Search results for ""author kevin j. o'brien""
Baylor University Press An Introduction to Christian Environmentalism
Book SynopsisExamines seven contemporary environmental challenges through the lens of classical Christian virtues. Authors Kathryn Blanchard and Kevin O'Brien use these classical Christian virtues to seek a golden mean between extreme positions by pairing each virtue with a pernicious environmental problem.Table of Contents Introduction: Seven Virtues, Seven Problems, One World 1. Christian Eco-Virtue--In Search of the Golden Mean 2. Prudence--Among Selfless Conservation and Self-Interested Stewardship of Other Species 3. Courage--Among Fossil Fuels, Alternative Energies, and Sabbath Living 4. Temperance--Among Communal Production and Personal Consumption of Food 5. Justice--Among Revolution and Reform In the Fight Against Environmental Injustice 6. Faith--Among Personal, Political, and Technological Responses to Climate Change 7. Hope--Among Despair and Presumption about Human Fertility 8. Love--Among Public Protest and Personal Transformation Conclusion: Practicing Virtue in a "World of Wounds"
£46.80
Harvard University Press Popular Protest in China
Book SynopsisUnrest in China, from the dramatic events of 1989 to more recent stirrings, offers a rare opportunity to consider how popular contention unfolds in places where speech and assembly are tightly controlled. The contributors to this volume argue that ideas inspired by social movements elsewhere can help explain popular protest in China.Trade ReviewThis is a much needed book that will rightfully attract a great deal of attention. The Introduction is a masterful guide to the range of analytical issues concerning contentious politics, and the quality of the research, analysis, and writing throughout is impressive. -- Marc Blecher, Oberlin CollegeThis important book will interest both China specialists and social movement scholars. The essays cover many major issues in popular contention and protest in China, including labor rights, the environment, the internet, and religion, and offer valuable insights into such understudied topics as protest leaders and the effects of transnational activism. -- Mary E. Gallagher, University of MichiganA valuable addition to the studies of social movements and Chinese politics, Popular Protest in China provides a lively account of various forms of social resistance in a non-democratic environment. The wide range of assembled research encompasses a rich empirical spectrum of collective action from workers' strikes to internet contention, from environmental campaigns to religious dissent, and from openly organized or spontaneous assemblies to underground mobilizations. We find in the book many of the same stories on contemporary Chinese insurgence covered recently by the media but with much more complexity, nuance and depth. -- Xiaodan Zhang * Contemporary Sociology *This book defines its aim as to "nudge the study of contentious politics and China a step closer together." This is a welcome goal in the study of Chinese popular protests, and the book delivers what it promises. At the same time, it provides a wealth of information on contemporary contentious politics in China. Most articles in the book manage to be both theoretically interesting and to provide new information...Everyone interested in contemporary Chinese protests and social movements will find the book worth reading. It also calls for further research using concepts from studies in contentious politics. The book thus raises the level of theoretical debate by asking how well these concepts travel to China and what China can give back to them. -- Lauri Paltemaa * China Journal *Two decades of citizen action in China since 1989 have presented social movement scholars with a goldmine. A veteran scholar of Chinese protest, Kevin O'Brien, brings out this edited volume to showcase a group of experienced field researchers, continuing an effort to build a dialogue between Chinese experiences and the Western-honed theoretical models. The book is a welcome addition to the literature, as movement theorists have for years lamented the lack of lessons learned through a broadened comparative scope. -- Yang Su * China Quarterly *As Kevin O'Brien and Rachel Stern explain in their introductory chapter, the volume is designed as a springboard for new research. In that respect, they succeed marvelously. This book is highly recommended for graduate courses on contemporary Chinese politics and to anyone interested in state-society relations in China. -- James Reilly * Journal of Chinese Political Science *This fine collection of chronicles of what were largely short-lived episodes of disturbance and appeal, paired with analyses of what kept them so, sheds much light on the situation of protest in China today. The individual pieces, most of them drawing attention to novel aspects of expressing dissent in contemporary China, and new means of doing so, are all gems. Almost every one of them improves