This publication shows how scholarly investigation of Japanese photography in recent years has entered an important transitional stage -- moving beyond its focus on new discoveries and descriptions of collections, to a more sophisticated investigation of photography in its historical and cultural contexts. At one time marginalized as either a practical technique or amateur art form, Japanese photography has now earned full recognition as a legitimate subject of scholarly inquiry. It is now being examined in terms of its aesthetics, technological development, and its role in the development of a national identity in Japanese art during the country's transition to modernity as well as in contemporary society.Contributors include:Himeno Junichi (on the early development of photography in Japan),Sebastian Dobson (focussing on the colourful figure of Felice Beato),Luke Gartlan (on Baron Raimond von Stillfried-Ratenicz),Allen Hockley (on photographic albums produced by commercial studios in the 1880s and 1890s),Kinoshita Naoyuki (exploring the tradition of war portraiture in Japan)Mikiko Hirayama (describing the transition from the pioneering stages of photography in Japan to the modern era).

More than a book of popular quotes, this volume is a powerful reference tool for some of the most frequently-cited poems, news articles, fiction, memoir, history, and creative nonfiction on the web. It also provides the largest single selection of quotes by the author, many available only in these pages, including the entire special section titled TAO OF THE RAINBOW. In addition, the book as a whole demonstrates the ability of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Google+ to help make positive and inspiring differences in 21st-century life. "Journey through the Power of the Rainbow represents a condensed compendium of literary efforts from a life dedicated to transforming the themes of injustice, grief, and despair that we all encounter during some unavoidable point of our existence into a sustainable life-affirming poetics of passionate creativity, empowered spiritual vision, and inspired commitment." --Aberjhani, from Journey through the Power of the Rainbow

FINALIST FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD • A collection of essays and stories documenting the lived theology and spirituality we need to hear in order to lean into a more freeing, loving, and liberating faith—from the hosts of the beloved Truth’s Table podcast “The liberating work of Truth’s Table creates breathing room to finally have those conversations we’ve been needing to have.”—Morgan Harper Nichols, artist and poet Once upon a time, an activist, a theologian, and a psychologist walked into a group chat. Everything was laid out on the table: Dating. Politics. The Black church. Pop culture. Soon, other Black women began pulling up chairs to gather round. And so, the Truth’s Table podcast was born. In their literary debut, co-hosts Christina Edmondson, Michelle Higgins, and Ekemini Uwan offer stories by Black women and for Black women examining theology, politics, race, culture, and gender matters through a Christian lens. For anyone seeking to explore the spiritual dimensions of hot-button issues within the church, or anyone thirsty to deepen their faith, Truth’s Table provides exactly the survival guide we need, including: • Michelle Higgins’s unforgettable treatise revealing the way “racial reconciliation” is a spiritually bankrupt, empty promise that can often drain us of the ability to do real justice work • Ekemini Uwan’s exploration of Blackness as the image of God in the past, present, and future • Christina Edmondson’s reimagination of what a more just and liberating form of church discipline might look like—one that acknowledges and speaks to the trauma in the room These essays deliver a compelling theological re-education and pair the spiritual formation and political education necessary for Black women of faith.

"During her 70-year ministry the author spoke, through her pen, to young people, to church members, and to the world in the The Youth's Instructor, the Review and Herald, and The Signs of the Times. Selections for this book have been drawn from these three periodicals as well as from her books and previously unpublished manuscripts and letters"--Foreword.

Crystal Downing brings the postmodern theory of semiotics within reach for today's evangelists. Following the idea of the sign through Scripture, church history and the academy, Downing shows you how signs work and how sensitivity to their dynamics can make or break an attempt to communicate truth.