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The Many Faces of National Security in the Arab World (International Political Economy Series)
by Rex Brynen Bahgat Korany Paul NobleTwo Gulf wars and the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict have highlighted the salience of military factors in the Middle East. This book argues, however, that many of the most serious 'security' challenges to Arab states and societies are rooted not in external military threats but in the imperatives of socio-economic development. Contributors examine the regional security environment; the social and political impact of regional militarization; and underdevelopment as a source of regional insecurity.
The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim World
by Mohammed AyoobAnalysts and pundits from across the American political spectrum describe Islamic fundamentalism as one of the greatest threats to modern, Western-style democracy. Yet very few non-Muslims would be able to venture an accurate definition of political Islam. Mohammed Ayoob's The Many Faces of Political Islam thoroughly describes the myriad manifestations of this rising ideology and analyzes its impact on global relations. "In this beautifully crafted and utterly compelling book, Mohammed Ayoob accomplishes admirably the difficult task of offering a readily accessible yet nuanced and comprehensive analysis of an issue of enormous political importance. Both students and specialists will learn a great deal from this absolutely first-rate book." ---Peter J. Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Teaching Fellow, Cornell University "Dr. Ayoob addresses the nuances and complexities of political Islam---be it mainstream, radical, or militant---and offers a road map of the pivotal players and issues that define the movement. There is no one as qualified as Mohammed Ayoob to write a synthesis of various manifestations of political Islam. His complex narrative highlights the changes and shifts that have taken place within the Islamist universe and their implications for internal Muslim politics and relations between the world of Islam and the Christian world." ---Fawaz A. Gerges, Carnegie Scholar, and holds the Christian A. Johnson Chair in International Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies, Sarah Lawrence College "Let's hope that many readers---not only academics but policymakers as well---will use this invaluable book." ---François Burgat, Director, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Institute for Research and Study on the Arab and Muslim World (IREMAM), Aix-en-Provence, France "This is a wonderful, concise book by an accomplished and sophisticated political scientist who nonetheless manages to convey his interpretation of complex issues and movements to even those who have little background on the subject. It is impressive in its clarity, providing a badly needed text on political Islam that's accessible to college students and the general public alike." ---Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland, and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution Mohammed Ayoob is University Distinguished Professor of International Relations with a joint appointment in James Madison College and the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University. He is also Coordinator of the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University.
The Many Faces of Political Islam, Second Edition: Religion and Politics in Muslim Societies
by Mohammed Ayoob Danielle N. LussierAnalysts and pundits from across the American political spectrum describe Islamic fundamentalism as one of the greatest threats to modern, Western-style democracy. Yet very few non-Muslims would be able to venture an accurate definition of political Islam. Fully revised and updated, The Many Faces of Political Islam thoroughly analyzes the many facets of this political ideology and shows its impact on global relations.
Many Lives, Many Masters: The true story of a prominent psychiatrist, his young patient and the past-life therapy that changed both their lives
by Dr. Brian WeissTHE CLASSIC BESTSELLER ON A TRUE CASE OF PAST-LIFE TRAUMA AND PAST-LIFE THERAPY FROM AUTHOR AND PSYCHOTHERAPIST DR BRIAN WEISSPsychiatrist Dr Brian Weiss had been working with Catherine, a young patient, for eighteen months. Catherine was suffering from recurring nightmares and chronic anxiety attacks. When his traditional methods of therapy failed, Dr Weiss turned to hypnosis and was astonished and sceptical when Catherine began recalling past-life traumas which seemed to hold the key to her problems. Dr Weiss's scepticism was eroded when Catherine began to channel messages from 'the space between lives', which contained remarkable revelations about his own life. Acting as a channel for information from highly evolved spirit entities called the Masters, Catherine revealed many secrets of life and death. This fascinating case dramatically altered the lives of Catherine and Dr Weiss, and provides important information on the mysteries of the mind, the continuation of life after death and the influence of our past-life experiences on our present behaviour.
Many Peoples, Many Faiths: Women and Men in the World Religions
by Robert Ellwood Barbara McgrawFor more than three decades this introduction to the world's religions, Many Peoples, Many Faiths has combined factual information with empathic writing that seeks to convey the flavor of our planet's diverse religions and cultures. This classic work helps students gain a sense of each religion's unique characteristics while tackling some of today's most critical religious issues. It is written in an engaging style and has been fully updated--with fresh insights and information on each of the world’s major religions, along with new religious movements.
