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Groups as Epistemic and Moral Agents
by Jessica BrownOrganised groups such as governments, corporations, charities and courts are an integral part of our lives. They provide services, sell goods, employ people, raise taxes, wage wars, and issue legal judgements. In our interactions with them, we routinely ascribe them mental states, speaking of what they know, want and intend. And we use these ascriptions in predicting what groups will do and assessing their responsibility for outcomes. For instance, in morally assessing the government's performance in the coronavirus pandemic, we might ask what the government knew about the virus at key decision points. And in attempting to predict Russia's response to the current war in Ukraine, we might ask what Russia believes about the West's resolve to defend Ukraine. This book takes these ordinary ways of thinking and talking seriously, assuming that at least some groups are agents with mental states on which they act. In particular, the book examines groups both as epistemic and moral agents providing non-summative accounts of group evidence, group belief, group justified belief, group knowledge, what it is for a group to act or believe for one reason rather than another, and when a group has an excuse for wrongdoing from blameless ignorance. These phenomena are crucial to the evaluation of the beliefs and actions of groups. Whether a group's belief is justified depends on its evidence and the reason for which it believes; whether it's praiseworthy or blameworthy for its actions depends on the reason for which it acted, as well as whether it is blamelessly ignorant of any wrongdoing. By providing a clearer view of central group phenomena, the book will help us assess the beliefs and actions of the powerful groups at work in our lives, whether governments, corporations, public sector bodies or third sector actors.
Handbook of Accounting in Society (Research Handbooks on Accounting series)
The Handbook of Accounting in Society invites readers to consider the ways in which accounting affects organizations, institutions, communities, professions, and everyday life. Diverse in its reach, this Handbook campaigns for the need to reconsider our understanding of what accounting is and crucially, what it can become.Hendrik Vollmer brings together an array of scholars to discuss how accounting practice is shaping the way we do business and government, the way we negotiate our values and valuations, and how we keep track of ourselves and prepare for the future. Contributors highlight how little of accounting is controlled by the accounting profession and raises key persistent issues in accounting practice that concern the professional practitioner as much as the everyday life accountant: accountability and unaccountability, inequality and social justice, and inclusion and exclusion. This dynamic Handbook argues for the redevelopment of accounting education and illustrates the emancipatory potential of alternative forms of accounting, counter accounting, and accounting activism.Reinvigorating the interdisciplinary approach to accounting and its place in society, this Handbook will be a vital read for scholars, researchers and students specializing in accounting, management, governance and sustainability, business ethics, diversity and inclusion, public administration, organizational behaviour, and organizational culture. It will also be an informative read for accounting professionals, social scientists interested in accounting practice, and political activists engaged in counter accounting.
Handbook of African Economic Development (Elgar Handbooks in Development)
The Handbook of African Economic Development explores the diverse nature of economic advancement in Africa, spanning from pre-colonial times to the present day. Expansive in scope, it offers both orthodox and heterodox perspectives on the subject, and what it means for the continent.Going beyond traditional metanarratives, this dynamic Handbook provides a historically grounded, data-informed analysis of African economic development, taking into account external pressures and internal structural inequalities. Contributors map out the key debates surrounding the topic before assessing historical contexts, the effect of global networks, current industries and institutions, and both rural and urban developments. The Handbook contends with the future of economic development in Africa, particularly in the context of climate change, continuing decolonisation and Africapitalism.With a global team of authors providing a range of perspectives, this unique Handbook will prove crucial reading for students and scholars of African studies, development studies, geography and economics. It will also prove to be a fascinating read for anyone interested in non-conventional, postcolonial approaches to these disciplines.