on work the authors published earlier on the same topics they write on here. But these new essays possess much more relevance to the au courant comparative social movements, "political process" approach--one that account for protest by reference to structural and ideational factors, as well as to the resources available to protesters. The extent of the theoretical and comparative material consulted and assimilated in pretty much every chapter is extremely impressive. -- Dorothy Solinger * China Perspectives *Overall, the book has several strengths that make it a valuable contribution to the literature on popular contention as well as to the study of China more generally. It includes informative cases that reflect some of the contemporary challenges facing the Chinese state. Furthermore, the individual chapters offer detailed reviews of the literature and build on one another quite well, so that the book reads as a unified body of work rather than a disjointed collection of essays, as sometimes occurs with edited volumes. Together, the essays offer a nuanced assessment of the factors contributing to the successes and failures of different protests, and have a nice combination of both historical and contemporary protests to discern important areas of convergence and divergence...The book is highly recommended for a wide audience, and it is a must-read for anyone who is interested in what the future holds for the state of protest in China. -- Carrie Liu Currier * Journal of Asian Studies *Table of Contents* Acknowledgments * Prologue: The New Contentious Politics in China: Poor and Blank or Rich and Complex? Sidney Tarrow * Introduction: Studying Contention in Contemporary China Kevin J. O'Brien and Rachel E. Stern * Student Movements in China and Taiwan Teresa Wright * Collective Petitioning and Institutional Conversion Xi Chen * Mass Frames and Worker Protest William Hurst * Worker Leaders and Framing Factory-Based Resistance Feng Chen * Recruitment to Protestant House Churches Carsten T. Vala and Kevin J. O'Brien * Contention in Cyberspace Guobin Yang * State-Society Relations and Environmental Campaigns Yanfei Sun and Dingxin Zhao * Disruptive Collective Action in the Reform Era Yongshun Cai * Manufacturing Dissent in Transnational China Patricia M. Thornton * Permanent Rebellion? Continuities and Discontinuities in Chinese Protest Elizabeth J. Perry * Notes * Contributors * Index
£26.31
Stanford University Press Engaging the Law in China
Book SynopsisThis book explores legal mobilization, culture, and institutions in contemporary China from a perspective informed by 'law and society' scholarship.Trade Review"This remarkable, perspective-setting study of the evolutions in Chinese law and its place in a changing society [is] highly beneficial. One can only strongly encourage this type of research, whose multidisciplinary ambitions allow us to grasp, if not in its entirety, at least certain important aspects of a process that tends to make the law the best ally of an emerging social justice."—China Perspectives"Engaging the Law in China successfully spans the gap between different approaches to Chinese legal studies, and I hope we will see more along this line in the future. This book is highly recommended"—The China Journal"This book is an intrepid and worthy entry into the literature examining China's rapidly developing legal institutions, and especially laudable as a precedent for future investigations into the topic."Cambridge Law Journal"Their Diamant, Lubman, OBrien insights into the roles played by regulators, mediators, arbitrators, police, prosecutors, judges, legislators, and other local government and Communist Party officials leave no doubt that, however limited, imperfect and distinctive Chinas legal processes may be, there is a legal system at work in the P.R.C. and it is ever more important to the polity, economy and society of 1.3 billion people."—Far Eastern Economic Review"Engaging the Law in China heralds a rich set of findings in a promising field of study. It not only serves as an important benchmark for future research on the law in contemporary China but also for studies of Chinese state-society relations, past and present. This volume will make an important addition to any course considering these issues."—The China Quarterly"[T]his book is a valuable contribution to research on contemporary China. It can and should be read by individuals with a specific interest in Chinese legal studies, as well as by those with a general interest in state-society relations in the Chinese context."—Perspectives on Politics"This important book offers glimpses of this tension between state instrumentalism and social idealism and will be an invaluable addition to the growing literature on Chinese law."—Pacific Affairs"By exploring the means through which Chinese law is used by diverse groups against a multitude of parties, the authors of this work offer a refreshing outlook on the advancement of citizen's rights in China."