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This book considers the growing awareness in the wake of World War I that culture could play an effective political role in international relations. Tamara van Kessel shows how the British created the British Council in support of those cultural aims, which took on particular urgency in light of the rise of fascist dictatorships in Europe. Van Kessel focuses in particular on the activities of the British Council and the Italian Dante Alighieri Society in the Mediterranean area, where their respe...

The way that we have perceived, described, and understood sexual desire has changed dramatically over time and across cultures. This collection brings together a group of experts from a variety of disciplines to explore the history of sexual desires and the transformation of sexual ideas, attitudes, and practices in premodern Europe. Among the topics considered are the visibility of sexual offenses and the construction of passions; the geographical range extends to Great Britain, with extended a...

Christopher Ben Simpson tells the story of modern Christian theology against the backdrop of the history of modernity itself. The book examines the many ways that theology became modern while seeing how modernity arose in no small part from theology. These intertwined stories progress through four parts. In Part I, Emerging Modernity, Simpson discusses the period from the beginnings of modernity in the late Middle Ages through the Protestant Reformation and Renaissance Humanism to the creative t...

Thirty years ago, Alvin Plantinga gave a lecture called "Two Dozen (or so) Theistic Arguments," which served as an underground inspiration for two generations of scholars and students. In it, he proposed a number of novel and creative arguments for the existence of God which have yet to receive the attention they deserve. In Two Dozen (or so) Arguments for God, each of Plantinga's original suggestions, many of which he only briefly sketched, is developed in detail by a wide variety of accomplish...

Over the course of a career of more than forty years, Jonathan Z. Smith was among the most important voices of critical reflection within the academic study of religion, distinguishing himself as perhaps the most influential theorist of religion of the last half century. Among his significant body of work are essays and lectures on teaching and the essential role of academic scholarship on religion in matters of education and public policy. The interviews and essay published here display someth...

A complete summary of the Catholic Church's teaching and values - its doctrines, history, biblical origins, theological developments and recent changes. This edition features new material, extensive revisions and updated charts and diagrams.

Something Understood combines theological insights, elements of autobiography and a sprinkling of humour to produce a series of reflections on one person's Christian journey, particularly from the perspective of someone who is now a member of the world of disability. The author hopes that his shared experiences might resonate with others whether they see themselves as able-bodied or disabled. Graham Evans served as a Methodist minister for nearly thirty years, working in a variety of inner-city,...

Research on social movements has historically focused on the traditional weapons of the working class, especially labour strikes and street demonstrations-but everyday actions, such as eating or singing, which can also be turned into a means of protest, have yet to be fully explored. An interdisciplinary and comparative history of these modes of action, Bodies in Protest reveals how hunger strikes and music ranging from gospel songs to rock anthems can efficiently convey political messages and m...

The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) is the biggest opposition party in Malaysia and one of the most prominent Islamist parties in Southeast Asia. Tracing its development from 1951 to the present, this ambitious study explains how PAS acquired both local and international relevance. Farish A. Noor charts the party's rise alongside the different ideological postures--from anticolonialism to postrevolutionary Islamism--that it has adopted over the years. Exploring how PAS has continuously adapt...

The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party PAS is the biggest opposition party in Malaysia today and one of the most prominent Islamist parties in Southeast Asia. This work recounts the historical development of PAS from 1951 to the present, and looks at how it has risen to become a political movement that is both local and transnational, tracking its rise from the Cold War to the age of the War on Terror, and its evolving ideological postures - from anti-colonialism to post-revolutionary Islamism, as the...