The Transformations of Tragedy: Christian Influences from Early Modern to Modern explores the influence of Christian theology and culture upon the development of post-classical Western tragedy. The volume is divided into three parts: early modern, modern, and contemporary. This series of essays by established and emergent scholars offers a sustained study of Christianity’s creative influence upon experimental forms of Western tragic drama. Both early modern and modern tragedy emerged within periods of remarkable upheaval in Church history, yet Christianity’s diverse influence upon tragedy has too often been either ignored or denounced by major tragic theorists. This book contends instead that the history of tragedy cannot be sufficiently theorised without fully registering the impact of Christianity in transition towards modernity.
Is "space" a thing, a container, an abstraction, a metaphor, or a social construct? This much is certain: space is part and parcel of the theater, of what it is and how it works. In The Play of Space, noted classicist-director Rush Rehm offers a strikingly original approach to the spatial parameters of Greek tragedy as performed in the open-air theater of Dionysus. Emphasizing the interplay between natural place and fictional setting, between the world visible to the audience and that evoked by individual tragedies, Rehm argues for an ecology of the ancient theater, one that "nests" fifth-century theatrical space within other significant social, political, and religious spaces of Athens. Drawing on the work of James J. Gibson, Kurt Lewin, and Michel Foucault, Rehm crosses a range of disciplines--classics, theater studies, cognitive psychology, archaeology and architectural history, cultural studies, and performance theory--to analyze the phenomenology of space and its transformations in the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. His discussion of Athenian theatrical and spatial practice challenges the contemporary view that space represents a "text" to be read, or constitutes a site of structural dualities (e.g., outside-inside, public-private, nature-culture). Chapters on specific tragedies explore the spatial dynamics of homecoming ("space for returns"); the opposed constraints of exile ("eremetic space" devoid of normal community); the power of bodies in extremis to transform their theatrical environment ("space and the body"); the portrayal of characters on the margin ("space and the other"); and the tragic interactions of space and temporality ("space, time, and memory"). An appendix surveys pre-Socratic thought on space and motion, related ideas of Plato and Aristotle, and, as pertinent, later views on space developed by Newton, Leibniz, Descartes, Kant, and Einstein. Eloquently written and with Greek texts deftly translated, this book yields rich new insights into our oldest surviving drama.
Ovid is today best known for his grand epic, Metamorphoses, and elegiac works like the Ars Amatoria and Heroides. Yet he also wrote a Medea, now unfortunately lost. This play kindled in him a lifelong interest in the genre of tragedy, which informed his later poetry and enabled him to continue his career as a tragedian – if only on the page instead of the stage. This book surveys tragic characters, motifs and modalities in the Heroides and the Metamorphoses. In writing love letters, Ovid's heroines and heroes display their suffering in an epistolary theater. In telling transformation stories, Ovid offers an exploded view of the traditional theater, although his characters never stray too far from their dramatic origins. Both works constitute an intratextual network of tragic stories that anticipate the theatrical excesses of Seneca and reflect the all-encompassing spirit of Roman imperium.
Overcome by years of anxiety and depression on a fruitless journey to find himself, Casey Cease could not imagine his life getting any darker. On July 5th, 1995, at the age of 17, fueled by desperate anger and alcohol, Casey caused a horrific car accident that resulted in the death of his friend. Guilty and hopeless, Casey lay in a mental hospital on suicide watch, sure that his life was over. He would soon learn that God had a plan to rescue and redeem him through Jesus Christ. For over a decade, Casey has been traveling the country candidly sharing his testimony of God s power to save others to a life of hope and peace, even when it seems they will be lost forever. With a pastor s heart, he wrote Tragedy to Truth for the sole purpose of giving you the opportunity to marvel at the limitless love of God toward broken, sinful people. No matter how bad you think you are, you aren t beyond the reach of Christ. The first half of this book, Tragedy, is Casey s testimony, from his birth to the present. He shares details of his life that few others will in an effort to display God s grace in his life. The second half of this book, Truth, shares the hope that Casey has found in many areas of his life through this tragedy. Tragedy is a reality in this lifetime, but through God s grace it can lead to the truth. ENDORSEMENTS: Tragedy To Truth is a MUST read. It is a pure testimony of redemption and healing. Joel Engle Singer / Songwriter, Lead Pastor of The Exchange, Keller, TX Without a doubt the most convincing endorsement I can give to Casey s book comes from seeing the impact Casey s story has had on the students in our church, including my own daughter! Casey has been with us on several occasions, and is without a doubt, our students speaker of choice . Not only is Casey s story incredibly compelling, but also, as a preacher, father, and leader, he lives out the claims his transforming story makes! Victor Flores Pastor of Student Ministries, Bell Shoals Baptist Church, Brandon, FL By far, one of the most compelling redemption stories I have heard in 30 years of ministry. Casey Cease is the real deal, a young man who has been to hell and back with a testimony of God's grace, mercy and forgiveness that even the most cynical among us dare not ignore. Character, depth and genuine spirituality always come to mind when I think of this young pastor and the ministry God has given him over this past decade. How thankful and thrilled I am that his story will finally reach a larger audience. Bob Swan - Director of Student Ministries The Woodlands Methodist Church, The Woodlands, TX Casey is a brother-in-arms and dear friend. I've served in the same church with Casey for several years and had the joy of sending him out as the lead pastor of our first church plant. I love Casey and am very thankful for him. I am also thankful for this book. This is an honest story about the devastating power of sin and the much more remarkable power of grace. Casey's journey is tragic indeed, but truth prevails. There is brokenness here, but beauty too. Casey's story is well worth reading, and worth sharing too. Justin Hyde, Teaching Pastor, Redeemer Church, Brenham, TX Tragedy to Truth is a powerful story of lasting transformation. It does not simply recount the amazing story of Casey s life: it proclaims the remarkable love of his Christ. That is to say, this book is much more than an engaging narration or testimony. It is an invitation. J.R. Dodson, PhD - Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, AR
This is a true story from birth to 2017 about the hardships I've endured. It is meant to inspire others to look at the life I've had and say, "If she can change, I can change." Some of us think what we've done is too bad or what happened to us can never be a thing of the past. We continue to live in that past daily and suffer from the emotional or physical challenges we face from such tragedies. But it doesn't have to be that way. It is not easy by all means, but it can be overcome. The key is God and His grace. It is vital to know starting out, that this is not a change that occurs over night, it is a journey that lasts a lifetime. That being said, it is totally worth it. You will become a better person everyday and start to love yourself, and others, once again.
