This collection of essays engages two of the most fundamental social and political issues of our time: community and identity. Wrestling with the perplexities of these two issues within the Africana world, the contributors delve into the influences of a postmodern world of globalization with outdated, crumbling forms of identity and sociality. In the wake of such an order, new forms of identity and community must be established. Birt has collected an informed group of contributors here, who lay the foundation for a new approach to finding community and identity in the Africana world.
The understanding of identity in relation to community has been a focus of academic studies in recent years. An exclusive self-understanding of the identity of one's own community, coupled with a hostile attitude toward other communities, often leads to communal conflicts. In particular, it is important to notice the significance of religion in the re-shaping of community identities in this process. This volume focuses first on communal or corporate understanding of identity. Secondly, this volume will assess the topic of identity from the perspectives of theology and religious studies. Thirdly, the volume will seek to address the issue of interaction between religious communities and wider society by looking at case studies from the Yorkshire area.
There are groups in society that experience profound social problems. Others show signs of a growing social malaise. From his research experiences in the United States, Canada, South Africa, and Indonesia, Taylor examines the reasons for such social problems and offers possible solutions.
This exciting new undergraduate textbook introduces the reader to the broad and complex relationship between sport, culture and society, and critically examines the key assumptions that we hold with regard to the nature of sport.
Theory is an essential element in the development of any academic discipline and sport management is no exception. This is the first book to trace the intellectual contours of theory in sport management, and to explain, critique and celebrate the importance of sport management theory in academic research, teaching and learning, and in the development of professional practice. Written by a world-class team of international sport management scholars, each of whom has taken a leading role in developing a particular theory or framework for understanding sport management, the book covers the full span of contemporary issues, debates, themes and functional approaches, from corporate social responsibility and diversity to strategy, marketing and finance. Every chapter explores a key theoretical approach, including an overview of that theory, a discussion of the process of theory development and of how the theory has been employed in research, practice or teaching, and outlines directions for future research in that area. Each chapter includes cases and examples, as well as short illustrative commentaries from people who have used that particular theory in their work, and attempts to highlight the theory-practice links, or gaps, in that area. For a fully-rounded understanding of what sport management is and how it should be studied, taught and practiced, a thorough grounding in theory is essential. The Routledge Handbook of Theory in Sport Management is therefore important reading for all advanced students, researchers, instructors, managers and practitioners working in this exciting field.
In Identity, Nationalism, and Cultural Heritage under Siege, Fatme Myuhtar-May makes a case for the recognition of Pomak heritage by presenting five stories from the past and present of the Rhodope Muslims in Bulgaria as examples of a distinct Pomak culture. The stories range from the Christianisation during the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 and the forced communist renaming of the Pomaks in the 1970s, to their fascinating wedding rituals and historic figures. Each of the five narratives contains its own storyline and serves as a prominent example of Pomak heritage, from the author’s perspective. The stories take place in the context of fervent nationalism and the ongoing censorship of Pomakness based on the claim that it is an “ethnic Bulgarian,” not “Pomak” heritage.
Liberal education aspires to excellence through the cultivation of free human beings who excel in thought, word, and deed. But what exactly is excellence, and why do we admire it? How do we conceive of what is excellent? What constitutes excellence—either for human beings, or in the realms of philosophy, literature, science, and politics? Why is excellence an aim of liberal education? What kinds of texts, courses, and inquiries contribute to achieving this end? Such questions animate the studies herein. The essays in this volume reflect on the idea of excellence embedded within core texts, as well as how such texts influence and ennoble higher education. In its chapters, we consider rival forms of excellence from ancient Greece and Rome, through modern Europe and America, and beyond. The world of antiquity and its accounts of excellence, as represented in the works of Euripides, Aristotle, Plato, Archimedes, and Cicero, are here brought into dialogue with diverse modern perspectives on excellence, as articulated by Shakespeare, Descartes, Newton, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Austen, Darwin, Lincoln, Tennyson, and Nietzsche, as well as (more recently) by John Dewey, Martin Luther King Jr., Cardinal Newman, and Eboo Patel. Our desire to seek and understand excellence transcends borders, and the purpose of this volume is to help perpetuate in contemporary higher education the study of core texts essential to the cultivation of excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.
Annotation "The concept of community has become central to constructions of Spanish identities, since the Transition to democracy. Contemporary Spain witnesses a political, social, and economic resurgence of community, which both cuts across and is prioritized over nation. Yet, few studies of contemporary Spanish culture deal with this concept. This book aims, therefore, to fill a gap in Spanish cultural studies by providing an in-depth analysis of the intersections of theories, narratives and concepts of community identities across a broad range of media. Literature, film, music, and photography are analysed here in order to explore the diverse means by which community is imagined and constructed. This is a strongly interdisciplinary study, bringing together cultural studies and ethnography. The specific 'texts' that are analysed are located within a larger framework provided by Spain's involvement in processes of globalization. Unusual in this study, therefore, is the use of fieldwork and interview, as well as the application of the work of cultural theorists to the Spanish context." "This book, thus, extends the field of Spanish cultural studies through its original and deliberate examination of community; it is equally relevant to a more general reading public, interested in the diverse media covered here." "By the same token, this book is of relevance to scholars in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities, through its exploration and application of the ideas of theorists of modernity, space, and time."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
In the recent spate of military takeovers in Guinea, Mali, Chad, Niger and Guinea Bissau in West Africa, identity politics has been named as one of the motivations behind the military coups. The concern surrounding the elimination or minimization of discrimination in governance and the distribution of national wealth is of particular importance. This book promotes a sane approach to the sharing of the national ‘cake’: to adopt pragmatism and the principles of the Rule of Law, which are already enshrined in the respective constitutions of these nations. This book fills a gap in the literature and promotes equal participation and distribution of opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa. It will educate politicians, ministries, agencies and departments, policy makers, non-governmental organizations engaged in development at the grass-roots levels, and academics and students of politics, security, religious studies and development.
