This volume with its emphasis on "Southern Europe" is devoted now for the second time to theological research by women in a particular region of Europe. Women doing research in France, Italy, Spain and Greece provide evidence of and reflection on the history of women's theological studies in their countries and present the results of their studies. These reveal an impressive spectrum of theological research which sometimes has been and must be conducted in difficult structural contexts and under very different economic conditions. This makes the vitality of the research presented all the more convincing; in the different contexts of the individual countries it demonstrates specific and very varied emphases in academic theory and method. Precisely because of their complex and diverse points of departure, the articles evidence a fundamental, interdisciplinary approach and a creative way of seeing things which is concerned to ensure a fundamental openness for debate and dialogue. This volume thus provides an insight into the fascinating diversity and complexity of theological research in Europe.

Building bridges has been and still is the main task of the European Society of Women in Theological Research (ESWTR). It aims to facilitate theological and academic religious debate transcending the borders between languages and countries, as well as those resulting from religions, confessions, cultures or traditions, in order to offer constructive future perspectives. This volume has now adopted "building bridges" as its main theme. It reflects the contributions to the 11th International Conference of ESWTR held in 2005 in the unique historical and cultural setting of Budapest. European women in the lead of theological research discuss the subject on the basis of their different specialist approaches and thus provide a unique spectrum of contemporary discourse from very varied disciplines in theology and religious studies.

For the Yearbook of International Organizations, the most up-to-date and comprehensive reference to international organizations, the UIA has selected the most important 31,086 organizations from its extensive database of current and previous organizations. Yearbook provides profiles of 5,546 intergovernmental and 25,540 international non-governmental organizations active in nearly 300 countries and territories in the world today. Organization descriptions listed in Volume 1 are numbere sequentially to facilitate quick and easy cross-referencing from the other Yearbook Volumes. Users can refer to Volumes 2 and 3 to locate organizations by region or subject respectively, and comprehensive indexes are included. Naturally, the high standards of accuracy, consistency and detail set by previous editions of the Yearbook of International Organizations have been maintained for this edition.

How does one read the story of Sarah and Hagar, or Jezebel and Rahab today, if one is a woman reader situated in a postcolonial society? This is the question undergirding this work, which considers a selection of biblical texts in which women have significant roles. Employing both a gender and a postcolonial lens, it asks sharp questions both of the interests embedded in the texts themselves and of their impact upon contemporary women readers. Whereas most postcolonial studies have been undertaken from the perspective of the colonized this work reads the texts from the position of a settler descendant, and is an attempt to engage with the disquietening and challenging questions that reading from such a location raises. Letters from early settler women in New Zealand, contemporary fiction, and personal reminiscence become tools for the task, complementing those traditionally employed in critical biblical readings.