Many Peoples, Many Faiths: Women and Men in the World Religions
by Robert Ellwood Barbara McgrawFor more than three decades this introduction to the world's religions, Many Peoples, Many Faiths has combined factual information with empathic writing that seeks to convey the flavor of our planet's diverse religions and cultures. This classic work helps students gain a sense of each religion's unique characteristics while tackling some of today's most critical religious issues. It is written in an engaging style and has been fully updated--with fresh insights and information on each of the world’s major religions, along with new religious movements.
Many Peoples, Many Faiths: Women and Men in the World Religions
by Robert S. Ellwood Barbara A. McGrawMany Peoples, Many Faiths places the world’s religions in historical context, illustrating the complex dynamic of each religion over time, while also presenting current beliefs, practices, and group formations. This unique textbook includes engaging sections on women in religion, religion and governance, and religion in America throughout. Thoroughly revised and updated for its eleventh edition, Many Peoples, Many Faiths covers the following topics: Understanding the World’s Religious Heritage Indigenous Peoples and Religion The Spiritual Paths of India The Journey of Buddhism Religions of East Asia The Family of the Three Great Monotheistic Religions and Zoroastrianism The Unique Perspective of Judaism The Growth of Christianity Building the House of Islam New Religious Movements Religion and Violence, Non-violence, and Peacemaking. This edition reflects new scholarship and general interest and, where appropriate, addresses rapidly developing and shifting areas, taking account of the dynamic, changing quality of religion. New and expanded material on indigenous peoples and religions, discussions of colonization, and the new chapter on religion and violence, non-violence, and peacemaking also distinguish this edition. Images, maps, and timelines add to the sense of the richness of the world religions. This is an ideal resource for anyone wanting an accessible and yet comprehensive introduction to the world religions.
Many Peoples, Many Faiths: Women and Men in the World Religions
by Robert S. Ellwood Barbara A. McGrawMany Peoples, Many Faiths places the world’s religions in historical context, illustrating the complex dynamic of each religion over time, while also presenting current beliefs, practices, and group formations. This unique textbook includes engaging sections on women in religion, religion and governance, and religion in America throughout. Thoroughly revised and updated for its eleventh edition, Many Peoples, Many Faiths covers the following topics: Understanding the World’s Religious Heritage Indigenous Peoples and Religion The Spiritual Paths of India The Journey of Buddhism Religions of East Asia The Family of the Three Great Monotheistic Religions and Zoroastrianism The Unique Perspective of Judaism The Growth of Christianity Building the House of Islam New Religious Movements Religion and Violence, Non-violence, and Peacemaking. This edition reflects new scholarship and general interest and, where appropriate, addresses rapidly developing and shifting areas, taking account of the dynamic, changing quality of religion. New and expanded material on indigenous peoples and religions, discussions of colonization, and the new chapter on religion and violence, non-violence, and peacemaking also distinguish this edition. Images, maps, and timelines add to the sense of the richness of the world religions. This is an ideal resource for anyone wanting an accessible and yet comprehensive introduction to the world religions.
Many Rivers, One Sea: Bangladesh and the Challenge of Islamist Militancy
by Joseph AllchinA perennial frontier for Islamic orthodoxy, Bangladesh is witnessing an alarming rise in Islamist-inspired assassinations and terrorist attacks. In July 2016, the world's attention fell upon a café in a leafy Dhaka neighborhood as the barbarity of a distant 'Caliphate' was visited on this corner of South Asia. Twenty-nine died in the assault on the Holey Bakery, affixing an unbidden nightmare to the image of a supposedly tolerant Muslim nation. Joseph Allchin probes Bangladesh's recent and distant past as he investigates how it has become the latest front in world extremism. Delving into the local and global differences between political actors, he exposes the determining influence still exercised on most allegiances by the long aftermath of the country's independence struggle, and scrutinizes the careers of two long-term rivals: current prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and Khaleda Zia, who held the office in 1991-6 and 2001-6. This unerring investigation examines the relationship between radical Islam and the Bangladeshi political class, exposing the forces driving the conditions for extremism that bedevil the country's present and future.
