In Humanism Betrayed Graham Good offers a defence of liberal humanism against the illiberal trends, political and intellectual, that dominate today's university. He uses the McEwen Report episode at the University of British Columbia to illustrate the current political climate in universities, showing how due process was neglected in favour of ideological inquisition. The intellectual trends Good discusses include what he calls the New Sectarianism, which rejects individuality in favour of collective identities based on race, gender, and sexual preference; Presentism, which rejects the notion of history as a continuous narrative in favour of seeing the past as interpretable in any way that suits the political interests of the present; and a Ahermeneutic of suspicion, in which literary texts are seen as masks for discreditable political motives. Good demonstrates that these trends culminate in the prison-like Acarceral vision of Michel Foucault and his followers: the view that culture is ideology and that culture does not free humans but incarcerates them. Good contrasts this view with the liberal vision of culture and society represented by Northrop Frye, concluding with an analysis of the relationship between anti-humanist theory among academics and the managerial practices of university administrations, which, he argues, neglect or reject basic humanistic values such as free individuality, aesthetic greatness, and autonomous inquiry.

An up-to-date synthesis of the spread and impact of humanism in Europe. A team of Renaissance scholars of international reputation including Peter Burke, Sydney Anglo, George Holmes and Geoffrey Elton, offers the student, academic and general reader an up-to-date synthesis of our current understanding of the spread and impact of humanism in Europe. Taken together, these essays throw a new and searching light on the Renaissance as a European phenomenon.

Nationalism and globalisation are two central phenomena of the modern world, that have both shaped and been shaped by each other, yet few connections have been made systematically between the two. This book brings together leading international scholars to examine the effect of globalisation on nationalism, and how the persistence of the nation affects globalisation. With a range of case studies from Europe, the US and Asia, the authors focus on the interaction between globalisation, national identity, national sovereignty, state-formation and the economy. Part one provides theoretical reflections on the flexibility and plasticity of the terms nationalism and globalisation focusing on the ways in which nationalism has shaped and has been shaped by globalising forces. Part two examines the relationship between nationalism and globalisation in different historical eras and different regions, questioning established approaches. Part three focuses on contemporary issues including the economic crisis, labour migration and citizenship and the theme of global culture. The result is a highly topical account that considers the conceptual landscape of Nationalism and Globalisation. With an interdisciplinary approach, Nationalism and Globalisation will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, sociology, history, economics and international relations.

Too often Christian college students feel they must either downplay their faith or stick to a small circle of like-minded friends and organizations. Somewhere along the way assumptions have taken root that intellectual university life and Christian faith cannot be synthesized. Klassen and Zimmermann assert that much is at stake for the young university student. A worldview takes a lasting shape and faith is usually discovered, deepened, or discarded during a collegiate journey. This new work is designed to give students, parents, and other interested readers a guide to the intellectual culture of the modern university and its contribution to society, helping them to realize the power of the university's influence and discover how to connect Christian belief to cutting-edge thinking.

The first volume of its kind, Christianity and Constitutionalism explores the contribution of Christianity to constitutional law and constitutionalism as viewed from the perspectives of history, law, and theology. The authors examine a wide range of key figures, including Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Moses, Martin Luther, and Roger Williams, offering innovative and thoughtful analyses of the relationship between religious thought and constitutional law. Part I features contributions from historians and is focused on the historical influence of Christianity on constitutionalism, recounting how the relationship between the Christian faith and fundamental ideas about law, justice, and government has evolved from era to era. Part II offers the analyses of constitutional lawyers, focusing on the normative implications of Christianity for particular themes or topics in constitutional law. The chapters in this section orbit around several central doctrines and principles of this field--including sovereignty, the rule of law, democracy, the separation of powers, human rights, conscience, and federalism--evaluating them from a range of Christian perspectives. Part III rounds out the study with theologians focused on particular Christian doctrines, exploring their constructive and sometimes critical implications for constitutionalism. As a whole, Christianity and Constitutionalism breaks new ground by offering wide-ranging, interdisciplinary contributions to the study of the relationship between the Christian religion and constitutional law.

Demonstrating and defending a method of close reading and historical contextualisation of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, this collection of essays by Tom McAlindon combines a number of previously published pieces with original studies. The volume includes six interpretative studies, all but one of which involve challenges to radical readings of the plays involved, including Henry V, Coriolanus, The Tempest, and Doctor Faustus. The other three essays are critiques of the claims and methods of radical, postmodernist criticism (new historicism and cultural materialism especially); they illustrate the author's conviction that some leading scholars in the field of Renaissance literature and drama, who deserve credit for shifting attention to new areas of interest, must also be charged with responsibility for a marked decline in standards of analysis, interpretation, and argument. Likely to provoke considerable debate, this stimulating collection is an important contribution to Shakespeare studies.

What is a humanist? After an introduction to the earliest ideas of, and terms for, humanism in the ancient world, noted humanist Nicolas Walter explores the history of humanism and its evolving definitions from the time of the original appearance and first meanings of "humanist" in the Italian Renaissance, concluding with a manifesto of modern humanism. Drawing on personal experience and information from more than 400 sources, this is the first full-length treatment of the subject.

Norman Gottwald's monumental The Tribes of Yahweh caused an immediate sensation when first published in 1979, and its influence has continued to be felt, both in the area of biblical politics and in the application of sociological methods to the Hebrew Bible. This book reflects on the impact and the implications of the work after twenty years. The distinguished contributors are David Jobling, Frank Frick, Charles Carter, Carol Meyers, Jacques Berlinerblau, Itumeleng Mosala, Gerald West, Roland Boer and, in a response to contributors as well as an interview with the editor, Norman Gottwald himself.

This work of love is an examination of a God-centered view of life through the eyes of a modern-day mystic by the name of Dr. Charles Bozidar Ashanin. His is a story of the evolutionary effect which suffering can have on the human psyche when it is a suffering which is accepted as an opportunity for spiritual awakening. Like the saints of the Early Church before him, Dr. Ashanin demonstrated with his life how transformative and powerful suffering can be when it is received as a part of one's relationship with God and therefore with one's relationship with the universe.

The Celebration of Death in Contemporary Culture investigates the emergence and meaning of the cult of death. Over the last three decades, Halloween has grown to rival Christmas in its popularity. Dark tourism has emerged as a rapidly expanding industry. “Corpse chic” and “skull style” have entered mainstream fashion, while elements of gothic, horror, torture porn, and slasher movies have streamed into more conventional genres. Monsters have become pop culture heroes: vampires, zombies, and serial killers now appeal broadly to audiences of all ages. This book breaks new ground by viewing these phenomena as aspects of a single movement and documenting its development in contemporary Western culture. This book links the mounting demand for images of violent death with dramatic changes in death-related social rituals. It offers a conceptual framework that connects observations of fictional worlds—including The Twilight Saga, The Vampire Diaries, and the Harry Potter series—with real-world sociocultural practices, analyzing the aesthetic, intellectual, and historical underpinnings of the cult of death. It also places the celebration of death in the context of a longstanding critique of humanism and investigates the role played by 20th-century French theory, posthumanism, transhumanism, and the animal rights movement in shaping the current antihumanist atmosphere. This timely, thought-provoking book will appeal to scholars of culture, film, literature, anthropology, and American and Russian studies, as well as general readers seeking to understand a defining phenomenon of our age.