Handbook of Aid and Development (Elgar Handbooks in Development)
With intellectual rigour, the Handbook of Aid and Development not only critically examines the relationship between aid and development, but also discusses recent trends within the field and judiciously considers its future prospects.Bringing together unique perspectives from across the globe, this Handbook features contributions from an array of eminent scholars who assess the controversies surrounding aid and development stemming from the effects of aid in donor and recipient countries. Chapters include timely discussions relating to aid in fragile states, conditionality, elite capture of aid, and the dilemma that aid is most effective where it is least needed (and vice-versa). Recent data are used to explore new players, instruments, and issues in the field such as climate change, and the Handbook highlights the need for more innovation and experimentation in the future.This incisive Handbook will be essential for policy-oriented scholars, researchers, and students in economics and finance, political science, development studies, international affairs, and public policy. Policymakers and their technical advisors who wish to be informed about recent developments in the field will similarly find this to be an indispensable read.
Handbook of Choice Modelling: Second Edition
This thoroughly revised second edition Handbook provides an authoritative and in-depth overview of choice modelling, a key technique used across disciplines as diverse as transport, marketing, health and environmental economics.Composed of contributions from influential senior researchers, this erudite Handbook covers all the significant steps of choice modelling analysis, including underlying economic and psychological theory, data collection and sampling, model specification and estimation, and interpretation and use of results. New chapters examining topics including endogeneity in discrete choice models, machine learning, and novel data sources such as virtual reality provide a fresh outlook on this fundamental empirical methodology. This second edition of the Handbook of Choice Modelling will be an important read for academics and students across disciplines that have an interest in behavioural modelling. It will also benefit practitioners seeking to understand the theoretical underpinning of their work.
Handbook of Financial Integration (Research Handbooks in Money and Finance series)
This comprehensive Handbook deftly examines key aspects of financial integration, providing an overview of contemporary research and new perspectives. Employing state-of-the-art econometric methods to obtain new empirical evidence, it will be critical for designing optimal policies, and appropriate investment and risk management strategies.Guglielmo Maria Caporale brings together a wide range of contributors with different approaches to measuring and dissecting financial integration to form an extensive analysis on the topic. Organised into six thematic sections, the Handbook first details new measures of financial integration, linkages across markets, and the role of the foreign exchange market and institutions. It goes on to address financial integration in the banking sector, European financial integration, and diverse policy issues that arise in this context, giving a comprehensive insight into an ever-expanding sector.With new perspectives and evidence on various dimensions of financial integration, this Handbook will be an indispensable resource for academics working in the field of international finance. Its investigation of policy and investment implications of the findings will also provide valuable insights for policy-makers and market participants.
Handbook of Public Participation in Impact Assessment (Research Handbooks on Impact Assessment series)
This Handbook provides a clear overview of how to achieve meaningful public participation in impact assessment (IA). It explores conceptual elements, including the democratic core of public participation in IA, as well as practical challenges, such as data sharing, with diverse perspectives from 39 leading academics and practitioners.Critically examining how different engagement frameworks have evolved over time, this Handbook underlines the ways in which tokenistic approaches and wider planning and approvals structures challenge the implementation of meaningful public participation. Contributing authors discuss the impact of international agreements, legislation and regulatory regimes, and review commonly used professional association frameworks such as the International Association for Public Participation core values for practice. They demonstrate through case studies what meaningful public participation looks like in diverse regional contexts, addressing the intentions of being purposeful, inclusive, transformative and proactive. By emphasising the strength of community engagement, the Handbook argues that public participation in IA can contribute to enhanced democracy and sustainability for all.This visionary Handbook is an indispensable resource for IA public participation practitioners, including industry, consultants, government and non-government organisations as well as participants to IA processes. It will similarly be beneficial to IA researchers, academics, and managers in regulation, public administration and management.