Many Voices of Pilgrimage and Reconciliation, The (CABI Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Series)
by Tahar Abbou Lucinda Carspecken John Hornblow Jenny Boyack Sonika Jain Nanna Natalia Jørgensen Steven Muir Zülfükar Özdogan Cindy Pavlinac E. Moore Quinn Mari-Johanna Rahkala-Simberg Varada Sambus Patricia A. Sayre Daniel J. Simons Chadwick Co Su Sara TerreaultReviewing peace and reconciliation, secular pilgrimages, and international perspectives on sacred journeys, this book offers the reader an opportunity to encounter multiple voices and viewpoints on one of the most ancient practices of humankind. With an estimated third of all international travellers now undertaking journeys anticipating an aspect of transformation (the hallmark of pilgrimage), this book includes both spiritual and non-spiritual voyages, such as journeys of self-therapy, mindfulness and personal growth. It also: - Provides a multidisciplinary perspective, covering themes such as gender, human rights, equality, the environment, peace, history, literature, and politics - Reflects the rich diversity and multiple meanings of pilgrimage through an international writer team spanning four continents - Includes case studies of pilgrimage in action from around the world An innovative and engaging addition to the pilgrimage literature, this book provides an important resource for researchers of religious tourism and related subjects.
Many Wonderful Things
by Robert Huffman“SOMETIMES GOD TAKES UNUSUAL METHODS TO ATTRACT ATTENTION TO HIMSELF…”This book brings you the amazing true story of one of the most unusual events of our day—proof through hypnosis that God has placed a part of Himself within you!In a series of hypnotic experiments carried out over a period of two years, the Boulder Fellowship Foundation has uncovered startling evidence that man has a “third mind—a God mind, a part of God within himself. While hypnotism is not the theme of this book, it was the tool used to show that the subconscious mind—as well as the conscious mind—can be stilled, thus allowing the God-part to speak without the intrusion of the ego. The result?—pure truth brought forth from the God part at the God level!The answers to questions put to the God-part of the subject used in these experiments are truly amazing. As you read them in this book, they will speak of many wonderful things, and point the way to your greatest adventure—partnership with God…adventure into Eternity!“Proving God within ourselves is an adventure, a challenge, a joy,” the God-part tells us. “Now is the time to claim this challenge, to step forth to this adventure. For this is our one requirement: to recognize God within, to express God from ourselves to all men; thus bringing forth the greatest, the most glorious adventure in all eternity!”THE GOD-PART SPEAKS TRUTH WITH NO CONFUSION!The hypnotic experiments reported in this book uncover some revealing answers to scores of perplexing questions. Here are just a few:Where can I find God?How can I get to God?What is God like?How can I truly contact Him?Is here really life after death?What is man’s destiny?How can I find true peace of mind?Does God punish us?Is there really a Hell?What is death?What is God’s will for me?What is the greatest power in the Universe?Can God heal me? Will He?Read the easy-to-understand answers to these and many more questions in this book.
Mao Zedong and Contemporary China: Exploring the World Where Truth Falls from the Heavens
by Katsuji NakaganeWhat did Mao Zedong bring to China? Mao Zedong, a rare leader who is still regarded as a great hero on the Chinese continent, despite the large number of victims caused by the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. He called himself "Qin Shi Huang （First Emperor of Qin）plus Marx". It can be said that he is an entity that combines the power of the emperor and the authority of Marx into one person. This book analyzes the features of Mao Zedong’s thought and philosophy, his understanding of Marxism and class struggle, in particular, his peculiar attitude toward intellectuals, his actions leading to the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, which he initiated and involved the entire nation, as well as the analysis of the mechanisms that caused such catastrophes and tragedies. Finally, through these analyses, this book attempts to evaluate Mao Zedong with diverse personalities and his behavior, positive and negative, whether in political, social, economic, or philosophical areas.
