religion" and the Dei?cation/Demonization of the Network Culture 5 Marks of the Beast: The Struggle for Evangelical Identity 6 Beast, Inc.: Evangelical Resistance and the Internalization of Evil Epilogue Notes Select Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisArgues that in understanding the ways Jews construct scripture, we begin to understand the ways Jews construct themselvesTrade ReviewSumming Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty. * Choice *Jewish Concepts of Scripture: A Comparative Introductionis a lucid, engaging, and creative project that promises to expand the ways in which we view the complex relationship between Judaism and its scriptures. This volume includes essays by experts in their fieldfrom antiquity to the presentwho, using their scholarly expertise, write essays that exhibit passion for the material refracted through a critical lens. Each essay deftly combines a general thesis supported by many examples and creative readings of scriptural texts.Jewish Concepts of Scripturewill dispel many false notions of the role the Hebrew Bible plays in the development of Judaism. It will introduce the reader to the textured way in which Jews throughout history embrace, subvert, sanctify, read and (mis) read, the formative canon of their tradition. -- Shaul Magid,Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein Professor of Jewish Studies, Indiana University Bloomington[T]he volume provides a broad chronological range and covers several of the major Jewish figures and movements. The contributors represent an excellent cadre of professors of Jewish Studies. Together, these essays provide a helpful way to examine the history of Judaism by allowing the reader to follow a single topic as it undergoes change and constant refinement. I would recommend it to a wide audience: Jewish and Christian theologians and biblical scholars, historians of Judaism, and professors of the history of Judaism. -- Tyler Mayfield * Religious Studies Review *The predominance of the historical-critical method has made Biblical studies a field in which religious affiliation is rarely engaged. This volume is a much needed corrective. . . . There really is no book like it—highly recommended! -- Gary Anderson,Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Notre DameFor anyone seeking to learn or teach about the role of the Bible in Jewish cultural and intellectual history, this book is the academic equivalent of a god-send. It presents cutting-edged research and is very specific in its insights, and yet it is also very clear, accessible, and comprehensive. A great contribution. -- Steven Weitzman,Daniel E. Koshland Professor of Jewish Culture and Religion, Stanford UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments 1 IntroductionBenjamin D. Sommer 2 Concepts of Scripture in the Synagogue Service Elsie Stern 3 Concepts of Scripture in Rabbinic JudaismSteven D. Fraade 4 Concepts of Scripture in the Schools of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Ishmael Azzan Yadin-Israel 5 Concepts of Scriptural Language in Midrash Benjamin D. Sommer 6 Concepts of Scripture among the Jews of the Medieval Islamic World Meira Polliack 7 Concepts of Scripture in the School of Rashi Robert A. Harris 8 Concepts of Scripture in Maimonides James A. Diamond 9 Concepts of Scripture in Nahmanides Aaron W. Hughes 10 Concepts of Scripture in Jewish Mysticism Moshe Idel 11 Concepts of Scripture in Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig Jonathan Cohen 12 The Pentateuch as Scripture and the Challenge of Biblical CriticismBaruch J. Schwartz 13 Concepts of Scripture in Yehezkel KaufmannJob Y. Jindo 14 Concepts of Scripture in Moshe GreenbergMarc Zvi Brettler 15 Concepts of Scripture in Mordechai Breuer Shalom Carmy 16 Scripture and Modern Israeli Literature Yael S. Feldman 17 Scripture and Israeli Secular CultureYair ZakovitchGlossary About the Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisArgues that, for supporters of Israel, there is good news and bad news - and that at the core, we are fundamentally misunderstanding the new relationship between American Jews and Israel.Trade Review"The New American Zionism offers an important challenge to the widely accepted belief that the relationship between American Jews and Israel has entered a time of crisis . . . . Sasson's corrective to recent scholarship on distancing from Israel helps to explain the enduring centrality that Israel holds in American Jewish life across generational cohorts . . . . Thanks to this study, the distancing hypothesis now has an alternate interpretation of American Jewish attitudes toward Israel." -- Noam Pianko * H-Net *"Theodore Sasson's new book - The New American Zionism - is a serious book. That is to say that in a field filled with the ignorant, the manipulative, and the charlatanic, Sasson offers a fact-based and measured analysis of the uneasy relationship between American Jews and Israel. That the release of this book did not make huge waves in the world of punditry is therefore just as unsurprising as it is unfortunate: Sasson doesn't hyperventilate a catchy theory of doom, and doesn't project a new era of flourishing relations. He paints an accurate, if complicated, picture of a changing relationship - changing for good and for bad and, at times, in ways yet to be decided." -- Shmuel Rosner * Jewish Journal *"Offers bad news for Israel's critics by providing good news about American Jews' relationship with Israel. Sasson's thoughtful, subtle, compelling analysis of American Jewish public opinions provides a rich and readable look at the multidimensional and ever-evolving ties Jews have with the Jewish State." -- Gil Troy,author of Why I am A Zionist: Israel, Jewish Identity and the Challenges of Today"Theodore Sasson challenges the often facile and sensational claims of the 'distancing' of American Jews from Israel in this well written, deeply researched and original book. He persuasively argues that a new and vital pluralism distinguishes the current relationship between American Jewry and the Jewish state, contesting the fashionable prophets of despair with a view of how passionately and directly American Jews actually engage with Israel . . . . An essential study of a highly contested and emotional issue and an important contribution to the field of Diaspora-homeland studies." -- Ilan Troen,Director, Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, Brandeis University"The New American Zionism emerges out of a decade-long debate among observers of American Jews, about whether Jewish attachments to Israel are waning. Sasson has quickly established himself as a skeptic of claims of distancing, and here he makes his strongest case yet, mounting an array of evidence that triangulates multiple methods and multiple data sources. Importantly, he treats thequestion of American Jewish engagement with Israel not simply as a matter of personal identities and feelings of attachment but of institutionalized collective behavior, shifting the terrain of the debate from social psychology to sociology." * Social Forces *"The New American Zionismis neither defense, nor lament, nor celebration, nor critique Readers can decide their own politics for themselves. This, along with the crisp prose, good opening primer on the history of the relationship, and rich focus-group data that bring in real peoples voices, make the book especially accessible to newcomers to the topic and well suited for undergraduate classes" * Social Forces *"How disconnected are American Jews from the State of Israel? Many have engaged with alarm the claims by commentators like Peter Beinart, who point to a waning enthusiasm young American Jews feel toward Israel. But is this an accurate picture? In his groundbreaking studyThe New American Zionism, Theodore Sasson analyzes several key but neglected indicators of American Jewish attitudes to add greater nuance to this question. Not only does he examine the fundamental problem raised by Beinart and others, he challenges the framework by which much scholarship has engaged with this loaded topic." * American Jewish History *"Sassons well-documented report may be a partial antidote to the recent Pew Report showing decreased religious affiliation among Jews. Despite the drop in centralized funding, overall giving to Israel has increased, and engagement by Americans with Israel is alive and well." * Publishers Weekly *"[] Theodore Sassons historical narrative,The New American Zionsimoffers a provocative multivocal rendition of the current discussions of the future of Israels longstanding, if sometimes vexed, relationship with United States Jewry" * Cultural Critique *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Mobilization 2. Advocacy and Activism 3. Fundraising and Philanthropy 4. Tourism and Immigration 5. Attitudes and Attachment 6. Direct Engagement Appendix: List of Organizations Glossary of Hebrew Terms Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisMost widely known for its adherents chanting "Hare Krishna" and distributing religious literature on the streets of American cities, the Hare Krishna movement was founded in New York City in 1965. This work explores dramatic changes in this religious movement over the course of two generations from its founding.Trade ReviewThis impressive volume is aptly named...Burke Rochford's latest book heartedly as a well done and sociologically informed case study. It is also quite well written, and flows well. -- James T. Richardson, International Journal for the Study of New ReligionsBurke Rochford is the most notable scholarly interpreter of Krishna Consciousness in America, and Hare Krishna Transformed is the most insightful and informative book written on the organizational evolution of the movement. -- David G. Bromley,Virginia Commonwealth UniversityEloquently written. . . . Highly Recommended. -- G.R. Thursby * Choice *E. Burke Rochford Jr.s Hare Krishna Transformed is a compelling example of the deep insights . . . the strength of this study is Rochfords meticulous data gathering. * Sociology of Religion *Longtime Hare Krishna observer Rochford shows that devotees, formerly known for their public chanting and controversial fundraising practices, have largely moved out of the temples, taken jobs, and established nuclear families. Using survey data and extensive interviews, Rochford investigates the attitudes of the original members' children (some of whom suffered abuse in the early Hare Krishna schools), the changing roles of women, differing modes of affiliation with the organization, and the increasing influence of Indian Hindu immigrants in what is formally known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). His findings are generally clear and convincing, and he lets the devotees speak for themselves in frequent quotes. . . . This story of accommodation within a movement that forged its identity through strict rejection of secular culture provides valuable insight into how new religions evolve. * Publishers Weekly *[Rochford] has constructed solid arguments that constitute a major contribution to his discipline. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 Growing Up 2 Family, Culture, and Change 3 Child Abuse4 Public Schooling and Identity5 Women's Voices6 Male Backlash 7 Moving On 8 Hindus and Hinduization 9 World Accommodation Appendix 1: Commitment, Involvement, and Leader Authority Measures Appendix 2: Data TablesNotesGlossary ReferencesIndex About the Author