Handbook of Race and Refusal in Higher Education: Like a Path in Tall Grasses (Elgar Handbooks in Education)
This cutting-edge Handbook goes beyond discourses of equity, inclusion, and diversity, carving a space for critical discussions about the relationships between Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and the university. In doing so, it forges new paths and alternative conceptual starting points to consider in making a commitment to social justice in higher education.Kenjus T. Watson, Nora Cisneros, Lindsay Pérez Huber and Verónica Vélez bring together a dynamic collective of scholars, educators, students, community members, and activists to ask the critical question: how do we work towards justice through a lens of refusal in higher education (HE)? The Handbook presents both traditional and non-traditional scholarship, including creative and artistic work, to explore the distinctive ways white supremacy, settler colonialism, and antiblackness impact students, faculty, and communities within HE, with chapters providing insight into everyday strategies of refusal, radical imaginaries of abolitions and futurities, and projects of decolonization. Taking stock of the tensions and contradictions in ‘undoing’ the university while occupying positions within it, the Handbook concludes that the study of education cannot be divorced from the sociohistorical, political, and economic architectures that have shaped it.This path-breaking Handbook will be a crucial resource for BIPOC students, scholars and faculty within HE institutions, as well as students of the sociology of education, the sociology of discrimination, education policy, and race, ethnicity, and colonial studies.
Handbook of Social Infrastructure: Conceptual and Empirical Research Perspectives
This timely Handbook showcases cutting-edge empirical and theoretical social science research to shed light on the role, aims and functioning of social infrastructure (SI). Leading scholars present unique insights on topics such as healthcare, childcare, education, employment, and SI for marginalised groups alongside cultural and recreational infrastructures.Ongoing global and regional crises have underscored the significance of SI services and facilities in enhancing individual well-being, social cohesion and equality. With this central tenet in mind, contributing authors challenge traditional views on public welfare systems throughout the Handbook to take into account the climate, care and housing crises. They provide an in-depth examination of the concept of SI and how it relates to different strands of research such as welfare state analysis and urbanism, connecting the field with other emerging strands of conceptualising socio-economic processes such as the foundational economy approach.Paving the way for further research, the Handbook of Social Infrastructure is a vital resource for students and scholars of sociology, regional and urban economics, cities, urban planning and geography, and public sector economics and finance. Policymakers will find it equally beneficial to inform their understanding of spatial planning, economic and social policies.
Handbook of Tourism Entrepreneurship (Research Handbooks in Tourism series)
The Handbook of Tourism Entrepreneurship outlines the foundations of success in the tourism sector, examining the ways in which small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can become economic engines for tourism destinations by boosting regional growth and prosperity.This innovative Handbook presents cutting-edge conceptual and empirical studies, serving as a vital reference point for advancing research on tourism entrepreneurship. Editors Rob Hallak and Craig Lee bring together an international range of experts to analyse the concept of entrepreneurship, the tourism entrepreneur, enterprises and destinations, and the influence of digitalisation in this sector. Contributors employ examples from around the world to analyse issues such as gender dynamics, family-run SMEs, marketing, place identity, community, and the role of government in tourism entrepreneurship. They show that the diverse challenges that characterise this dynamic market underline the importance of resilience and creativity in tourism and hospitality.Offering an original contribution to the literature on tourism entrepreneurship and presenting directions for future research, this Handbook is a key resource for academics in entrepreneurship and tourism management. Its many practical recommendations will also appeal to practitioners, policymakers, and destination managers.
Handbook on Climate Change and Environmental Governance in China (Handbooks of Research on Contemporary China series)
This timely Handbook explores climate challenges and environmental governance in China. Bringing together established scholars and emerging researchers, it systematically examines the historical evolution of Chinese climate policies and institutions and the successes, failures and dilemmas that have arisen from this.Combining theoretical insight with cutting-edge empirical findings, this Handbook focuses on the role of politics in environmental governance. Contributing authors use innovative methodologies to analyse the diverse climate adaptation strategies, priorities and efforts of institutions across China, from central and local government, to citizen and societal organisations. They cover key topics including clean energy transitions, the green economy, climate finance, and environmental data collection. Ultimately, the Handbook provides a detailed overview of the significant progress China has made in environmental policymaking and implementation whilst highlighting the need for continued efforts towards a sustainable development path for the future.The Handbook on Climate Change and Environmental Governance in China is an invaluable resource for students and scholars of Asian politics and environmental regulation and governance. It is also a useful guide for policy researchers seeking an insight into the Chinese climate policy landscape.