Maoism and Grassroots Religion: The Communist Revolution and the Reinvention of Religious Life in China
by Xiaoxuan WangMaoism and Grassroots Religion explores grassroots religious life under and after Mao in Rui'an County, Wenzhou of southeast China, a region widely known for its religious vitality. Drawing from unexplored local state archives, records of religious institutions, memoirs, and interviews, it tells the story of local communities' encounter with the Communist revolution, and its consequences, especially competition and struggles for religious property and ritual space. Rather than being totally disrupted, Xiaoxuan Wang shows, religious life under Mao was characterized by remarkable variety and unevenness and was contingent on the interactions of local dynamics with Maoist campaigns--including land reform, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution. The revolutionary experience strongly determined the trajectories and development patterns of different religions, inter-religious dynamics, and state-religion relationships in the post-Mao era. Wang goes beyond the image of totalistic control and suppression, to show how Maoism is relevant to religious revitalization in the post-Mao era and, more broadly, the modern fate of Chinese religions and secularism in East Asia. Maoism permanently altered the religious landscape in China, especially by inadvertently promoting the localization and even (in some areas) expansion of Protestant Christianity, as well as the reinvention of traditional communal religion. Contrary to the popular image of total suppression and disruption during the Mao years, this book shows that religious changes under Mao were highly complex and contingent on a confluence of political campaigns, local politics and community responses.The post-Mao religious revival had deep historical roots in the Mao years, Wang argues, and cannot be explained by contemporary economic motives and cultural logics alone. This book calls for a new understanding of Maoism and secularism in the People's Republic of China.
Maoism and Grassroots Religion: The Communist Revolution and the Reinvention of Religious Life in China
by Xiaoxuan WangMaoism and Grassroots Religion explores grassroots religious life under and after Mao in Rui'an County, Wenzhou of southeast China, a region widely known for its religious vitality. Drawing from unexplored local state archives, records of religious institutions, memoirs, and interviews, it tells the story of local communities' encounter with the Communist revolution, and its consequences, especially competition and struggles for religious property and ritual space. Rather than being totally disrupted, Xiaoxuan Wang shows, religious life under Mao was characterized by remarkable variety and unevenness and was contingent on the interactions of local dynamics with Maoist campaigns--including land reform, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution. The revolutionary experience strongly determined the trajectories and development patterns of different religions, inter-religious dynamics, and state-religion relationships in the post-Mao era. Wang goes beyond the image of totalistic control and suppression, to show how Maoism is relevant to religious revitalization in the post-Mao era and, more broadly, the modern fate of Chinese religions and secularism in East Asia. Maoism permanently altered the religious landscape in China, especially by inadvertently promoting the localization and even (in some areas) expansion of Protestant Christianity, as well as the reinvention of traditional communal religion. Contrary to the popular image of total suppression and disruption during the Mao years, this book shows that religious changes under Mao were highly complex and contingent on a confluence of political campaigns, local politics and community responses.The post-Mao religious revival had deep historical roots in the Mao years, Wang argues, and cannot be explained by contemporary economic motives and cultural logics alone. This book calls for a new understanding of Maoism and secularism in the People's Republic of China.
Map is not Territory: Studies in the History of Religions (Studies In Judaism In Late Antiquity #Vol. 23)
by Jonathan Z. SmithIn Map Is Not Territory, Jonathan Z. Smith engages previous interpretations of religious texts from late antiquity, critically evaluates the notion of sacred space and time as it is represented in the works of Mircea Eliade, and tackles important problems of methodology.
The Map of Heaven: A neurosurgeon explores the mysteries of the afterlife and the truth about what lies beyond
by Ptolemy Tompkins Dr Eben Alexander IIIWhen Dr Eben Alexander wrote about his own startling near-death experience in Proof of Heaven, he was contacted by countless people from all walks of life. His story had touched them personally and they in turn had their own miraculous experiences of the afterlife to share with Eben. In The Map of Heaven, Eben recounts the astonishing stories he has heard on his travels, from near-death experiences and encounters with angelic beings to inspiring messages from departed loved ones. Each account helps us to understand just how vast the universe really is. Drawing on these accounts and lessons from religious leaders, philosophers and scientific investigations into the role of consciousness, Eben explores our true place in the universe and what exactly exists beyond death.
A Map of the New Country: Women and Christianity (Routledge Library Editions: Women and Religion)
by Sara MaitlandMost feminists have turned away from the Christian churches, regarding both Catholicism and the protestant denominations as bastions of sexism and patriarchal oppression. However, Christian feminists committed to improving the position of Christian women and to the spiritual renewal of their respective churches are drawing inspiration for their struggles from the contemporary Women’s Movement. In this study Sara Maitland looks at what has been happening to Christian women in general, and Christian feminists in particular, over the last fifteen to twenty years. She sets their experiences in the framework of the history of the churches and reviews it in the light of events such as the Second Vatican Council, the ordination of Baptist and Episcopal women ministers in America and Britain, and the debate about the ordination of women in the Anglican communion. She argues that the insights gained by Christian feminists put them in a unique position to prophesy to their respective churches, leading them back to the Gospel imperatives of love, justice and freedom, and that an understanding and acceptance of this role of women is crucial to the well-being of the whole Church. As well as studying the history, theology and institutional structures of the denominational churches, the book uses a wealth of interview material from both sides of the Atlantic to describe the experiences of women from many different backgrounds, including nuns, women priests and lay workers. Sara Maitland concludes that Christianity can and must pass beyond the long centuries of oppression and division into ‘a new country’, a country in which women and men are equally ‘made in the image of God’. First published in 1983.