—China Review International"This book truly stands alone as most of its chapters are not written by scholars with legal training but by social scientists for whom legal issues are at the core of the fieldwork."—Chinese Cross CurrentsTable of ContentsContents Part I. Introduction 1. Law and Society in the People's Republic of China Neil J. Diamant, Stanley B. Lubman, Kevin J. O'Brien Part II. Legal Mobilization and Culture 2. Suing the Local State: Administrative Litigation in Rural China Kevin J. O'Brien and Lianjiang Li 3. "Use the Law as Your Weapon"! The Rule of Law and Labor Conflict in the PRC Mary E. Gallagher 4. One Law, Two Interpretations: Mobilizing the Labor Law in Arbitration Committees and in Letters and Visits Bureaus Isabelle Thireau and Hua Linshan 5. What's in a Law?: China's Pension Reform and its Discontents Mark W. Frazier 6. Hollow Glory: The Politics of Rights and Identity among PRC Veterans in the 1950s Neil J. Diamant Part III. Legal Institutions 7. Shifting Legal and Administrative Goalposts: Chinese Bureaucracies, Foreign Actors and the Evolution of China's Anti-Counterfeiting Regime Andrew Mertha 8. Rethinking Law Enforcement and Society: Changing Police Analysis of Unrest Murray Scot Tanner 9. Punishing for Profit: Profitability and Rehabilitation in a Laojiao Institution H. L. Fu Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Justice, Administration of China
£21.59
Stanford University Press Engaging the Law in China
Book SynopsisThis book explores legal mobilization, culture, and institutions in contemporary China from a perspective informed by 'law and society' scholarship.Trade Review"This remarkable, perspective-setting study of the evolutions in Chinese law and its place in a changing society [is] highly beneficial. One can only strongly encourage this type of research, whose multidisciplinary ambitions allow us to grasp, if not in its entirety, at least certain important aspects of a process that tends to make the law the best ally of an emerging social justice."—China Perspectives"Engaging the Law in China successfully spans the gap between different approaches to Chinese legal studies, and I hope we will see more along this line in the future. This book is highly recommended"—The China Journal"This book is an intrepid and worthy entry into the literature examining China's rapidly developing legal institutions, and especially laudable as a precedent for future investigations into the topic."Cambridge Law Journal"Their Diamant, Lubman, OBrien insights into the roles played by regulators, mediators, arbitrators, police, prosecutors, judges, legislators, and other local government and Communist Party officials leave no doubt that, however limited, imperfect and distinctive Chinas legal processes may be, there is a legal system at work in the P.R.C. and it is ever more important to the polity, economy and society of 1.3 billion people."—Far Eastern Economic Review"Engaging the Law in China heralds a rich set of findings in a promising field of study. It not only serves as an important benchmark for future research on the law in contemporary China but also for studies of Chinese state-society relations, past and present. This volume will make an important addition to any course considering these issues."—The China Quarterly"[T]his book is a valuable contribution to research on contemporary China. It can and should be read by individuals with a specific interest in Chinese legal studies, as well as by those with a general interest in state-society relations in the Chinese context."—Perspectives on Politics"This important book offers glimpses of this tension between state instrumentalism and social idealism and will be an invaluable addition to the growing literature on Chinese law."—Pacific Affairs"By exploring the means through which Chinese law is used by diverse groups against a multitude of parties, the authors of this work offer a refreshing outlook on the advancement of citizen's rights in China."—China Review International"This book truly stands alone as most of its chapters are not written by scholars with legal training but by social scientists for whom legal issues are at the core of the fieldwork."—Chinese Cross CurrentsTable of ContentsContents Part I. Introduction 1. Law and Society in the People's Republic of China Neil J. Diamant, Stanley B. Lubman, Kevin J. O'Brien Part II. Legal Mobilization and Culture 2. Suing the Local State: Administrative Litigation in Rural China Kevin J. O'Brien and Lianjiang Li 3. "Use the Law as Your Weapon"! The Rule of Law and Labor Conflict in the PRC Mary E. Gallagher 4. One Law, Two Interpretations: Mobilizing the Labor Law in Arbitration Committees and in Letters and Visits Bureaus Isabelle Thireau and Hua Linshan 5. What's in a Law?: China's Pension Reform and its Discontents Mark W. Frazier 6. Hollow Glory: The Politics of Rights and Identity among PRC Veterans in the 1950s Neil J. Diamant Part III. Legal Institutions 7. Shifting Legal and Administrative Goalposts: Chinese Bureaucracies, Foreign Actors and the Evolution of China's Anti-Counterfeiting Regime Andrew Mertha 8. Rethinking Law Enforcement and Society: Changing Police Analysis of Unrest Murray Scot Tanner 9. Punishing for Profit: Profitability and Rehabilitation in a Laojiao Institution H. L. Fu Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Justice, Administration of China