Handbook on European Union Public Administration (Elgar Handbooks in Public Administration and Management)
This Handbook is your one-stop shop for navigating public administration in the European Union, and understanding how its governance differs vastly from that of unitary states. Gijs Jan Brandsma compiles a diverse range of perspectives to assess the ever-changing institutional architecture of the EU, paying close attention to the interlinking mechanisms between the supranational, national and subnational level.Encompassing the institutions, organisations and policy processes that make up EU public administration, it critically reviews existing literature and presents avenues for future research. Contributors consider a broad spectrum of theoretical approaches to the topic, including federalism, institutionalism, constructivism and organisational theory. The Handbook introduces and discusses specific aspects of European public administration, in particular EU-level institutions, agencies, committees and networks, and their impact on EU governance. Chapters also analyse different stages of the policy cycle and issues surrounding the legitimacy of EU public administration.This essential Handbook is a vital resource for graduate and postgraduate students in the disciplines of European studies, political science and EU law. It will also be of great benefit to academics and public administration practitioners interested in expanding their knowledge of public management, policy and governance.
Handbook on Public Policy and Artificial Intelligence (Handbooks of Research on Public Policy series)
This timely Handbook explores the relationship between public policy and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across a broad range of geographical, technical, political and policy contexts. It contributes to critical AI studies, focusing on the intersection of the norms, discourses, policies, practices and regulation that shape AI in the public sector. Expert authors in the field discuss the creation and use of AI technologies, and how public authorities respond to their development, by bringing together emerging scholarly debates about AI technologies with longer-standing insights on public administration, policy, regulation and governance. Contributions in the Handbook mobilize diverse perspectives to critically examine techno-solutionist approaches to public policy and AI, dissect the politico-economic interests underlying AI promotion and analyse implications for sustainable development, fairness and equality. Ultimately, this Handbook questions whether regulatory concepts such as ethical, trustworthy or accountable AI safeguard a democratic future or contribute to a problematic de-politicization of the public sector.The Handbook on Public Policy and Artificial Intelligence is a crucial resource for students and scholars of public policy and administration, political economy, political science, sociology, law, regulation and governance, computer science and technology studies. It is also beneficial to policy practitioners, civil society actors and regulators working with AI technologies.
Handbook on Teaching and Learning in Operations Management (Research Handbooks in Business and Management series)
This essential Handbook outlines the latest research on operations management teaching, and identifies new developments in the overall trends of (de)globalisation, sustainability and digitalisation. It highlights contemporary developments in teaching practice, providing theoretical insights into potential future pedagogical directions. Aiding in the expansion of current training strategies, chapters provide detailed explorations of instructive methodologies such as flipped learning, the utilisation of technologies such as simulations, and design-based learning. Ultimately, the Handbook illustrates how to master the language of operations management through behavioural reinforcement and cognitive change. This illuminating Handbook will be vital for academics and lecturers seeking an overview of operations management teaching and learning. It will additionally be beneficial for consultants currently training operations professionals.
Handbook on the Governance and Politics of Water Resources (Elgar Handbooks in Energy, the Environment and Climate Change)
This cutting-edge Handbook provides a global perspective on the current issues affecting water politics and governance. Focusing in particular on the policy-making process and the power dynamics that it involves, it showcases the emerging diversity of objectives, instruments and governance approaches in the field of water resources.Responding to the increasing strain on water resources due to anthropogenic climate change, this Handbook examines the water policy-making process at the local, regional, national and supranational level. It discusses modes of regulatory intervention, the role of state and non-state actors, and methods for collaboration on issues concerning water. Contributing authors systematically examine how different forms of water are and should be governed, addressing floods, river deltas, surface water and groundwater. Ultimately, the Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of key theoretical approaches, empirical findings and methodological standards in the field of water politics and governance.This Handbook is an invaluable guide for students and scholars of public policy, human geography, environmental management, and sustainability governance. It is also a useful resource for water policy-makers seeking to better understand their position in the global water management system.
