In these essays, Donald Wiebe unveils a significant problem in the academic study of religion in colleges and universities in North America and Europe - that studies almost always exhibit a religious bias. To explore this issue, Wiebe looks at the religious and moral agendas behind the study of religion, showing that the boundaries between the objective study of religion and religious education as a tool for bettering society have become blurred. As a result, he argues, religious studies departments have fostered an environment where religion has become a learned or scholarly practice, rather than the object of academic scrutiny. This book provides a critical history of the failure of 20th- and 21st-century scholars to follow through on the 19th-century ideal of an objective scientific study of religious thought and behaviour. Although emancipated from direct ecclesiastical control and, to some extent, from sectarian theologizing, Wiebe argues that research and scholarship in the academic department of religious studies has failed to break free from religious constraints. He shows that an objective scientific study of religious thought and practice is not only possible, but the only appropriate approach to the study of religious phenomena.
In The Politics of Religious Studies , Donald Wiebe takes on a debate that has been raging in universities across North America and Europe for some years now. The issue is whether to approach religion as a science, free from the dissemination of beliefs and evangelizing, or to study it as a form of faith and therefore draw lines between believers and nonbelievers. Wiebe persuasively argues the former, claiming that if taught in a university religion must be treated as a science, with all the objectivity and research that are brought to other subjects. He further maintains that the study of theology should take place in seminaries, which are the proper places for the pursuit of religion as a creed. Exploring the true meaning and role of an academic, Wiebe shows how by propagating religion, instructors are abandoning their academic task to 'explain everything and enjoin nothing'.
The Science of Religion: A Defence offers a brilliant overview of Donald Wiebe’s contributions on methodology in the academic study of religion, of the development of his thinking over time, and of his intellectual commitment to 'a science of religion'.
Donald Wiebe critically examines the pervasive assumption that theology is a form of religious thought that is both compatible with and supportive of religious faith. The irony, he argues, is that theology is in fact detrimental to religion and the religious way of life.
Since its founding by Jacques Waardenburg in 1971, Religion and Reason has been a leading forum for contributions on theories, theoretical issues and agendas related to the phenomenon and the study of religion. Topics include (among others) category formation, comparison, ethnophilosophy, hermeneutics, methodology, myth, phenomenology, philosophy of science, scientific atheism, structuralism, and theories of religion. From time to time the series publishes volumes that map the state of the art and the history of the discipline.
Traditions in Contact and Change" was the theme of the fourteenth quinquennial congress of the International Association for the History of Religions. This selection from 450 papers by scholars form all over the world address the theme. Section One, "Indian Traditions and Western Interactions," treats subjects ranging from the flood story in Vedic ritual to a s study of the women of the Nehru family. Section Two, "Buddhist, Chinese, and Japanese Studies," includes discussions of the origin of the Mahayana, William James and Japanese Buddhism, and lyrical imagery and religious content in Japanese art. Section Three, "Mediterranean Cultures," covers a broad range of topics, from foster children in early Christianity to "the transformation of Christianity into Roman religion" to the change in the status of women in Iceland from pagan to Christian times. Section Four, "Islamic, African, and Amerindian Developments," examines such subjects as religions in conflict and change in the works of African novelists, tradition and change in Indian Islam, and religious acculturation among Oglala Lakota. Section Five offers "Methodological and Theoretical Discussions" of women's studies, Western perceptions of Asia, structure in Jung and Lévi-Strauss, among others. The essays provide ready access to the leading edge of scholarship across a wide range of religions and cultures and should be of interest to students of religion, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and philosophy.
The early essays in this volume proceed on the assumption that a compatibility system can be fashioned that will not only bring religious knowledge claims into harmony with scientific claims but will also show there to be a fundamental similarity of method in religious and scientific thinking. They are not, however, unambiguously successful. Consequently Professor Wiebe sets out in the succeeding essays to seek an understanding of the religion/science relationship that does not assume they must be compatible. That examination, in the final analysis, reveals a fundamental contradiction in the compatibility system building programme which more than suggests that religious belief (knowledge) is beyond legitimation.
