Gaming and the Divine
Gaming and the Divine

Author: Frank G. Bosman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-03-04

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 0429018681

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This book formulates a new theological approach to the study of religion in gaming. Video games have become one of the most important cultural artifacts of modern society, both as mediators of cultural, social, and religious values and in terms of commercial success. This has led to a significant increase in the critical analysis of this relatively new medium, but theology as an academic discipline is noticeably behind the other humanities on this subject. The book first covers the fundamentals of cultural theology and video games. It then moves on to set out a Christian systematic theology of gaming, focusing on creational theology, Christology, anthropology, evil, moral theology, and thanatology. Each chapter introduces case studies from video games connected to the specific theme. In contrast to many studies which focus on online multiplayer games, the examples considered are largely single player games with distinct narratives and ‘end of game’ moments. The book concludes by synthesizing these themes into a new theology of video games. This study addresses a significant aspect of contemporary society that has yet to be discussed in any depth by theologians. It is, therefore, a fantastic resource for any scholar engaging with the religious aspects of digital and popular culture.

Video Games as Art
Video Games as Art

Author: Frank G. Bosman

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2022-11-07

Total Pages: 124

ISBN-13: 3110731010

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Video games are a relative late arrival on the cultural stage. While the academic discipline of game studies has evolved quickly since the nineties of the last century, the academia is only beginning to grasp the intellectual, philosophical, aesthetical, and existential potency of the new medium. The same applies to the question whether video games are (or are not) art in and on themselves. Based on the Communication-Oriented Analysis, the authors assess the plausibility of games-as-art and define the domains associted with this question.

The Sacred & the Digital
The Sacred & the Digital

Author: F.G. (Frank) Bosman

Publisher: MDPI

Published: 2019-04-18

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 3038978302

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Video game studies are a relative young but flourishing academic discipline. But within game studies, however, the perspective of religion and spirituality is rather neglected, both by game scholars and religion scholars. While religion can take different shapes in digital games, ranging from material and referential to reflexive and ritual, it is not necessarily true that game developers depict their in-game religions in a positive, confirming way, but ever so often games approach the topic critically and disavowingly. The religion criticisms found in video games can be categorized as follows: religion as (1) fraud, aimed to manipulate the uneducated, as (2) blind obedience towards an invisible but ultimately non-existing deity/ies, as (3) violence against those who do not share the same set of religious rules, as (4) madness, a deranged alternative for logical reasoning, and as (5) suppression in the hands of the powerful elite to dominate and subdue the masses into submission and obedience. The critical depictions of religion in video games by their developers is the focus of this special issue.

Possibilities
Possibilities

Author: David Graeber

Publisher: AK Press

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 441

ISBN-13: 1904859666

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An anthropologist investigates the revolution of everyday life.

Sport, Culture and Society
Sport, Culture and Society

Author: Grant Jarvie

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-04-18

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 1134401639

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This exciting, accessible introduction to the field of Sports Studies is the most comprehensive guide yet to the relationships between sport, culture and society. Taking an international perspective, Sport, Culture and Society provides students with the insight they need to think critically about the nature of sport, and includes: a clear and comprehensive structure unrivalled coverage of the history, culture, media, sociology, politics and anthropology of sport coverage of core topics and emerging areas extensive original research and new case study material. The book offers a full range of features to help guide students and lecturers, including essay topics, seminar questions, key definitions, extracts from primary sources, extensive case studies, and guides to further reading. Sport, Culture and Society represents both an important course resource for students of sport and also sets a new agenda for the social scientific study of sport.

The Human in Command
The Human in Command

Author: Carol McCann

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 439

ISBN-13: 1461542294

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This book brings together experienced military leaders and researchers in the human sciences to offer current operational experience and scientific thought on the issue of military command, with the intention of raising awareness of the uniquely human aspects of military command. It includes chapters on the personal experiences of senior commanders, new concepts and treatises on command theory, and empirical findings from experimental studies in the field.