A Map of the New Country: Women and Christianity (Routledge Library Editions: Women and Religion)
by Sara MaitlandMost feminists have turned away from the Christian churches, regarding both Catholicism and the protestant denominations as bastions of sexism and patriarchal oppression. However, Christian feminists committed to improving the position of Christian women and to the spiritual renewal of their respective churches are drawing inspiration for their struggles from the contemporary Women’s Movement. In this study Sara Maitland looks at what has been happening to Christian women in general, and Christian feminists in particular, over the last fifteen to twenty years. She sets their experiences in the framework of the history of the churches and reviews it in the light of events such as the Second Vatican Council, the ordination of Baptist and Episcopal women ministers in America and Britain, and the debate about the ordination of women in the Anglican communion. She argues that the insights gained by Christian feminists put them in a unique position to prophesy to their respective churches, leading them back to the Gospel imperatives of love, justice and freedom, and that an understanding and acceptance of this role of women is crucial to the well-being of the whole Church. As well as studying the history, theology and institutional structures of the denominational churches, the book uses a wealth of interview material from both sides of the Atlantic to describe the experiences of women from many different backgrounds, including nuns, women priests and lay workers. Sara Maitland concludes that Christianity can and must pass beyond the long centuries of oppression and division into ‘a new country’, a country in which women and men are equally ‘made in the image of God’. First published in 1983.
Mapping British Women Writers’ Urban Imaginaries: Space, Self and Spirituality
by Arina CirsteaThis study provides an alternative to the postmodern tradition of writing about the city by exploring spatialized constructions of gender and spiritual identity through an integrative framework based on insights from Bachelard's topoanalysis, psychogeography, feminist cultural theory and comparative literature and religion.
Mapping Christian Rhetorics: Connecting Conversations, Charting New Territories (Routledge Studies in Rhetoric and Communication)
by Michael-John DePalma Jeffrey M. RingerThe continued importance of Christian rhetorics in political, social, pedagogical, and civic affairs suggests that such rhetorics not only belong on the map of rhetorical studies, but are indeed essential to the geography of rhetorical studies in the twenty-first century. This collection argues that concerning ourselves with religious rhetorics in general and Christian rhetorics in particular tells us something about rhetoric itself—its boundaries, its characteristics, its functionings. In assembling original research on the intersections of rhetoric and Christianity from prominent and emerging scholars, Mapping Christian Rhetorics seeks to locate religion more centrally within the geography of rhetorical studies in the twenty-first century. It does so by acknowledging work on Christian rhetorics that has been overlooked or ignored; connecting domains of knowledge and research areas pertaining to Christian rhetorics that may remain disconnected or under connected; and charting new avenues of inquiry about Christian rhetorics that might invigorate theory-building, teaching, research, and civic engagement. In dividing the terrain of Christian rhetorics into four categories—theory, education, methodology, and civic engagement—Mapping Christian Rhetorics aims to foster connections among these areas of inquiry and spur future future collaboration between scholars of religious rhetoric in a range of research areas.
Mapping Christian Rhetorics: Connecting Conversations, Charting New Territories (Routledge Studies in Rhetoric and Communication)
by Michael-John DePalma Jeffrey M. RingerThe continued importance of Christian rhetorics in political, social, pedagogical, and civic affairs suggests that such rhetorics not only belong on the map of rhetorical studies, but are indeed essential to the geography of rhetorical studies in the twenty-first century. This collection argues that concerning ourselves with religious rhetorics in general and Christian rhetorics in particular tells us something about rhetoric itself—its boundaries, its characteristics, its functionings. In assembling original research on the intersections of rhetoric and Christianity from prominent and emerging scholars, Mapping Christian Rhetorics seeks to locate religion more centrally within the geography of rhetorical studies in the twenty-first century. It does so by acknowledging work on Christian rhetorics that has been overlooked or ignored; connecting domains of knowledge and research areas pertaining to Christian rhetorics that may remain disconnected or under connected; and charting new avenues of inquiry about Christian rhetorics that might invigorate theory-building, teaching, research, and civic engagement. In dividing the terrain of Christian rhetorics into four categories—theory, education, methodology, and civic engagement—Mapping Christian Rhetorics aims to foster connections among these areas of inquiry and spur future future collaboration between scholars of religious rhetoric in a range of research areas.