The Science of Religion: A Defence offers a brilliant overview of Donald Wiebe’s contributions on methodology in the academic study of religion, of the development of his thinking over time, and of his intellectual commitment to 'a science of religion'.
In An Engine, Not a Camera, Donald MacKenzie argues that the emergence of modern economic theories of finance affected financial markets in fundamental ways. These new, Nobel Prize-winning theories, based on elegant mathematical models of markets, were not simply external analyses but intrinsic parts of economic processes. Paraphrasing Milton Friedman, MacKenzie says that economic models are an engine of inquiry rather than a camera to reproduce empirical facts. More than that, the emergence of an authoritative theory of financial markets altered those markets fundamentally. For example, in 1970, there was almost no trading in financial derivatives such as "futures." By June of 2004, derivatives contracts totaling $273 trillion were outstanding worldwide. MacKenzie suggests that this growth could never have happened without the development of theories that gave derivatives legitimacy and explained their complexities. MacKenzie examines the role played by finance theory in the two most serious crises to hit the world's financial markets in recent years: the stock market crash of 1987 and the market turmoil that engulfed the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management in 1998. He also looks at finance theory that is somewhat beyond the mainstream—chaos theorist Benoit Mandelbrot's model of "wild" randomness. MacKenzie's pioneering work in the social studies of finance will interest anyone who wants to understand how America's financial markets have grown into their current form.
A chance discovery of a log book of sermons by grand-uncle and Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference minister Cornelius G. Stoesz led Donald Stoesz on a fifteen-year odyssey in which he identified four hundred and fifty-seven Scripture texts used by seventeen Mennonite ministers in Canada over the course of one hundred years (1874-1977). The extensive, yet selective, use of the Lutheran lectionary by these ministers illuminates an aspect of Mennonite church life that has seldom been recognized. Known as the Anweisung der Lieder and located at the front of the German-language hymnbook (Gesangbuch), this lectionary was in use by Mennonite congregations in the 18th and 19th centuries in Prussia and Russia. Stoesz details Scripture usage and arranges sermon texts according to method of selection and topic. Included in this analysis are biographies of three pastors and several translated sermons from 1 Peter.
In this unique educational history, Donald B. Kraybill traces the sociocultural transformation of Eastern Mennonite University from a fledgling separatist school founded by white, rural, Germanic Mennonites into a world-engaged institution populated by many faith traditions, cultures, and nationalities. The founding of Eastern Mennonite School, later Eastern Mennonite University, in 1917 came at a pivotal time for the Mennonite community. Industrialization and scientific discovery were rapidly changing the world, and the increasing availability of secular education offered tempting alternatives that threatened the Mennonite way of life. In response, the Eastern Mennonites founded a school that would “uphold the principles of plainness and simplicity,” where youth could learn the Bible and develop skills that would help advance the church. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the university’s identity evolved from separatism to social engagement in the face of churning moral tides and accelerating technology. EMU now defines its mission in terms of service, peacebuilding, and community. Comprehensive and well told by a leading scholar of Anabaptist and Pietist studies, this social history of Eastern Mennonite University reveals how the school has mediated modernity while remaining consistently Mennonite. A must-have for anyone affiliated with EMU, it will appeal especially to sociologists and historians of Anabaptist and Pietist studies and higher education.