Handbook on the Political Economy of Social Policy (Elgar Handbooks in Social Policy and Welfare)
Research in social policy has been greatly influenced by the emergence of modern political economy in the late 1970s. The Handbook on the Political Economy of Social Policy offers a systematic, yet comprehensive, framework for understanding how concepts, theoretical standpoints and methodological approaches stemming from political economy have been applied to the study of social policies, and models of welfare provision. The authors also signpost current developments and discuss their likely impact on future research.With contributions from leading scholars in social policy, political science and political economy, The Handbook explores the key theoretical standpoints for understanding how social policies are introduced and/or reformed. These include historical institutionalism, the role of ideas, the influence of political parties and of political attitudes and preferences. The contributors also discuss key methodological approaches for understanding how social policies are adopted and how they change – from the case-study approach to more comparative approaches. Analysis of the applications of political economy approaches within social policy covers housing, welfare, labour relations and pensions as well as examining regional cases from across the globe.Offering a comprehensive overview of the current state of scholarship on the political economy of social policy, this Handbook will be crucial reading for scholars and students of social policy, welfare state analysis, area studies, political science, political economy and sociology.
The Harmony Test (Modern Plays)
by Richard MolloyHe says, if we really wanna conceive now, he's got a little something he can sell me under the counter at a very reasonable price. It will not fail!Newlyweds Zoe and Kash are ready to start a family. Zoe wants to take a practical approach: fertility plans, vitamin supplements and a strict diet. Kash, on the other hand, would rather follow the advice of an intriguing man he just met in Holland and Barrett.Empty-nesters Naomi and Charlie have been living in matrimonial bliss for twenty odd years - or at least they had been according to Charlie. Frustrated and lonely, Naomi heads to the gym in search of a new lease on life. Instead, she finds Rocco – a much younger personal trainer willing to take a hands-on approach to the job…Richard Molloy's hilarious comedy The Harmony Test explores life's positives and negatives, from starting families, to ending marriages, and everything that comes in between. He and director Alice Hamilton collaborate for the second time following the hugely successful Every Day I Make Greatness Happen, which played Downstairs in 2018.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at London's Hampstead Theatre Downstairs in May 2024.
Hearing Double: Jazz, Ontology, Auditory Culture
by Brian KaneWhen we talk about a jazz "standard" we usually mean one of the many songs that jazz musicians repeatedly play as part of their core repertoire. But unlike musical works in the tradition of so-called classical music, standards--whether plucked from the "Great American Songbook" or from recordings by other jazz musicians--are always being transformed in performance. They are rearranged and improvised upon, given new chords and altered melodies. These transformations might be small and seemingly unimportant, or they might be radical revisions. Which raises the question: across all of these various performances, what gives a standard its identity? In Hearing Double author Brian Kane answers that question by offering a new theory of musical works that can account for the unique challenges presented by standards. Building from the bottom up--from the actual practices of jazz musicians toward their philosophical implications--he gives a comprehensive theory of how a standard can undergo radical musical transformations yet remain identifiable. Through an analysis of the historical and cultural conditions under which standards came to prominence he shows how popular music from the 1930s to the 1960s was circulated and distributed and provides new insight into why the era of the standard emerged when it did. In addition, Kane addresses the aesthetic significance of standards and describes a special mode of listening that standards require. According to Kane, we effectively "hear double"--hearing an ideal song in our minds at the same time as we hear the live performance with our ears. Filled with case studies and music analysis, Hearing Double will draw the reader's attention to unheard aspects of jazz performance as well as unrecognized philosophical, social, and cultural dimensions of the jazz repertoire.