Mapping Cultures: Place, Practice, Performance
by Les RobertsAn interdisciplinary collection exploring the practices and cultures of mapping in the arts, humanities and social sciences. It features contributions from scholars in critical cartography, social anthropology, film and cultural studies, literary studies, art and visual culture, marketing, museum studies, architecture, and popular music studies.
Mapping Faith: Theologies of Migration and Community
by David Mason Sheila Curran Ruth Padel Alison Phipps Ibrahim Mogra Faiza Omar Ric Stott Oliver Joseph Katy Radford Julie Khovacs Ivan Khovacs Hassan Rabbani Katherine Baxter Yvonne Green Tawona Sithole Rachel Godfrey Sofia Rehman Michael Nausner Robyn Ashworth-Steen Sayed Razawi Jacqueline Nicholls Aviva Dautch Pádraig Ó Tuama Harvey Kwiyani Hajra Williams Sally Style Mohamed Omar Jennifer Langer Issam Kourbaj Nazneen Ahmed Amir DarwishThis enlightening edited collection shows how migration shapes the lives of faith communities - and vice versa - through diverse prisms including diaspora, generational change, cultural conflict, conceptions of 'ministry' and artistic response. The contributors comprise writers, poets and artists from the three largest Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and beyond. They show how issues of migration are addressed through a variety of different media such as theological debate and shared community action, poetry and art.As issues of migration are an important factor in so many political and social debates, faith communities are looking for guidance on how to deepen their theological understanding of migration. This book helps them to reflect on their own practices and experiences, learn from their own traditions and engage in dialogue with diverse communities.*All royalties from book sales will be donated to The Helen Bamber Foundation - a UK-based charity that supports people who have survived extreme physical, sexual and psychological violence.*
Mapping Frontiers Across Medieval Islam: Geography, Translation and the 'Abbasid Empire (Library of Middle East History)
by Travis ZadehThe story of the 9th-century caliphal mission from Baghdad to discover the legendary barrier against the apocalyptic nations of Gog and Magog mentioned in the Quran, has been either dismissed as superstition or treated as historical fact. By exploring the intellectual and literary history surrounding the production and early reception of this adventure, Travis Zadeh traces the conceptualization of frontiers within early 'Abbasid society and re-evaluates the modern treatment of marvels and monsters inhabiting medieval Islamic descriptions of the world. Examining the roles of translation, descriptive geography, and salvation history in the projection of early 'Abbasid imperial power, this book is essential for all those interested in Islamic studies, the 'Abbasid dynasty and its politics, geography, religion, Arabic and Persian literature and European Orientalism.
Mapping the Afterlife: From Homer to Dante
by Emma GeeThere are very few accounts of the afterlife across the period from Homer to Dante. Most traditional studies approach the classical afterlife from the point of view of its "evolution" towards the Christian afterlife. This book tries to do something different: to explore afterlife narratives in spatial terms and to situate this tradition within the ambit of a fundamental need in human psychology for the synthesis of soul (or "self") and universe. Drawing on the works of Homer, Plato, Cicero, Virgil, and Dante, among others, as well as on modern works on psychology, cartography, and music theory, Mapping the Afterlife argues that the topography of the afterlife in the Greek and Roman tradition, and in Dante, reflects the state of "scientific" knowledge at the time of the various contexts in which we find it. The book posits that there is a dominant spatial idiom in afterlife landscapes, a "journey-vision paradigm"--the horizontal journey of the soul across the afterlife landscape, and a synoptic vision of the universe. Many scholars have argued that the vision of the universe is out of place in the underworld landscape. However, looking across the entire tradition, we find that afterlife landscapes, almost without exception, contain these two kinds of space in one form or another. This double vision of space brings the underworld, as the landscape of the soul, into contact with the "scientific" universe; and brings humanity into line with the cosmos.