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Book SynopsisProvides methodological and conceptual models for those interested in doing work with childrenTrade Review"In this timely volume, contributors from a range of disciplines seek to understand childrens perspectives on their religious beliefs and practices and their own spiritual lives. All of the contributors are highly sensitive to both the limitations and benefits of studying childrens own perceptions and experiences, and the book as a whole addresses a range of significant methodological and ethical issues regarding research of and with children. By taking seriously the voices and agency of children, the volume contributes to childhood and religious studies and speaks to all those who care about childrens moral, spiritual, and religious needs and capacities." -- Marcia Bunge,author of Children and Childhood in World Religions: Primary Sources and Texts" Ridgely has done a fine job assembling a mixture of diverse topics and approaches to childrens perspectives on spirituality and religious beliefs and practices. The combination of global case studies with useful methodological primers on such subjects as institutional review boards will appeal to a wide swath of social scientists of all stripes, as well as policy makers. Its comparative, interdisciplinary nature makes it a valuable resource for two of the most vibrant contemporary research fields, childhood studies and religious studies." -- Melissa Klapper,author of The Experiences of Immigrant Children in the United States, 1880-1925Table of ContentsForeword Acknowledgments IntroductionI. A Childist Approach to Theory and HistoryII . Using Ethnography to Talk with Contemporary ChildrenIII. Studying Children in SchoolsIV. Using Adult-Generated Material About Children: Sources and Methods for Accessing Children's Voices from the Past and Today Bibliography About the Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisPassing for what you are not--whether it is mulattos passing as white, Jews passing as Christian, or drag queens passing as women--can be a method of protection or self-defense. But it can also be a uniquely pleasurable experience, one that trades on the erotics of secrecy and revelation. It is precisely passing''s radical playfulness, the way it asks us to reconsider our assumptions and forces our most cherished fantasies of identity to self-destruct, that is centrally addressed in Passing: Identity and Interpretation in Sexuality, Race, and Religion. Identity in Western culture is largely structured around visibility, whether in the service of science (Victorian physiognomy), psychoanalysis (Lacan''s mirror stage), or philosophy (the Panopticon). As such, it is charged with anxieties regarding classification and social demarcation. Passing wreaks havoc with accepted systems of social recognition and cultural intelligibility, blurring the carefully-marked lines of raceTrade ReviewWigs, men's suits, and shocking posthumous disclosures: such are some stereotypical elements of passing lives. But this rich and stimulating collection maps a more varied territory of passing&38212;with its invisible differences, sly performances, and ‘chameleonic blood,' its compelled betrayals, fears of infiltration, and deeply desired poses. Passing details the terrors of such border crossings and the threats they pose to ways of knowing, indeed to identity itself. -- Carolyn Dinshaw,Director of The Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality at NYUIn Passing: Identity and Interpretations in Sexuality, Race, and Religion, editors Maria Carla Sanchez and Linda Schlossberg have assembled relevant cultural criticism by 10 scholars. * Publishers Weekly *Passing is a very useful contribution to the literature both on sexualities and the politics of identity generally...the analyses in Passing throw light not only on minority identities but also on more mainstream ones. * Sexualities 6(1) *Table of ContentsContributors: Michael Bronski, Karen McCarthy Brown, Bradley Epps, Judith Halberstam, Peter Hitchcock, Daniel Itzkovitz, Patrick O'Malley, Miriam Peskowitz, Maria C. Sanchez Linda Schlossberg, and Sharon Ullman