Helmets and Body Armour in New Kingdom Egypt (Bloomsbury Egyptology)
by Alberto Maria PollastriniThis book examines the dynamics around the introduction and spread of helmets and body armour throughout Egypt during the 18th, 19th and 20th Dynasties. It argues that the word 'introduction' is the best term to define this phenomenon because these types of military equipment were not in fact Egyptian technological innovations, but initially appeared at the end of the Bronze Age following the Hurrian expansion in the Middle East before being dispersed throughout the surrounding territories. The analysis focuses particularly on a survey of iconographic, archaeological and lexicographic attestations from a wide range of surviving material evidence and literary sources. On the basis of the collated data, it provides as accurate a perspective as possible on how the helmet and the cuirass were introduced and propagated, their impact on warfare and their possible role in ideology across the chronological span of the New Kingdom. Pollastrini also draws productive comparisons between the Egyptian data and contemporary attestations from the Middle East and the Aegean region in order to underpin the 'international' dynamics at play. In doing so it both encourages a broader ancient-historical perspective that sets New Kingdom Egypt within its contemporary context, and sheds new light on developments in the military history and warfare of the period.
Henry Enfield Roscoe: The Campaigning Chemist
by Peter Reed Peter J.T. MorrisLittle known today, Henry Enfield Roscoe was one of the most prominent chemists and educational reformers in Victorian Britain. Having studied in Heidelberg, he worked to transform English education by using Germany as a model. He made Owens College, Manchester, viable and converted it into Victoria University (now the University of Manchester). He then campaigned for the reform of technical education in an alliance with like-minded campaigners which resulted in the Technical Instruction Act of 1889. Roscoe was also the Liberal MP for South Manchester between 1885 and 1895, one of the few academic chemists to become a member of the House of Commons. In his "retirement," he helped found the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine. Yet, despite his extensive impact on Britain at the time and our society today, he remains largely forgotten. In this detailed biography, authors Morris and Reed provide a timely and original contribution to the history of nineteenth-century British science and its relation to education, industry, and government policy, highlighting Roscoe's significant contributions and legacy as one of the leading scientists of his generation.
The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World
by Nawal El SaadawiPassionate, powerful and thought-provoking, in The Hidden Face of Eve, leading feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi provides a shocking account of the oppression of women in the Arab world. Inspired by her experiences working as a doctor in rural Egypt and her life as an activist for women's rights, she charts the injustices and violence faced by women in the society she grew up in, from legal inequality to honour killings and sexual violence, including female genital mutilation. Examining the historical roots of this oppression, she tackles the controversial topic of women and Islam, arguing that customs such as veiling and polygamy are contradictory to the fundamental teachings of the Muslim faith or any other.As necessary now as when it was first published, The Hidden Face of Eve is a classic of Arab feminist writing.
High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy
by Angela Huyue ZhangIn High Wire, Angela Huyue Zhang provides a comprehensive and sophisticated overview of how China regulates its enormous tech sector. By closely scrutinizing the incentives and interactions among the key players, Zhang introduces a dynamic pyramid model to analyze the structure, process, and outcome of China's unique regulatory system. She showcases the shrewd self-regulatory tactics employed by Chinese tech titans to survive and thrive in an institutional environment plagued by endemic fraud and corruption. She also reveals how the Chinese State has given a helping hand to digital platforms by offering them indispensable judicial support. Through a robust analysis of the tumultuous 2020-2022 tech crackdown, Zhang explores the model's profound impact on three vital pillars of Chinese platform regulation, including antitrust, data, and labor enforcement. As Zhang demonstrates, the tech crackdown has led to the private sector's retreat and the state's advancement in the tech industry. These regulatory shifts have also steered investors from consumer tech businesses toward hardcore technologies that are essential for China's bid to overtake the United States in innovation. More than just a study of China, Zhang offers a global perspective by comparing China's regulatory landscape with rapidly moving developments in the United States and the European Union. This comparative analysis reveals the shared regulatory challenges all face and sheds light on the future direction of Chinese tech regulation. Finally, she peers into the future of China's tech governance, specifically focusing on the burgeoning realm of generative artificial intelligence. Providing an unparalleled deep dive into China's rapidly evolving digital economy, High Wire is a must-read for those interested in how the manifold ways in which China regulates and governs its economy._
Hindu and Catholic, Priest and Scholar: A Love Story
by Professor Francis X. Clooney, S.J.This autobiography traces Francis X. Clooney's intellectual and spiritual journey from middle-class American Catholicism to a lifelong study of Hinduism. It explains how he came to fashion comparative theology as a way of learning interreligiously that is boldly intellectual and deeply personal and practical, lived out in intersections of his roles as theologian and scholar of Hinduism, as professor and Catholic priest, and over the tumultuous decades from the 1960s until now, in his role as Parkman Professor of Divinity, Harvard University.Clooney sheds fresh and realistic light on the idea and ideal of scholar-practitioner, since his wide learning, Christian and Hindu, is grounded in his Catholic and Jesuit commitments, as well as in a commensurate learning with respect to several Hindu traditions that are most accessible to scholars willing to learn empathetically and in a participatory manner.What Clooney has learnt and written must be understood in terms of a love of Christ deeply informed by a Hindu instinct for loving God without reserve. A fundamental spiritual disposition - intuitions of God present everywhere - has energized his work over his long career, love giving direction and body to his professional academic work.