£84.15
Georgetown University Press An Ethics of Biodiversity: Christianity, Ecology,
Book SynopsisLife on earth is wildly diverse, but the future of that diversity is now in question. Through environmentally destructive farming practices, ever-expanding energy use, and the development and homogenization of land, human beings are responsible for unprecedented reductions in the variety of life forms around us. Estimates suggest that species extinctions caused by humans occur at up to 1,000 times the natural rate, and that one of every twenty species on the planet could be eradicated by 2060. "An Ethics of Biodiversity" argues that these facts should inspire careful reflection and action in Christian churches, which must learn from earth's vast diversity in order to help conserve the natural and social diversity of our planet. Bringing scientific data into conversation with theological tradition, the book shows that biodiversity is a point of intersection between faith and ethics, social justice and environmentalism, science and politics, global problems and local solutions. "An Ethics of Biodiversity" offers a set of tools for students, environmentalists, and people of faith to think critically about how human beings can live with and as part of the variety of life in God's creation.Trade ReviewMakes innovative and needed strides in advancing Christian approaches to environmental ethics in a more problem- and context-oriented direction: it addresses and creatively interprets a critical environmental issue (biodiversity) and meets a pragmatic challenge (addressing problems of scale) with a theological twist. Journal of Environmental Studies An excellent survey of Christian theological arguments for the conservation of biodiversity that also does a good job of introducing scientific and philosophical arguments. It will work very well as a textbook, while it also makes distinctive and original contributions, in particular around the issue of multiscalar approaches to biodiversity and the importance of moral formation in communities of place. Environmental ValuesTable of ContentsPreface Introduction: Christian Ecological Ethics and Biodiversity Part I: Defining Biodiversity 1. The Variety of Life Part II: Why Biodiversity Matters 2. Valuing Life & Ecosystems 3. The Sacramental Value of the Variety of Life Part III: The Levels of Biodiversity 4. Scaling Conservation 5. Multiscalar Christian Ecological Ethics Part IV: Political and Morally Formative Conservation 6. Regulating Biodiversity: The Endangered Species Act and Political Conservation 7. Christian Care for Biodiversity: Moral Formation as Conservation Part V: Social Justice and the Conservation of Biodiversity 8. Biological and Cultural Diversity 9. Diversities and Justice Conclusion: The Work of Conserving Biodiversity Bibliography Index
£43.20
Georgetown University Press The Violence of Climate Change: Lessons of
Book SynopsisClimate change is viewed as a primarily scientific, economic, or political issue. While acknowledging the legitimacy of these perspectives, Kevin J. O'Brien argues that we should respond to climate change first and foremost as a case of systematic and structural violence. Global warming is largely caused by the carbon emissions of the affluent, emissions that harm the poor first and worst. Climate change is violence because it divides human beings from one another and from the earth. O'Brien offers a constructive and creative response to this violence through practical examples of activism and nonviolent peacemaking, providing brief biographies of five Christians in the United States-John Woolman, Jane Addams, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cesar Chavez. These activists' idealism, social commitment, and political savvy offer lessons of resistance applicable to the struggle against climate change and for social justice.Trade ReviewAn engaging work . . . In its essence, this book is a call to resist. To resist the structural violence that O’Brien identifies climate change to be. * Environmental Values *O’Brien is at his strongest when he attends to the idiosyncrasies of his witnesses and their distinctive contributions to thinking about climate change. He is thoughtful and constrained, presenting clear connections and lessons for the reader. * Christian Century *A creative, timely, and helpful contribution to the canon of Christian environmentalist literature. . . . The book is an excellent resource for scholars and particularly for climate activists facing the discouragement common in their work. * Reading Religion *A powerful addition to the developing study of evironmental and social justice. * Choice *O’Brien points to the practical examples of activism and nonviolent peacemaking * Yale Climate Connection *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Toward a Witness of Resistance Part 1: Climate Change and Nonviolence 1. The Wicked Problem of Climate Change2. Nonviolent Resistance Part II: Five Witnesses of Nonviolent Resistance3. John Woolman's Moral Purity and Its Limits4. Jane Addams and the Scales of Democracy5. Dorothy Day and the Faith to Love6. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Hope for an Uncertain World7. Cesar Chavez and the Liberating Power of Sacrifice Conclusion: What Can We Do?BibliographyIndexAbout the Author