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewFraming his inquiry as a quest for understanding sacrificial motivation across traditions, this ambitious book combines theoretical explanations with historical surveys, finally concluding with moral judgments about the proper role of sacrifice in the contemporary world. -- Journal of the American Academy of ReligionA gripping book that simultaneously serves as an introduction to sacrifice, a proposal for a theory of sacrifice, a nuanced moral critique of sacrifice, and a vibrant study of ideas and practices of sacrifice in the Abrahamic traditions. All these dimensions form one cogent and compelling argument about the meaning and nature of sacrifice. Anyone who has ever wondered why humans sacrifice and why sacrifice is at the heart of so many religions will benefit from reading this book. -- Pamela Eisenbaum,Professor at Iliff School of Theology and author of Paul Was Not a ChristianDavid Weddle offers fresh insights into the myriad expressions of sacrifice found in the Abrahamic traditions. He grapples with a central dilemma in the study of religion: why do believers so readily embrace and engage in practices that involve some form of self-denial and renunciation? Deftly and cogently, the author illustrates the crucial interdependence between continual acts of sacrifice and formative religious beliefs. This elegantly written work makes a key contribution to theories of religion and human nature, and sheds new light on the practices and meanings of sacrifice in the Abrahamic faiths. -- Tazim Kassam,Syracuse University

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Book SynopsisTaking a contemporary look at the religiosity of black women, this work explores what is behind black women's intense loyalty to the church. It illuminates the spiritual sustenance the church provides black women, uncovers their critical assessment of the church's ministry, and interprets the consequences of their limited collective activism.Trade ReviewThis highly-readable book will be a valuable addition to library collections. * Choice *Wiggins captures voices normally taken for granted: the voices of African American female laity. Based on fieldwork, surveys, and semistructured interviews, the book reveals a complex representation of thirty-eight African American churchwomen from two congregations (one Baptist and one Church of God in Christ). * Journal of Religion *Daphne Wiggins has made a major contribution to our understanding of the religion, wisdom, and social power of African American women. This book should be required reading for church leaders, seminary professors, and sociologists of American religion who often take Black women's religiosity for granted. Wiggins offers us that rare gift found in the finest ethnographic studies, a vivid sense of the inner world of the people in their own voices. I learned something new on every page. A tour de force of insight and lively writing chock full of practical suggestions for improving church life. -- Robert M. Franklin,author of Another Day's Journey: Black Churches Confronting the American CrisisOffers laity, clergy and scholars a fresh angle of vision on the black church. Wiggins interviews contemporary black lay women and provides an empathetic description and incisive analysis of why black women are loyal to the black church. Taking seriously the women's theological reasons as well as sociological factors, her analysis is evenhanded yet provocative. Daphne Wiggins challenges scholars and members of the black church to move in new directions in this new millennium. The book has value for both the classroom and the pew. -- Marcia Y. Riggs,J. Erskine Love Professor of Christian Ethics, Columbia Theological SeminaryWiggins is offering us a legacy, something to help us understand in historical reflection why women are where they are, despite and because of the internal workings of black churches. . . . I am grateful for this important intervention into the study of black womens religious experiences. It offers us yet another opportunity to interpret the religious worlds of women whose lives are often unexamined. * The North Star *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Hearing from the Sisters 1 We Always Went to Church: Women and Religious Socialization 2 Where Somebody Knows My Name: The Culture of the Black Church 3 The Fuel That Keeps Me Going: Practical and Spiritual Assistance4 We Went to the Church for Everything: The Mission of the Church 5 If It Weren't for the Women: Female Labor and Leadership in the Church6 We're Part of the Same Culture: Racial Awareness and Religion 7 The Conclusion of the Matter Appendix I Appendix II Notes BibliographyIndex About the Author

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Book SynopsisThis tender memoir chronicles the early years of Sayyid Qutb, one of Egypt’s most influential radical Islamist thinkers and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.Trade Review“The child’s eye, feelings, emotions, as well as the comments of a grown-up writer present valuable information for students who are interested in the modern history of Egypt as well as those who are interested in the history of Egyptian culture. In addition, thebook provides scholars of Qutb’s ideology with the texture of life that produced, and still produces, such an ideology, in which the cry for social and political justice is mixed with a utopian adherence to a divine law.”—Nasr Abu-Zayd, author of Rethinking the Qur’an: Towards a Humanistic Hermeneutics.