Most aspects of our private and social lives—our safety, the integrity of the financial system, the functioning of utilities and other services, and national security—now depend on computing. But how can we know that this computing is trustworthy? In Mechanizing Proof, Donald MacKenzie addresses this key issue by investigating the interrelations of computing, risk, and mathematical proof over the last half century from the perspectives of history and sociology. His discussion draws on the technical literature of computer science and artificial intelligence and on extensive interviews with participants. MacKenzie argues that our culture now contains two ideals of proof: proof as traditionally conducted by human mathematicians, and formal, mechanized proof. He describes the systems constructed by those committed to the latter ideal and the many questions those systems raise about the nature of proof. He looks at the primary social influence on the development of automated proof—the need to predict the behavior of the computer systems upon which human life and security depend—and explores the involvement of powerful organizations such as the National Security Agency. He concludes that in mechanizing proof, and in pursuing dependable computer systems, we do not obviate the need for trust in our collective human judgment.
The essays are tied together by their explorations of connections (primarily among technology, society, and knowledge) and by their general focus on modern "high" technology. They also share an emphasis on the complexity of technological formation and fixation and on the role of belief (especially self-validating belief) in technological change.
Smoke Wars traces the campaign against air pollution in southwestern Montana from the fight to abolish open-heap roasting--a process that created dense clouds of low-lying, noxious smoke and caused death rates in Butte to exceed those of New York City--to the battle against toxic emissions released from the great stacks of the Anaconda Reduction Works. This landmark environmental study raises issues of corporate responsibility, the rights of citizens, and the costs of industrialization, issues still hotly contested today.
Well researched... and well written, this work gives us Kendall, warts and all. We see the avarice, the ambition, and the contradictions of his subject.... This is biography at its best." -- Journal of American History A rare, fascinating personality emerges in Donald B. Cole's biography of Amos Kendall (1789--1869), the reputed intellectual engine behind Andrew Jackson's administration and an influential figure in the transformation of young America from an agrarian republic to a capitalist democracy. Born on a small Massachusetts farm and educated at Dartmouth, Kendall moved to Kentucky as a young man to seek his fortune and eventually became one of the few nationally prominent antebellum politicians who successfully combined northern origins and southern experience. Kendall's role in democratizing American politics is shown in a compelling narrative of his evolution from a republican idealist to a democratic individualist who contributed greatly to the rise of the Democratic Party. The first biography of Kendall, this superbly written and researched volume charts the progression of American democracy and the culture that created it. "Donald B. Cole's splendid book is carefully researched, detailed yet boldly interpretive, and gracefully written." -- Civil War History "[T]his biography is both enjoyable and an indispensable read for those interested in understanding the development of Jacksonian democracy." -- Journal of the Early Republic
Pre-harvest sprouting of cereals results in large economic losses each year for producers around the world. This volume, an outgrowth of the 1982 symposium held in Winnipeg, Canada, presents scientific research conducted internationally since 1978 and geared toward solving the problem of pre-harvest sprouting. Its multidisciplinary approach incorporates the perspectives of plant breeders, physiologists, and biochemists to provide a rounded discussion of the possible alternatives.
Long recognized as the leading text in this dynamic field, Rogers’ Textbook of Pediatric Intensive Care provides comprehensive, clear explanations of both the principles underlying pediatric critical care disease and trauma as well as how these principles are applied. Led by Drs. Donald H. Shaffner, John J. McCloskey, Elizabeth A. Hunt, and Robert C. Tasker, along with a team of 27 section editors as well as more than 250 expert global contributors, the fully revised Sixth Edition brings you completely up to date on today’s understanding, treatments, technologies, and outcomes regarding critical illness in children.
The sociology of knowledge is generally seen as part of the sociology of cultural products. Along with the sociology of science, it explores the social character of science and in particular the social production of scientific knowledge. Knowledge in all its varieties is of crucial importance in social, political, and economic relations in modern society. Yet new realities, the editors argue in their introduction to this second edition, require a new perspective.In the past half century, the social role of knowledge has changed profoundly. The natural attitude toward scientific knowledge in science that assigned a special status to science's knowledge claims has lost its dominance, and the view that all knowledge is socially constructed has gained general acceptance. Science increasingly influences the political agenda in modern societies. Consequently, a new political field has emerged: knowledge politics.These fourteen essays by social scientists, philosophers, and historians cover fundamental issues, theoretical perspectives, knowledge and power, and empirical studies. Eight of the fourteen contributions were part of the first edition of Society and Knowledge, published in 1984, and most of these have been updated and revised for this new edition. Included in this edition are six new contributions by Robert K. Merton, Steve Fuller, Dick Pels, Nico Stehr, Barry Schwartz, and Michael Lynch.This second, revised edition builds on its predecessor in presenting cutting-edge theoretical and empirical efforts to transform the sociology of knowledge. Professionals, policymakers, and graduate students in the fields of sociology, political science, and social science will find this volume of interest and importance.