Travel with one heartbroken family as they struggle to find help for their son, face unspeakable tragedy, receive unexpected forgiveness, and deal with the aftermath of a child whose mental health issues ended in calamity . . . and transformation. Discover the confidence that buoys author Joan Becker and her family as they push for reform in the broken mental health system before more lives are ruined. Their story offers hope, help, and heart-felt compassion. "Joan Becker has a generous spirit and kind heart that come forward in this book. By sharing her family's experience she'll help other families struggling with mental illness feel less alone. That's a tremendous accomplishment when the illness causes feelings of isolation and hopelessness for parents who are desperate to help their suffering child. The mental health system can and should be better, and this book inspires all of us to do everything we can to make it so." U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
When tragedy strikes we want to know: Why did this happen? How could it have happened? Where is life's justice and fairness? When tragedy strikes we need to know: What still makes sense. What paths lead to healing. How to deal with the timeless questions. When Rabbi Richard Agler's twenty-six-year-old daughter Talia was struck and killed by a motor vehicle, his understanding of tragedy failed him. This book is an account of a journey, one he had no choice but to take, leading from unimaginable grief to (at least partial) recovery. In clear and compelling language, with references to both ancient and modern sources of wisdom, Rabbi Agler offers insight for everyone who has, or who one day might, experience painful loss. The Tragedy Test may give you enhanced clarity on some of humanity's most profound questions. It may lead you to reimagine the nature of our universe. It may fundamentally challenge your understanding of the God you thought you knew. It will not leave you unmoved or unchanged.
The sustainability discourse and policy paradigm have failed to deliver. In particular, they have failed to avert the dangerously disruptive climate change which is now inevitable. So, if there is still a case for some transformed or revitalised version of sustainability, that case must now surely be made in full acknowledgment of deep-seated paradigm-failure to date. But if we really take ourselves to be living in a post-sustainable world, the issue of ‘what next?’ must be faced, and the hard questions no longer shirked. What options for political and personal action will remain open on a tragically degraded planet? How will economic and community life, political and social leadership and education be different in such a world? What will the geopolitics (of crisis, migration and conflict) look like? Where does widespread denial come from, how might it be overcome, and are there any grounds for hope that don’t rest on it? The urgent challenge now is to confront such questions honestly. This collection of essays by thinkers from a diversity of fields including politics, philosophy, sociology, education and religion, makes a start. This book was originally published as a special issue of Global Discourse.
Drawing on philosophical and psychoanalytic methods of interpretation, Richard Kuhns explores modern transformations of an ancient poetic genre, tragedy. Recognition of the philosophical problems addressed in tragedy, and of their presence up through eighteenth- and nineteenth-century philosophical texts, novels, and poetry, establishes a continuity between classical and modern enactments. Psychoanalytic theory in both its original formulations and post-Freud developments provides a means to enlarge upon and inform philosophical analyses that have dominated modern discussions. From Aeschylus' classic drama The Persians to the hidden tragic themes in The Merchant of Venice, from the aesthetic writings of Kant to Kleist's narrative Michael Kohlhaas, Kuhns traces the writing and rewriting of the themes of ancient tragedy through modern texts. A culture's concept of fate, Kuhns argues, evolves along with its concepts and forms of tragedy. Examining the deep philosophical concerns of tragedy, he shows how the genre has changed from loss and mourning to contradiction and repression. He sees the fact that tragedy went underground during the optimism of the Enlightenment as a repression that continues into the American consciousness. Turning to Melville's The Confidence Man as an example of Old World despair giving way to New World nihilism, Kuhns indicates how psychoanalytic understanding of tragedy provides a method of interpretation that illuminates the continuous tradition from the ancient to the modern world. The study concludes with reflections on the poetry of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Each poet's celebration of the body, and the contribution of the senses to reason, perception, and poetic intuition, is seen as an embodiment of the modern tragic sensibility.
This generous selection of published essays by the distinguished classicist Charles Segal represents over twenty years of critical inquiry into the questions of what Greek tragedy is and what it means for modern-day readers. Taken together, the essays reflect profound changes in the study of Greek tragedy in the United States during this period-in particular, the increasing emphasis on myth, psychoanalytic interpretation, structuralism, and semiotics.