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Book SynopsisExplores a moment of intense religious upheaval and transformation in France between 1880 and 1920. During this time, women became increasingly involved in faith-based organizations, engaging in social and political action both to expand women's rights and to ensure that religion remained part of the public debate about France's identity.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Principal OrganizationsIntroduction: Women and the Spiritual Revival of France Religious Identity and the Challenge of FeminismThe Development of Women’s "Ministries" in France Political Engagement, Community Voting Rights, and Women’s Pastorate Faith for Social Progress: Women, Social Action, and the Modernization of France A Voyage of Faith: Religious Women and International WorkBattling for God and Nation: Women, Religion, and the First World War ConclusionNotes BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisOne of the most prominent Sunni clerics in the Muslim world, Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi influences the discourse around matters central to the Islamic faith and to Islam's relationship with the West. He is the voice of the moderate current in contemporary Islam. In this volume, Polka explores al-Qaradawi's life and development as a Muslim scholar.Trade ReviewThis thorough study will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars, as well as policy-makers and experts, and anyone interested in what is happening in the contemporary Islamic world. Sagi Polka’s penetrating study of the worldview and methodology of today’s most influential Muslim, Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, is a monumental work.

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Book SynopsisIn the West we are accustomed to think of religion as centered in the personal quest for salvation or the longing for unchanging Being. This title analyzes the logic and inner meaning of such ritual structures as sacrifice and taboo, harvest festivals and rites of divine kingship, millenary movements, witchcraft, and much else.

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Book SynopsisExplores liturgical practice as formative for how three Victorian women poets imagined the world and their place in it and, consequently, for how they developed their creative and critical religious poetics. This new study rethinks several assumptions in the field: that Victorian women's faith commitments tended to limit creativity; that the contours of church experiences matter little for understanding religious poetry; and that gender is more significant than liturgy in shaping women's religious poetry.Exploring the import of bodily experience for spiritual, emotional, and cognitive forms of knowing, Karen Dieleman explains and clarifies the deep orientations of different strands of nineteenth-century Christianity, such as Congregationalism's high regard for verbal proclamation, Anglicanism's and Anglo-Catholicism's valuation of manifestation, and revivalist Roman Catholicism's recuperation of an affective aesthetic. Looking specifically at Elizabeth Barrett BroTrade Review“In our critical moment often obsessed with secularity, Dieleman’s breathtakingly original scholarship reminds us how lived religion and liturgy profoundly shaped the creative work of some of our most celebrated women writers. This groundbreaking book made me rethink everything I thought I knew about religion, poetry, and women in nineteenth-century England." -- Cynthia Scheinberg, author of Women’s Poetry and Religion in Victorian England: Jewish Identity and Christian Culture“Though applying a theoretical framework drawn from contemporary theology, Dieleman unquestionably displays her Victorianist credentials by combining her own fresh archival research with often incisive close readings.” * Review 19 *“Dieleman is particularly insightful when she describes the types of worship practiced in various ecclesial settings (Dissenting, Anglican, and roman Catholic).…[Her] sympathetic and wide reading of different worship settings in the nineteenth century opens up many useful lines of thought.” * Victorian Studies *“In a major new study of poetics and liturgical practises, Karen Dieleman makes an important intervention in approaches to women’s religious poetry. Rather than, she argues, the conventional assumption that faith limits poetry, women’s direct bodily experience of church worship shaped the form of their poems, and what she terms a ‘religious imaginary’ is often more important than gender in the development of religious poetics.…Religious Imaginaries is a rich, compelling, and innovative approach to women poets, and the inclusion of Procter with the usual pairing of Rossetti and Barrett Browning is a welcome attempt in adding this important woman and usually overlooked woman poet to the center of attention.” * Victorian Poetry’s “Guide to the Year's Work on Women Poets” *“Time has blurred distinctions between the remarkably many branches of nineteenth-century British Christianity, and although many careful studies of Christina Rossetti’s religious writings have paid homage to her intentions and sensibilities, fewer writers have taken the trouble to analyze their personal and institutional antecedents. Dieleman’s lucid arguments help clarify why Rossetti framed her idiosyncratic spiritual experiences as she did.” * Victorian Poetry’s “Guide to the Year's Work on the Pre-Raphaelites” *“Religious Imaginaries is an astute, learned, and original interdisciplinary study of the interconnections between the poetic practices of three women poets and the ‘religious imaginaries formed by and in response to liturgical practices’ (p. 2). …Dieleman combines expertise in church history, liturgy, biblical discourse and EBB scholarship with a syncretic theoretical framework.” * Victorian Poetry’s “Guide to the Year's Work on Elizabeth Barrett Browning” *“An excellent study. Dieleman resists the secularization narrative and explores the distinctive liturgical practices of different denominations and their influence on Victorian women poets. She wishes to reinstate the ‘affirmative and generative possibilities’ of church experience for women poets, particularly for Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti, and Adelaide Procter. Their poetic voices were shaped by their religious imaginings rather than simply by a set of doctrines, and Dieleman approaches her task by bringing together ‘the sensory and the affective, or the body, mind, and emotions.’” * The Year's Work in English Studies *

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Book SynopsisInvisible Agents shows how personal and deeply felt spiritual beliefs can inspire social movements and influence historical change. Conventional historiography concentrates on the secular, materialist, or moral sources of political agency.Trade Review“Despite the enormous richness of the literature on the history of religion in Africa, I can think of no other book which brings the insights of that literature to bear so directly and convincingly to the interpretation of modern political history.… This is a great book.”“Invisible Agents makes a major contribution to African historical scholarship….” * American Historical Review *“David Gordon makes a vital contribution to the history of religion and politics in Africa by taking seriously the idea that spirits have agency in the world of the living…. (T)he impact of this book will likely be quite visible.” * International Journal of African Historical Studies *“(Invisible Agents) clearly shows: there never was a ‘secular’ that was not contested and disturbed by spirits.” * H-Soz-u-Kult *“Anyone interested in Christianity or spirituality in Africa should read this book. Summing Up: Highly recommended.” * Choice *“(Invisible Agents) will be of interest not just to students of African history, but to those studying political imagination and its relationship to movement building.” * Book News *“David Gordon’s avowedly postsecular book places spirits right at the center of the story, and by doing so Gordon brings us closer than we have ever been before to sources of thought and inspiration that guided Africans’ actions in the political world.” * University of Michigan *