£19.35
Georgetown University Press The Violence of Climate Change: Lessons of
Book SynopsisClimate change is viewed as a primarily scientific, economic, or political issue. While acknowledging the legitimacy of these perspectives, Kevin J. O'Brien argues that we should respond to climate change first and foremost as a case of systematic and structural violence. Global warming is largely caused by the carbon emissions of the affluent, emissions that harm the poor first and worst. Climate change is violence because it divides human beings from one another and from the earth. O'Brien offers a constructive and creative response to this violence through practical examples of activism and nonviolent peacemaking, providing brief biographies of five Christians in the United States-John Woolman, Jane Addams, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cesar Chavez. These activists' idealism, social commitment, and political savvy offer lessons of resistance applicable to the struggle against climate change and for social justice.Trade ReviewAn engaging work . . . In its essence, this book is a call to resist. To resist the structural violence that O’Brien identifies climate change to be. * Environmental Values *O’Brien is at his strongest when he attends to the idiosyncrasies of his witnesses and their distinctive contributions to thinking about climate change. He is thoughtful and constrained, presenting clear connections and lessons for the reader. * Christian Century *A creative, timely, and helpful contribution to the canon of Christian environmentalist literature. . . . The book is an excellent resource for scholars and particularly for climate activists facing the discouragement common in their work. * Reading Religion *A powerful addition to the developing study of evironmental and social justice. * Choice *O’Brien points to the practical examples of activism and nonviolent peacemaking * Yale Climate Connection *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Toward a Witness of Resistance Part 1: Climate Change and Nonviolence 1. The Wicked Problem of Climate Change2. Nonviolent Resistance Part II: Five Witnesses of Nonviolent Resistance3. John Woolman's Moral Purity and Its Limits4. Jane Addams and the Scales of Democracy5. Dorothy Day and the Faith to Love6. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Hope for an Uncertain World7. Cesar Chavez and the Liberating Power of Sacrifice Conclusion: What Can We Do?BibliographyIndexAbout the Author
£58.50
Augsburg Fortress Publishers Meeting the Enemy
Book Synopsis
£22.79
Lexington Books Theological and Ethical Perspectives on Climate
Book SynopsisThe climate is changing as an unintended consequence of human industrialization and consumerism. Recently some scientists and engineers have suggested climate engineeringtechnological solutions that would intentionally change the climate to make it more hospitable. This approach focuses on large-scale technologies to alleviate the worst effects of anthropogenic climate change. This book considers the moral, philosophical, and religious questions raised by such proposals, bringing Christian theology and ethics into the conversation about climate engineering for the first time. The contributors have different views on whether climate engineering is morally acceptable and on what kinds of climate engineering are most promising and most dangerous, but all agree that religion has a vital role to play in the analysis and decisions called for on this vital issue. Calming the Storm presents diverse perspectives on some of the most vital questions raised by climate engineering: Who has the riTrade ReviewTheologians, religious ethicists, and other religious studies scholars can play a key role in mediating reflection on scientific and technological options in light of core narratives and values that shape our understanding of climate change, and that orient ethical action. Other audiences that could benefit from this book include Christian communities that are engaged in environmental issues as well as scientists, engineers, policymakers, and others who are committed to deliberative public discourse on this topic…. A strength of this collection is the balance between theological and ethical perspectives, reflecting the importance of religious thought in both