History and the Study of Religion: The Ancient Mediterranean as a Test Case
by Stanley StowersThere has long been a trend in religious studies that denies that religion can be an effective category for historians to use across time and cultures. In History and the Study of Religion Stanley Stowers takes on this assessment by demonstrating a theory of religion that answers the criticisms raised by those claiming that religion is not a useful concept. Drawing on his many years of researching and teaching the history of ancient Christianity in the context of the Mediterranean cultures, he offers a detailed and comprehensive account of how religion serves as a valuable, and even necessary, theory. Stowers argues that religion is a social kind, a real and relatively stable cross-cultural entity in the social world. Through key developments in philosophy, cognitive psychology, and social theory applied to examples from the ancient Mediterranean and ethnographic analyses, he illustrates the usefulness for creating social theory and historical explanation. The beginnings of Christianity can be explained as arising from ancient Mediterranean religion, which consisted of three sub-kinds: the religion of everyday social exchange, civic religion, and the religion of literate and literary experts. Christianity emerged primarily from a social field of the experts in interaction with the other two sub-kinds so as to produce a fourth sub-kind, the religion of literate experts with political power. For this last, Stowers discusses topics such as the Christian movement's success in the Roman Empire, whether it was a socially and morally superior form of religion, how it was socially constituted in comparison to other religion in the Empire, its relation to philosophy, whether it was monotheistic, and its most fundamental social dynamics.
Home Front Battles: World War II Mobilization and Race in the Deep South
by Charles C. BoltonMobilization for World War II disrupted life in the Deep South of the United States, sparking new-and, in some cases, reigniting old-battles across the home front. Rural migrants flocked to towns and cities, hoping to take advantage of new war-related job opportunities. Wealthy landowners attempted to wield their enormous power to keep farm workers on the land, especially Black tenants and wage hands who provided much of the essential labor. Towns that attracted wartime industries, such as Pascagoula, Mississippi, which exploded with new demand for its shipbuilding industry, grew exponentially and quickly, making the men who owned these shipyards powerful millionaires and laying the foundation for economic concerns that continued well beyond the postwar years. The areas around southern military installations were transformed and experienced heightened racial tensions. Home Front Battles examines the many effects of World War II economic and military mobilization on the Deep South, including the federal government's attempts to solve some of the social problems that arose from a massive influx of migrants who were unfamiliar with a new world of work. It also underscores one of the primary home front battles, which began with the passage of the Selective Training and Service Act in 1940 and the creation of the Fair Employment Practices Committee in 1941, banning discriminatory military training and employment practices and making it clear that the federal government would be promoting the ideal of nondiscrimination as part of its wartime mobilization efforts. In the Deep South, where race relations were already tense, these directives and southern tradition clashed. White politicians-ranging from the liberal Georgia governor Ellis Arnall to Theodore Bilbo, the reactionary U.S. senator from Mississippi-disagreed about the long-term impact of wartime mobilization. At the same time, the fight for African American rights culminated with the elections of 1946, when Blacks in the Deep South tried to vote on a scale unprecedented in the twentieth century and white Southerners closed ranks to beat back their efforts-using tactics that ranged from social intimidation to outright violence.