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Book SynopsisA breakthrough study of the underexamined lived experience of Islam, sexuality, and gender on the Swahili coast.Table of Contents* Glossary* Introduction Katrina Daly Thompson and Erin Stiles*Part One: Historical Transformations of Gender, Sexuality and Marriage*1: Schoolgirls and Women Teachers: Colonial Education and the Shifting Boundaries between Girls and Women in Zanzibar Corrie Decker*2: The Value of a Marriage: Missionaries, Ex-slaves, and the Legal Debates over Marriage in Colonial Pemba Island Elisabeth McMahon*3: Two Weddings in northern Mafia: Changes in Women's Lives in the 1960s Pat Caplan*Part Two: Contemporary Expressions of Coastal Femininity and Womanhood*4: Pleasure and Danger: Muslim Views on Sex and Gender in Zanzibar Nadine Beckmann*5: Sex and School on the Southern Swahili Coast: Adolescent Sexuality in the Context of Expanding Education in Rural Mtwara, Tanzania Meghan Halley*6: Learning to use Swahili Profanity and Sacred Speech: The Embodied Socialization of a Muslim Bride in Zanzibar Town Katrina Daly Thompson*7: Pleasure and Prohibitions: Reflections on Gender, Knowledge and Sexuality in Zanzibar Town Kjersti Larsen*Part Three: Defining Masculinity in Ritual and Marriage*8: Unsuitable Husbands: Allegations of Impotence in Zanzibari Divorce Suits Erin Stiles*9: Forming and Performing Swahili Manhood: Wedding Rituals of a Lamu Town Groom Rebecca Gearhart*10: Spirit Possession and Masculinity in Swahili Society Linda Giles*11: Being "A Good Muslim Man": Modern Aspirations and Polygynous Intentions in a Swahili Muslim Village Susi Keefe* Afterword Susan Hirsch* Notes* Bibliography* Index

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Book SynopsisA breakthrough study of the underexamined lived experience of Islam, sexuality, and gender on the Swahili coast.Table of Contents* Glossary* Introduction Katrina Daly Thompson and Erin Stiles*Part One: Historical Transformations of Gender, Sexuality and Marriage*1: Schoolgirls and Women Teachers: Colonial Education and the Shifting Boundaries between Girls and Women in Zanzibar Corrie Decker*2: The Value of a Marriage: Missionaries, Ex-slaves, and the Legal Debates over Marriage in Colonial Pemba Island Elisabeth McMahon*3: Two Weddings in northern Mafia: Changes in Women's Lives in the 1960s Pat Caplan*Part Two: Contemporary Expressions of Coastal Femininity and Womanhood*4: Pleasure and Danger: Muslim Views on Sex and Gender in Zanzibar Nadine Beckmann*5: Sex and School on the Southern Swahili Coast: Adolescent Sexuality in the Context of Expanding Education in Rural Mtwara, Tanzania Meghan Halley*6: Learning to use Swahili Profanity and Sacred Speech: The Embodied Socialization of a Muslim Bride in Zanzibar Town Katrina Daly Thompson*7: Pleasure and Prohibitions: Reflections on Gender, Knowledge and Sexuality in Zanzibar Town Kjersti Larsen*Part Three: Defining Masculinity in Ritual and Marriage*8: Unsuitable Husbands: Allegations of Impotence in Zanzibari Divorce Suits Erin Stiles*9: Forming and Performing Swahili Manhood: Wedding Rituals of a Lamu Town Groom Rebecca Gearhart*10: Spirit Possession and Masculinity in Swahili Society Linda Giles*11: Being "A Good Muslim Man": Modern Aspirations and Polygynous Intentions in a Swahili Muslim Village Susi Keefe* Afterword Susan Hirsch* Notes* Bibliography* Index

