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Now associated with family health clubs, the YMCA's bland image is the result of relentless outreach and the studied avoidance of controversy. But, as John Gustav-Wrathall shows in his revealing social history of the organization, the life of the YMCA has been filled with strife, tragedy, and irony, a life that itself reflects the struggle over the shifting societal mores regarding masculine friendship and intimacy. Take the Young Stranger by the Hand presents the YMCA as an institution of profound contradictions, reflective of society's views of same-sex love and sexuality. "Gustav-Wrathall's book offers an in-depth history of the origins and purposes of the Young Men's Christian Association and how it evolved into—and out of—a gay playland."—Arnie Kantrowitz, Lambda Book Report "The book's absorbing exploration of the sometimes schismatic, sometimes synergistic relationship between spirituality and sexuality is a fascinating addition to the growing body of social history."—Jim Van Buskirk, San Francisco Bay Guardian
This is the true story of the 1928 Wohelo camp experience of fourteen-year-old Emily Sophian (1913–1994) of Kansas City, Missouri. The story is told in part through letters to her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Abraham Sophian, and to her schoolteachers, Mère Emmanuel and Mère Irene of the Roman Catholic Notre Dame de Sion School in Kansas City. Luther and Charlotte Gulick founded Wohelo in 1907 as the fi rst American summer camp dedicated exclusively to girls. Both founders came from American Protestant missionary families. Clad in middy, bloomers, over-the-knee stockings, and tennis shoes, Emily chronicled with compassion and insight her struggles, triumphs, and observations of camp life on the shores of Sebago Lake in the backwoods of Maine.
Fighting sports may seem at odds with Christian tradition, yet modern ministries have embraced them as a means for evangelism and social outreach. While news media often sensationalize fighting sports, churches see them as a way to appeal to male congregants, presenting a peace-loving yet tough model of discipleship. From martial arts programs at suburban churches to urban boxing ministries geared towards at-risk youth, this book examines the substantial history of church sponsored training in combat sports, and presents arguments by Christian ethicists about their compatibility with church teachings and settings. Interviews with boxing and martial arts ministry leaders describe their programs and the relationship between fight sports and faith.
As the major national biracial women's organization, the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) provided a unique venue for women to respond to American race relations during the first half of the twentieth century. In Christian Sisterhood, Race Relations, and the YWCA, 1906-46, Nancy Marie Robertson shows how women of both races employed different understandings of "Christian sisterhood" in their responses. Although the YWCA was segregated at the local level, African American women were able to effectively challenge white women over YWCA racial policies and practices. Robertson argues that from 1906 through 1946, many white women in the association went from seeing segregation as compat...
There is no single Protestant spirituality but rather Protestant spiritual traditions usually embedded in denominational families that share some basic Protestant principles. These two volumes of Protestant Spiritual Traditions offer essays on twelve traditions written by scholars within those traditions plus a concluding essay that gathers a number of Protestant contributions to Christian spirituality and Western culture under the category of "the body." These thirteen essays discuss the contributions of significant spiritual figures from Martin Luther to Martin Luther King Jr. and offer insights on a range of topics from the theology of the cross to physical fitness.
This collection of essays celebrates 50 years since the founding of the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit at Cambridge University Library. Three generations of scholars contributed their research and memories from their time at the GRU, stretching back to 1974. Their work comprises 18 articles on medieval Jewish History, Hebrew and Arabic manuscripts, archival history, and the story of the Cairo Genizah collections at the University of Cambridge. Together, they demonstrate the achievements of GRU alumni in advancing the field of Genizah Studies for more than five decades.
Same-Sex Affairs is a path-breaking history of male homosexuality in the Pacific Northwest from 1890 to 1930.
This book analyses Whitman's integrated life, writings, and government work in his urban context to reevaluate the writer and the nation's capital in a time of transformation.
There has been an increasing interest in the meaning and importance of friendship in recent years, particularly in the West. However, the history of friendship, and the ways in which it has changed over time, have rarely been examined. Friendship: A History traces the development of friendship in Europe from the Hellenistic period to today. The book brings together a range of essays that examine the language of friendship and its significance in terms of ethics, social institutions, religious organizations and political alliances. The essays study the works of classical and contemporary authors to explore the role of friendship in Western philosophy. Ranging from renaissance friendships to Christian and secular friendships and from women’s writing to the role of class and sex in friendships, Friendship: A History will be invaluable to students and scholars of social history.
The second edition of Gendered Situations, Gendered Selves has been updated throughout, and is an ideal introduction to the discussion of gender in social psychology. The book examines the basic underpinnings of everyday interaction: from how we think, to who we see ourselves and others to be, to how we interact with others. Each of these processes is based on both social psychology and gender (as differentiated from sex), as well as our racial backgrounds, ethnic heritages, socioeconomic circumstances, sexualities, and national histories. The authors present and critique each of the major theories of social psychology, social exchange, social cognition, and symbolic interaction. In doing so...