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While leadership is an over-used term today, how it is defined for women and the contexts in which it emerges remains elusive. Moreover, women are exhorted to exercise leadership, but occupying leadership positions has its challenges. Issues of access, acceptable behaviour and the development of skills to be successful leaders are just some of them. Diversity in Leadership: Australian women, past and presentprovides a new understanding of the historical and contemporary aspects of Indigenous and non-Indigenous women’s leadership in a range of local, national and international contexts. It brings interdisciplinary expertise to the topic from leading scholars in a range of fields and diverse backgrounds. The aims of the essays in the collection document the extent and diverse nature of women’s social and political leadership across various pursuits and endeavours within democratic political structures.
Religion and spirituality are being transformed in our late modern and secularising times. New forms of belief proliferate, often notable for not being limited to traditional systems of reference or expression. Increasingly, these new religions present worldviews which draw directly upon popular culture - or occulture - in fiction, film, art and the internet. Fantasy and Belief explores the context and implications of these types of beliefs through the example of the Otherkin community. The Otherkin are a loosely-affiliated group who believe themselves to be in some way more than just human, their non-humanity often rooted in the characters and narratives of popular fantasy and science fiction. Challenging much current sociological thinking about spirituality and consumption, Fantasy and Belief reveals how popular occulture operates to recycle, develop, and disseminate metaphysical ideas, and how the popular and the sacred are combining in new ways in today's world.
This illuminating account of contemporary American Buddhism shows the remarkable ways the tradition has changed over the past generation The past couple of decades have witnessed Buddhist communities both continuing the modernization of Buddhism and questioning some of its limitations. In this fascinating portrait of a rapidly changing religious landscape, Ann Gleig illuminates the aspirations and struggles of younger North American Buddhists during a period she identifies as a distinct stage in the assimilation of Buddhism to the West. She observes both the emergence of new innovative forms of deinstitutionalized Buddhism that blur the boundaries between the religious and secular, and a revalorization of traditional elements of Buddhism, such as ethics and community, that were discarded in the modernization process. Based on extensive ethnographic and textual research, the book ranges from mindfulness debates in the Vipassana network to the sex scandals in American Zen, while exploring issues around racial diversity and social justice, the impact of new technologies, and generational differences between baby boomer, Gen X, and millennial teachers.
Environmental Sociology, intended for use in Environmental Sociology courses, uses sociological methods and perspectives to analyze key environmental issues. The reader is organized like an introduction to sociology reader, and comprised of readings that are accessible to and interesting for undergraduates.
Volume 31 of Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, A Diversity of Paradigms, showcases two approaches to the socio-scientific study of religion. It includes a special section within which authors draw on data collected about congregational life in the Australian National Church Life Surveys (from 1991 to present). These studies give voice to minority groups and children. While findings include the strengths of ethnic diversity and the positive experiences of young churchgoers, they also highlight that full inclusion in local church life is far from being realized. A second section explores the application of feminist approaches within the sociology of religion. In their struggle for equality for women, feminist scholars developed methodologies to challenge the marginality of any ‘othered’ group. This section showcases how use of these methods challenges hierarchies within knowledge.
IBSS is the essential tool for librarians, university departments, research institutions and any public or private institution whose work requires access to up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge on the social sciences.
The Routledge Handbook of Fiction and Belief offers a fresh reevaluation of the relationship between fiction and belief, surveying key debates and perspectives from a range of disciplines including narrative and cultural studies, science, religion, and politics. This volume draws on global, cutting edge research and theory to investigate the historically variable understandings of fictionality, and allows readers to grasp the role of fictions in our understanding of the world. This interdisciplinary approach provides a thorough introduction to the fundamental themes of: Theoretical and Philosophical Perspectives on Fiction Fiction, Fact, and Science Social Effects and Uses of Fiction Fiction...
An introduction to one of the most challenging areas of contextual theology. Queer theology is a significant new development and central to much current teaching and thinking about gender, sexuality and the body.
This textbook explores cultural responsiveness needed for working with diverse Australian communities in psychology and counselling settings, as well as in social science research. Key concepts essential for self-awareness and multicultural understanding are discussed in detail, encouraging readers to explore socialisation, discrimination and bias as well as effective principles for change. Topics covered include postcolonialism in relation to Indigenous Australians, racism, classism, sexism, cisgenderism and heterosexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism and religion. Over eleven chapters key concepts are discussed by experts in the field. Each topic covered includes a summary of relevant current affairs, followed by reflective essays from individuals sharing their own stories about their identities and experiences. Each chapter concludes with transformational learning activities to cultivate further insight, engagement and understanding of oppression and multicultural experiences. This book will be a core resource for those completing tertiary psychology and counselling courses in Australia, and for those wishing to ensure their existing practice is up to date.
This volume considers the complex relationships that exist between Christianity, rape culture, and gender violence. Each chapter explores the various roles that Christian theologies, teachings, and practices have played in shaping contemporary understandings of gender violence and in sanctioning rape-supportive cultural belief systems and practices. Our contributors explore this topic from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including theology, gender and queer studies, cultural studies, pastoral care, and counseling. Together, the chapters in this volume testify to the considerable influence that Christianity has had, and continues to have, in directing conversations within the Christian tradition around gender violence and rape culture. They therefore invite readers to engage fruitfully in these conversations, fostering transformative dialogues with the Christian community about our shared responsibility to tackle the current global crisis of gender violence.