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Book SynopsisExplores liturgical practice as formative for how three Victorian women poets imagined the world and their place in it and, consequently, for how they developed their creative and critical religious poetics.Trade Review“In our critical moment often obsessed with secularity, Dieleman’s breathtakingly original scholarship reminds us how lived religion and liturgy profoundly shaped the creative work of some of our most celebrated women writers. This groundbreaking book made me rethink everything I thought I knew about religion, poetry, and women in nineteenth-century England." -- Cynthia Scheinberg, author of Women’s Poetry and Religion in Victorian England: Jewish Identity and Christian Culture“Though applying a theoretical framework drawn from contemporary theology, Dieleman unquestionably displays her Victorianist credentials by combining her own fresh archival research with often incisive close readings.” * Review 19 *“Dieleman is particularly insightful when she describes the types of worship practiced in various ecclesial settings (Dissenting, Anglican, and roman Catholic).…[Her] sympathetic and wide reading of different worship settings in the nineteenth century opens up many useful lines of thought.” * Victorian Studies *“In a major new study of poetics and liturgical practises, Karen Dieleman makes an important intervention in approaches to women’s religious poetry. Rather than, she argues, the conventional assumption that faith limits poetry, women’s direct bodily experience of church worship shaped the form of their poems, and what she terms a ‘religious imaginary’ is often more important than gender in the development of religious poetics.…Religious Imaginaries is a rich, compelling, and innovative approach to women poets, and the inclusion of Procter with the usual pairing of Rossetti and Barrett Browning is a welcome attempt in adding this important woman and usually overlooked woman poet to the center of attention.” * Victorian Poetry’s “Guide to the Year's Work on Women Poets” *“Time has blurred distinctions between the remarkably many branches of nineteenth-century British Christianity, and although many careful studies of Christina Rossetti’s religious writings have paid homage to her intentions and sensibilities, fewer writers have taken the trouble to analyze their personal and institutional antecedents. Dieleman’s lucid arguments help clarify why Rossetti framed her idiosyncratic spiritual experiences as she did.” * Victorian Poetry’s “Guide to the Year's Work on the Pre-Raphaelites” *“Religious Imaginaries is an astute, learned, and original interdisciplinary study of the interconnections between the poetic practices of three women poets and the ‘religious imaginaries formed by and in response to liturgical practices’ (p. 2). …Dieleman combines expertise in church history, liturgy, biblical discourse and EBB scholarship with a syncretic theoretical framework.” * Victorian Poetry’s “Guide to the Year's Work on Elizabeth Barrett Browning” *“An excellent study. Dieleman resists the secularization narrative and explores the distinctive liturgical practices of different denominations and their influence on Victorian women poets. She wishes to reinstate the ‘affirmative and generative possibilities’ of church experience for women poets, particularly for Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti, and Adelaide Procter. Their poetic voices were shaped by their religious imaginings rather than simply by a set of doctrines, and Dieleman approaches her task by bringing together ‘the sensory and the affective, or the body, mind, and emotions.’” * The Year's Work in English Studies *

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Book SynopsisAn ethnography of Afro-Brazilian religious traditions including Candomblé shows that the lines separating one tradition from another are much less fixed than anthropologists and Afro-Brazilian religious elites have maintained.Trade Review“[T]he volume still stands admirably on its own. . . . [A] fascinating survey of the history of the field. . . . Capone is especially illuminating in her reading of anthropology and its reification of tradition. . . . Capone’s frank reflections on the field are thought provoking and important. . . .” - Anadelia Romo, The Americas“Stefania Capone’s Searching for Africa in Brazil provides an important contribution to the study of Afro-American religions that highlights the intellectual, political, and ritualistic complexities of Candomblé. . . . Capone’s study is indeed a pivotal contribution to the discourse on Afro-Brazilian, Black Atlantic, and African Diasporic studies. Her argument is grounded in solid historical assessments of anthropological treatments of Afro-Brazilian religions, provides extensive footnotes that detail field work experiences of the author and pioneers in the field, and includes a comprehensive bibliography of works on Afro-American religions and Yoruba spirituality.” - Abu J. Toure, Journal of Religion in Africa“Anthropologists and anthropology graduate students will find this volume rich and rewarding. Historians such as myself will take much from the several chapters that trace the evolution of ideas about competing branches of Candomblé beliefs. Capone presents a forceful challenge to long-accepted anthropological methods of studying Candomblé (and, by extension, other religions), pointing out the problematic propensity of students to follow in their advisors’ footsteps by visiting the same sites.” - Walter Hawthorne, History: Reviews of New Books“The originality of this work lies in the disclosure of the incestuous unions between temple and university that together produced a particular version of African tradition. This kind of analysis is not new, but Capone’s study is particularly effective because of its anchoring in the close microstudy of the dramatic changes of ‘tradition’ in Candomblé as those very changes are then reworked as deeply African. . . . It would seem then that this triumph of the tropes of African ‘origins’ and ‘authenticity’ over their rivals in a meta-economy of signs, even for those not of African descent, a semiotic battle richly described in this work, offers pressing new questions for the next generation of research. Stefania Capone’s careful, intelligent study has laid the groundwork to make those sorts of reflections possible.” - Paul Christopher Johnson, Journal of the American Academy of Religion“[A]n excellent monograph about Afro-Brazilian religious traditions, in particular Umbanda and Candomblé.” - Bettina Schmidt, Journal of Religious History“Searching for Africa in Brazil is one of the most descriptively rich and analytically insightful treatments of AfroBrazilian religion to date. Every student and ethnographer of Candomblé will undoubtedly do their research a great service if they read this book.” - Emma Cohen, Critique of Anthropology“Searching for Africa in Brazil is a major piece of scholarship. Through careful historical research and vivid ethnographic detail, Stefania Capone demonstrates that conceptual pairs such as pure/impure, religious/magical, traditional/modernized, and communal/individualistic have long played a major role in highly self-conscious and overtly politicized representations of Afro-Brazilian religion. This is so both in regards to practitioners’ discourses aimed at legitimizing their forms of practice at the expense of their rivals’ and in regards to the changing views of anthropologists who sought a definitional monopoly over what could count as ‘African,’ ‘traditional,’ and so forth.”—Stephan Palmié, author of Wizards and Scientists: Explorations in Afro-Cuban Modernity and Tradition“The translation of this outstanding work into English is a real service to scholars. Searching for Africa in Brazil is a well researched and carefully argued examination of the ongoing disputations about the origins and transformations in Candomblé. Stefania Capone is particularly insightful regarding the role that outsiders have played in shaping disputes about authenticity, sources, and their relation to African origins.”—Anani Dzidzienyo, co-editor of Neither Enemies nor Friends: Latinos, Blacks, Afro-Latinos“Searching for Africa in Brazil is one of the most descriptively rich and analytically insightful treatments of AfroBrazilian religion to date. Every student and ethnographer of Candomblé will undoubtedly do their research a great service if they read this book.” -- Emma Cohen * Critique of Anthropology *“[A]n excellent monograph about Afro-Brazilian religious traditions, in particular Umbanda and Candomblé.” -- Bettina Schmidt * Journal of Religious History *“[T]he volume still stands admirably on its own. . . . [A] fascinating survey of the history of the field. . . . Capone is especially illuminating in her reading of anthropology and its reification of tradition. . . . Capone’s frank reflections on the field are thought provoking and important. . . .” -- Anadelia Romo * The Americas *“Anthropologists and anthropology graduate students will find this volume rich and rewarding. Historians such as myself will take much from the several chapters that trace the evolution of ideas about competing branches of Candomblé beliefs. Capone presents a forceful challenge to long-accepted anthropological methods of studying Candomblé (and, by extension, other religions), pointing out the problematic propensity of students to follow in their advisors’ footsteps by visiting the same sites.” -- Walter Hawthorne * History: Reviews of New Books *“Stefania Capone’s Searching for Africa in Brazil provides an important contribution to the study of Afro-American religions that highlights the intellectual, political, and ritualistic complexities of Candomblé. . . . Capone’s study is indeed a pivotal contribution to the discourse on Afro-Brazilian, Black Atlantic, and African Diasporic studies. Her argument is grounded in solid historical assessments of anthropological treatments of Afro-Brazilian religions, provides extensive footnotes that detail field work experiences of the author and pioneers in the field, and includes a comprehensive bibliography of works on Afro-American religions and Yoruba spirituality.” -- Abu J. Toure * Journal of Religion in Africa *“The originality of this work lies in the disclosure of the incestuous unions between temple and university that together produced a particular version of African tradition. This kind of analysis is not new, but Capone’s study is particularly effective because of its anchoring in the close microstudy of the dramatic changes of ‘tradition’ in Candomblé as those very changes are then reworked as deeply African. . . . It would seem then that this triumph of the tropes of African ‘origins’ and ‘authenticity’ over their rivals in a meta-economy of signs, even for those not of African descent, a semiotic battle richly described in this work, offers pressing new questions for the next generation of research. Stefania Capone’s careful, intelligent study has laid the groundwork to make those sorts of reflections possible.” -- Paul Christopher Johnson * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations vii Preface to the American Edition ix Acknowledgments xi Some Notes on Orthography and Pronunciation xiii Introduction 1 Part I. The Metamorphoses of Exu 1. The Messenger of the Gods: Exu in Afro-Brazilian Religions 35 2. The Spirits of Darkness: Exu and Pombagira in Umbanda 69 Part II. Ritual Practice 3. The Religious Continuum 95 4. Reorganizing Sacred Space 121 5. Contesting Power 143 Part III. The Construction of Tradition 6. Exu and the Anthropologists 173 7. In Search of Lost Origins 203 8. Which Africa? Which Tradition? 233 Conclusion 255 Glossary 263 Notes 269 Bibliography 297 Index 311