Ethics and Sport in Europe
Ethics and Sport in Europe

Author: Dominique Bodin

Publisher: Council of Europe

Published: 2011-01-01

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 9789287170774

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Defending ethics in sport is vital in order to combat the problems of corruption, violence, drugs, extremism and other forms of discrimination it is currently facing. Sport reflects nothing more and nothing less than the societies in which it takes place. However, if sport is to continue to bring benefits for individuals and societies, it cannot afford to neglect its ethical values or ignore these scourges. The major role of the Council of Europe and the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) in addressing the new challenges to sports ethics was confirmed by the 11th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport, held in Athens on 11 and 12 December 2008. A political impetus was given on 16 June 2010 by the Committee of Ministers, with the adoption of an updated version of the Code of Sports Ethics (Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)9), emphasising the requisite co-ordination between governments and sports organisations. The EPAS prepared the ministerial conference and stepped up its work in an international conference organised with the University of Rennes, which was attended by political leaders, athletes, researchers and officials from the voluntary sector. The key experiences described in the conference and the thoughts that it prompted are described in this publication. All the writers share the concern that the end result should be practical action - particularly in terms of the setting of standards - that falls within the remit of the EPAS and promotes the Council of Europe's core values.

UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. I, Abridged Edition
UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. I, Abridged Edition

Author: Jacqueline Ki-Zerbo

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9780520066960

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"This volume covers the period from the end of the Neolithic era to the beginning of the seventh century of our era. This lengthy period includes the civilization of Ancient Egypt, the history of Nubia, Ethiopia, North Africa and the Sahara, as well as of the other regions of the continent and its islands."--Publisher's description

Theories of Race and Racism
Theories of Race and Racism

Author: Les Back

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 678

ISBN-13: 9780415156721

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Theories of Race and Racismis an important and innovative collection that brings together the work of scholars who have helped to shape the study of race and racism as a historical and contemporary phenomenon. The Reader'scontributons have been chosen to reflect the different theoretical perspectives and to help readers gain a feel for the changing terms of the race and racism debate over time. Theories of Race and Racismis divided into the following main sections: Origins and Transformations Sociology, Race and Social Theory Racism and Anti-Semetism Colonialism, Race and the Other Feminism, Difference and Identity Changing Boundaries and Spaces The editors go futher to shed light on the relatively new areas of interest that are likely to attract attention in years to come. Contributors include; Theodor Adorno, K. Anthony Appiah, Michael Banton, Zygmunt Bauman, Ruth Benedict , Homi Bhabha, Chetan Bhatt, Gargi Bhattacharyya, Avtar Brah, Hazel Carby, Barbara Christian, Oliver C. Cox, Richard Dyer, Frantz Fanon, Ruth Frankenberg, Sander Gilman, Paul Gilroy, David T. Goldberg, Stuart Hall, Patricia Hill Collins, bell hooks, Max Horkheimer, Winthrop Jordan, Michael Keith, Anne McClintock, Kobena Mercer, Robert Miles, Chandra Talpade Mohanty, George Mosse, Gunnar Myrda, Robert Park, John Rex, John Solomos, Stephen Steinberg, Ann Laura Stoler, Tzvetan Todorov, Russo and Lourdes Torres, Patrica Williams, Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, Howard Winant, Lola Young, Slavoj Zizek.

Religion, Ritual and Ritualistic Objects
Religion, Ritual and Ritualistic Objects

Author: Albertina (Tineke) Nugteren

Publisher: MDPI

Published: 2019-04-23

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 3038977527

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This is a volume about the life and power of ritual objects in their religious ritual settings. In this Special Issue, we see a wide range of contributions on material culture and ritual practices across religions. By focusing on the dynamic interrelations between objects, ritual, and belief, it explores how religion happens through symbolic materiality. The ritual objects presented in this volume include: masks worn in the Dogon dance; antique ecclesiastical silver objects carried around in festive processions and shown in shrines in the southern Andes; funerary photographs and films functioning as mnemonic objects for grieving children; a dented rock surface perceived to be the god’s footprint in the archaic place of pilgrimage, Gaya (India); a recovered manual of rituals (from Xiapu county) for Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, juxtaposed to a Manichaean painting from southern China; sacred stories and related sacred stones in the Alor–Pantar archipelago, Indonesia; lotus symbolism, indicating immortalizing plants in the mythic traditions of Egypt, the Levant, and Mesopotamia; lavishly illustrated variations of portrayals of Ravana, a Sinhalese god-king-demon; figurines made of cow dung sculptured by rural women in Rajasthan (India); and mythical artifacts called ‘Apples of Eden’ in a well-known interactive game series.