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In Unnatural Doubts, Michael Williams constructs a masterly polemic against the very idea of epistemology, as traditionally conceived. Although philosophers have often found problems in efforts to study the nature and limits of human knowledge, Williams provides the first book that systematically argues against there being such a thing as knowledge of the external world. He maintains that knowledge of the world consitutes a theoretically coherent kind of knowledge, whose possibility needs to be defended, only given a deeply problematic doctrine he calls "epistemological realism." The only alternative to epistemological realism is a thoroughgoing contextualism.
As South Africa consolidates its democracy, chieftaincy has remained a controversial and influential institution that has adapted to recent changes. J. Michael Williams examines the chieftaincy and how it has sought to assert its power since the end of apartheid. By taking local-level politics seriously and looking closely at how chiefs negotiate the new political order, Williams takes a position between those who see the chieftaincy as an indigenous democratic form deserving recognition and protection, and those who view it as incompatible with democracy. Williams describes a network of formal and informal accommodations that have influenced the ways state and local authorities interact. By focusing on local perceptions of the chieftaincy and its interactions with the state, Williams reveals an ongoing struggle for democratization at the local and national levels in South Africa.
Studying the prophets," writes Michael J. Williams, "opens a window through which, if we look carefully enough, we may glimpse the entirety of God's redemptive plan." In The Prophet and His Message Williams helps both students and lay persons expand their vision of the Old Testament from a prophetic perspective. Rather than introduce each prophetic book, Williams examines what a prophet is and does, Israel's prophetic role, Jesus as the ultimate prophet, and the church's prophetic ministry today. Book jacket.
A simple, no-nonsense guide to change your life and take hold of your dreams “I have a confession,” writes author Justin Michael Williams. “This is not really a meditation book.” Yes, Williams is going to teach you everything you need to know about meditation—but if you came looking for a typical book on mindfulness, you’re in the wrong place. Stay Woke is FOR THE PEOPLE. All people, of all backgrounds deserve to have access to the information they need to change their lives. And if you grew up in struggle—overcoming homophobia, anxiety, sexism, depression, poverty, toxic masculinity, racism, or trauma—you need a different type of meditation . . . one that doesn’t pretend t...
Across the globe, from mega-cities to isolated resource enclaves, the provision and governance of security takes place within assemblages that are de-territorialized in terms of actors, technologies, norms and discourses. They are embedded in a complex transnational architecture, defying conventional distinctions between public and private, global and local. Drawing on theories of globalization and late modernity, along with insights from criminology, political science and sociology, Security Beyond the State maps the emergence of the global private security sector and develops a novel analytical framework for understanding these global security assemblages. Through in-depth examinations of four African countries – Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa – it demonstrates how global security assemblages affect the distribution of social power, the dynamics of state stability, and the operations of the international political economy, with significant implications for who gets secured and how in a global era.
Michael Williams has spent the past year travelling along the fascinating rail byways of Britain for this new collection of journeys. From the most luxurious and historic - aboard the Orient Express - to the most futuristic - on the driverless trains of London's Docklands Light Railway - here is a unique travel companion celebrating the treasures of our railway heritage from one of Britain's most knowledgeable railway writers." --Front flap.
The shaman is a visionary who has the ability to connect with nature and the spirit world, and to heal. Shamanism is increasingly popular today as we recognise its power to reaffirm our links with the natural world and bring us to greater awareness and spiritual fulfilment. Drawing on traditional ethnic as well as contemporary Western practice, this beautifully illustrated book reveals the ancient heart of shamanism and its continuing relevance for the way we live today. It contains practical exercises that anyone can perform. Part One, Place, explores sacred sites and landscapes - key places of spiritual power where we can tune into natural energy flow, through vision quests and medicine wh...
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SOMETIMES you come across a lofty railway viaduct, marooned in the middle of a remote country landscape. Or a crumbling platform from some once-bustling junction buried under the buddleia. If you are lucky you might be able to follow some rusting tracks, or explore an old tunnel leading to...well, who knows where? Listen hard. Is that the wind in the undergrowth? Or the spectre of a train from a golden era of the past panting up the embankment? These are the ghosts of The Trains Now Departed. They are the railway lines, and services that ran on them that have disappeared and gone forever. Our lost legacy includes lines prematurely axed, often with a gripping and colourful tale of their own, ...
In the face of the continuously changing challenges of the digital age, it is difficult for quality news journalism to survive on any significant scale if a means for adequately funding it is not available. This new study, a follow-up to 2007’s The Future of Journalism in the Advanced Democracies, includes a comparative analysis of possible alternative business models that may save the future of the quality news business across the developed, intermediate, and developing worlds. Its detailed evaluation encompasses also the different ways in which wider key issues are affecting the prospects for quality news as a core ingredient of effectively working democracies. It focuses on the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, India, Kenya, and selected parts of the Arab World, providing a comprehensive cross-cultural survey of different approaches to addressing these various issues. To keep the study firmly rooted in the "real world" the contributors include distinguished practitioners as well as experienced academics.