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Book SynopsisIn Islam and Secularity Nilüfer Göle examines the transforming relationship between Islam and Western secular modernity and the impact of the Muslim presence in Europe. She demonstrates that Islam and secularism are mutually constitutive, constantly changing, and that the presence of Islam unsettles dominant narratives of Western modernism.Trade Review"Once again, then, Göle attends simultaneously to the asymmetries of power and the dynamics of reinvention—the hallmark more generally of this readable, analytically complex, and timely new book." -- Mayanthi Fernando * Reading Religion *"Göle’s contributions are manifold. . . . This work is a must-read for a graduate seminar on the topic. It is highly recommended for both researchers and nonprofessionals." -- Hakan Erdagöz * Sociology of Religion *"Islam and Secularity makes for very rewarding and stimulating reading. It is exceptionally well suited to relocate debates about European secularity and Islam into global and historical perspectives. Concise and clearly written, the book is packed with wide-ranging arguments that will challenge the reader on many levels and with fascinating case studies." -- Frank Peter * Journal of Islamic Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix 1. Public Sphere beyond Religious-Secular Dichotomies 1 2. Secular Modernity in Question 31 3. Religious-Secular Frontiers: State, Public Sphere, and the Self 53 4. Web of Secular Power: Civilization, Space, and Sexuality 73 5. The Gendered Nature of the Public Sphere 103 6. Public Islam: New Visibilities and New Imaginaries 135 7. Public Culture, Art, and Islam: Turkish-Delight in Vienna 161 8. Europe's Trouble with Islam: What Future? 193 Notes 227 Bibliography 243 Index 257

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Book SynopsisIn Islam and Secularity Nilüfer Göle examines the transforming relationship between Islam and Western secular modernity and the impact of the Muslim presence in Europe. She demonstrates that Islam and secularism are mutually constitutive, constantly changing, and that the presence of Islam unsettles dominant narratives of Western modernism.Trade Review"Once again, then, Göle attends simultaneously to the asymmetries of power and the dynamics of reinvention—the hallmark more generally of this readable, analytically complex, and timely new book." -- Mayanthi Fernando * Reading Religion *"Göle’s contributions are manifold. . . . This work is a must-read for a graduate seminar on the topic. It is highly recommended for both researchers and nonprofessionals." -- Hakan Erdagöz * Sociology of Religion *"Islam and Secularity makes for very rewarding and stimulating reading. It is exceptionally well suited to relocate debates about European secularity and Islam into global and historical perspectives. Concise and clearly written, the book is packed with wide-ranging arguments that will challenge the reader on many levels and with fascinating case studies." -- Frank Peter * Journal of Islamic Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix 1. Public Sphere beyond Religious-Secular Dichotomies 1 2. Secular Modernity in Question 31 3. Religious-Secular Frontiers: State, Public Sphere, and the Self 53 4. Web of Secular Power: Civilization, Space, and Sexuality 73 5. The Gendered Nature of the Public Sphere 103 6. Public Islam: New Visibilities and New Imaginaries 135 7. Public Culture, Art, and Islam: Turkish-Delight in Vienna 161 8. Europe's Trouble with Islam: What Future? 193 Notes 227 Bibliography 243 Index 257