shaping our understanding of climate change and orienting our actions in response to it…. The book as a whole—especially its emphasis on narratives and storytelling—clearly demonstrates that climate engineering is not solely a scientific issue. The collection is illuminating and inviting; it deepens reflection on this precarious moment in history, and challenges us to be deliberative as the conversation surrounding climate engineering unfolds…. Clingerman and O’Brien’s Theological and Ethical Perspectives on Climate Engineering will enrich and deepen interdisciplinary and public reflection on these increasingly prominent proposals. * Reading Religion *This book is not just fascinating to read, it also develops important ethical perspectives on climate engineering. For too long theological ethicists have lagged behind developments in science. This book charts new territory by anticipating those changes before full implementation and asking questions, both critical and constructive, about some of the potential ways forward. So, as well as making a clear case for the place of religion at the table of ethical deliberation on climate engineering, this book will help religious believers find new ways to approach such complex problems and arrive at informed judgments. Given the controversial nature of climate engineering this book will also provide a valuable teaching tool for both science students and those in religious studies, theology and environmental ethics. -- Celia Deane-Drummond, professor of theology, University of Notre DameAs methods of containing the horrors of climate change that are acceptable to most people of goodwill turn out to be inadequate and the threat of out-of-control global warming becomes an inescapable reality, scientists and technologists will propose responses from which many of us now recoil. Ethically sensitive people should not wait for the extreme crisis to start reflecting about these proposals. This book begins the process of informed reflection that has the potential to steer humanity wisely through choices that, thus far, many of us have refused to consider. -- John B. Cobb Jr., professor emeritus, Claremont School of TheologyImagined projects of climate engineering are fast becoming a new meeting point for the sciences and humanities. Clingerman and O’Brien bring a series of unique theological perspectives into this conversation. Drawing from religious thought and tradition, this important volume shows the value of tempering scientific understandings of how climate works with accounts of what climate means, and why this matters for how people should act. -- Mike Hulme, Professor of Climate and Culture, King’s College LondonWhat to do about climate change? This excellent set of essays examines one possible response: undertaking large scale climate engineering or intervention. Arguing persuasively that religious and theological perspectives are helpful in framing the discussion of such geoengineering, we are not offered any easy answers. Instead, drawing on a range of thinkers from Niebuhr to McFague to Jamieson, we are helpfully presented with critical discussions of—among other matters—temptation, time, finitude and loss, and patience. In the quickly developing literature on religion and climate change, Calming the Storm is a must-read. -- Peter M. Scott, Samuel Ferguson Professor of Applied Theology & Director of the Lincoln Theological Institute, The University of Manchester, UKTable of ContentsIntroduction Forrest Clingerman & Kevin J. O’Brien Acknowledgments Part I: Climate Engineering and Religion Chapter 1 Playing God: Why Religion Belongs in the Climate Engineering Debate Forrest Clingerman & Kevin J. O’Brien Chapter 2 From the Garden of Eden to Eden’s Gardener? Experiences from Dialogues with Religious Groups on Climate Engineering and Possible Implications for Transdisciplinarity Thomas Bruhn, Stefan Schäfer, & Mark G. Lawrence Part II: Philosophical and Theological Responses to Climate Engineering Chapter 3 The Temptations of Climate Engineering Dane Scott Chapter 4 Real Presence: Process Theological Perspectives on Geoengineering the Body of God Marit Trelstad Chapter 5 Time’s Arrow and Narratives of Climate Engineering Forrest Clingerman Chapter 6 Rewriting Mortality: A Theological Critique of Geoengineering and De-Extinction Stefan Skrimshire Part III: Religious Resources for Moral Discernment Chapter 7 Healing the Climate? Christian Ethics and Medical Models for Climate Engineering Laura M. Hartman Chapter 8 Stewards of Irony: Planetary Stewardship, Climate Engineering, and Religious Ethics Willis Jenkins Chapter 9 Ritual Responses to Climate Engineering Sarah E. Fredericks Chapter 10 “First Be Reconciled”: The Priority of Repentance in the Climate Engineering Debate Kevin J. O’Brien Appendix Religion and Climate Engineering: Points of Consensus from Claremont Thomas Bruhn, Forrest Clingerman, Sarah Fredericks, Laura Hartman, Kevin J. O’Brien, Dane Scott, and Marit Trelstad Contributors
£81.00