The book celebrates Rev. Dr. Pierre and Judy Allard’s fifty years of reconciliation ministry by weaving their life experiences within broader initiatives started within Canada and overseas. Three quality moments of time, referred to as kairotic events within the contemporary history of corrections and chaplaincy, are identified. The rise of prison visitation and ex-offender reintegration organizations across Canada in the 1960s and 70s represents the first quality moment of time. Rev. Dr. Pierre Allard’s collaboration with Correctional Service Canada Commissioner Ole Ingstrup in the early 1980s in developing a new Mission Statement for the Service represents a second kairotic moment. Pierre and Judy Allard’s establishment of Just Equipping in 2006 as a response to an international call to bring about reconciliation between offenders and victims in Rwanda and other countries in Africa represents a third quality moment of time. The book analyses these three historical occasions and weaves them together with nine other Canadian chaplains’ stories of prison ministry.
Frank Lloyd Wright : The Early Years : Progressivism : Aesthetics : Cities examines Wright's belief that all aspects of human life must embrace and celebrate an aesthetic experience that would thereby lead to necessary social reforms. Inherent in the theory was a belief that reform of nineteenth-century gluttony should include a contemporary interpretation of its material presence, its bulk and space, its architectural landscape. This book analyzes Wright's innovative, profound theory of architecture that drew upon geometry and notions of pure design and the indigenous as put into practice. It outlines the design methodology that he applied to domestic and non-domestic buildings and presents reasons for the recognition of two Wright Styles and a Wright School. The book also studies how his design method was applied to city planning and implications of historical and theoretical contexts of the period that surely influenced all of Wright's community and city planning.
Microbes catalyze countless chemical reactions in nature which control the chemistry of the environment. Aquatic Geomicrobiology looks at these reactions and their effect on the aquatic environments from the perspective of the microbes involved. The volume begins with three introductory chapters outlining the basic principles of microbial systematics, microbial ecology, and chemical thermodynamics. These provide a framework for exploring the microbial control of elemental cycling in the remaining chapters. Readers will learn how microbes control the cycling of elements, the structure of the microbial ecosystems involved, and what environmental factors influence the activities of microbial populations. Also available in hardback Written by international experts in the microbial ecology and biogeochemistry of aquatic systems Includes introductory chapters on microbial systematics, principles of microbial ecology, and chemical thermodynamics Contains over 1500 references
From September through November 1942, the Allies defeated the Axis forces on all active fronts. On land, the British defeated Rommel in Operation SUPERCHARGE, the US Marines defeated the Japanese on Guadalcanal, and the Russians trapped the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad and disrupted the entire Axis southern front in Russia. At sea, the Royal Navy landed desperately needed supplies on Malta in Operations PEDESTAL and STONEAGE; the USN defended the US Marines on Guadalcanal from a Japanese attack in the Battle of Cape Esperance; the Allies landed troops at Morocco and Algeria in Operation TORCH; USN cruisers sank a Japanese battleship in the 1st Battle of Savo Island; the 2nd Battle of Savo Island was the only battleship-to-battleship engagement of the war in the Pacific; the Battle of the North Atlantic increased in intensity; and the Germans tried to capture the French Fleet at Toulon, France, in Operation ANTON, only to arrive as the ships sank beneath the sea.
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