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Book SynopsisIn Gesture and Power Yolanda Covington-Ward examines the everyday embodied practices and performances of the BisiKongo people of the lower Congo to show how their gestures, dances, and spirituality are critical in mobilizing social and political action.Trade Review"This is a study of religious dynamism, as people update earlier symbolic behavior to seek fulfillment in ever-changing circumstances. Attention to west-central African dance histories and evocative descriptions of the author’s participation in performance events enrich the study, with a chapter on 'dancing disorder' during the dictatorial days of Mobutu Sese Seko among the book’s strongest contributions to humanistic Africanist literature. . . . Highly recommended. All academic levels/libraries." -- A. F. Roberts * Choice *"Gesture and Power is an extraordinary work. . . . [It] provides serious and fertile historical and ethnographic material and offers a solid methodological format and an insightful perspective on African embodied politics and religious practices in both the past and the present." -- Annalisa Butticci * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *"[Covington-Ward's] attention to the microdynamics of gesture brings the study of rite and ritual into the domain of the evetyday and highlights the profundity of common acts as makers of religious and political meaning. In doing so, she raises questions about position and positionality that are pertinent beyond the powerful dynamics of religion and politics in Congo." -- Emma Wild-Wood * Church History *"A tremendous amount of labor went into this study and the end product is a compelling, engaging, intelligent, and enjoyable text, a fine scholarly contribution to the literature on religion in Central Africa. Small wonder thus that the book is adorned with glowing endorsements on the back cover by such distinguished anthropologists of African religion as Paul Stoller and Bennetta Jules-Rosette." -- Terry Rey * Religion *"A fine blend of Congo’s colonial history, an impressive page of Cultural anthropology, an introduction to African body/performance studies, and a crisp work on sociology of religion. . . . One of the finest works on ethnography given its style of description, rich theoretical background, and methodology." -- Adfer Rashid Shah * African Studies Quarterly *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: Gesture and Power 1 I. Performative Encounters, Political Bodies 1. Neither Native nor Stranger: Places, Encounters, Phophecies 37 II. Spirits, Bodies, and Performance in Belgian Congo 2. "A War between Soldiers and Prophets": Embodied Resistance in Colonial Belgian Congo, 1921 71 3. Threatening Gestures, Immoral Bodies: Kingunza after Kimbangu 107 III. Civil Religion and Performed Politics in Postcolonial Congo 4. Dancing with the Invisible: Everyday Performances under Mobutu Sese Seko 137 5. Dancing Disorder in Mobutu's Zaire: Animation Politique and Gendered Nationalisms 165 IV. Re-creating the Past, Performing the Future 6. Bundu dia Kongo and Embodied Revolutions: Performing Kongo Pride, Transforming Modern Society 187 Conclusion: Privileging Gesture and Bodies in Studies of Religion and Power 227 Glossary 233 Notes 235 References 253 Index 275

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Book SynopsisIn Gesture and Power Yolanda Covington-Ward examines the everyday embodied practices and performances of the BisiKongo people of the lower Congo to show how their gestures, dances, and spirituality are critical in mobilizing social and political action.Trade Review"This is a study of religious dynamism, as people update earlier symbolic behavior to seek fulfillment in ever-changing circumstances. Attention to west-central African dance histories and evocative descriptions of the author’s participation in performance events enrich the study, with a chapter on 'dancing disorder' during the dictatorial days of Mobutu Sese Seko among the book’s strongest contributions to humanistic Africanist literature. . . . Highly recommended. All academic levels/libraries." -- A. F. Roberts * Choice *"Gesture and Power is an extraordinary work. . . . [It] provides serious and fertile historical and ethnographic material and offers a solid methodological format and an insightful perspective on African embodied politics and religious practices in both the past and the present." -- Annalisa Butticci * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *"[Covington-Ward's] attention to the microdynamics of gesture brings the study of rite and ritual into the domain of the evetyday and highlights the profundity of common acts as makers of religious and political meaning. In doing so, she raises questions about position and positionality that are pertinent beyond the powerful dynamics of religion and politics in Congo." -- Emma Wild-Wood * Church History *"A tremendous amount of labor went into this study and the end product is a compelling, engaging, intelligent, and enjoyable text, a fine scholarly contribution to the literature on religion in Central Africa. Small wonder thus that the book is adorned with glowing endorsements on the back cover by such distinguished anthropologists of African religion as Paul Stoller and Bennetta Jules-Rosette." -- Terry Rey * Religion *"A fine blend of Congo’s colonial history, an impressive page of Cultural anthropology, an introduction to African body/performance studies, and a crisp work on sociology of religion. . . . One of the finest works on ethnography given its style of description, rich theoretical background, and methodology." -- Adfer Rashid Shah * African Studies Quarterly *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: Gesture and Power 1 I. Performative Encounters, Political Bodies 1. Neither Native nor Stranger: Places, Encounters, Phophecies 37 II. Spirits, Bodies, and Performance in Belgian Congo 2. "A War between Soldiers and Prophets": Embodied Resistance in Colonial Belgian Congo, 1921 71 3. Threatening Gestures, Immoral Bodies: Kingunza after Kimbangu 107 III. Civil Religion and Performed Politics in Postcolonial Congo 4. Dancing with the Invisible: Everyday Performances under Mobutu Sese Seko 137 5. Dancing Disorder in Mobutu's Zaire: Animation Politique and Gendered Nationalisms 165 IV. Re-creating the Past, Performing the Future 6. Bundu dia Kongo and Embodied Revolutions: Performing Kongo Pride, Transforming Modern Society 187 Conclusion: Privileging Gesture and Bodies in Studies of Religion and Power 227 Glossary 233 Notes 235 References 253 Index 275

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