Evangelical Bible study groups are the most prolific type of small group in American society, with more than 30 million Protestants gathering every week for this distinct purpose, meeting in homes, churches, coffee shops, restaurants, and other public and private venues across the country. What happens in these groups? How do they help shape the contours of American Evangelical life? While more public forms of political activism have captured popular and scholarly imaginations, it is in group Bible study that Evangelicals reflect on the details of their faith. Here they become self-conscious religious subjects, sharing the intimate details of life, interrogating beliefs and practices, and articulating their version of Christian identity and culture.

In Words upon the Word, James S. Bielo draws on over nineteen months of ethnographic work with five congregations to better understand why group Bible study matters so much to Evangelicals and for Evangelical culture. Through a close analysis of participants' discourse, Bielo examines the defining themes of group life--from textual interpretation to spiritual intimacy and the rehearsal of witnessing. Bielo's approach allows these Evangelical groups to speak for themselves, illustrating Bible study's uniqueness in Evangelical life as a site of open and critical dialogue. Ultimately, Bielo's ethnography sheds much needed light on the power of group Bible study for the ever-evolving shape of American Evangelicalism.

This book provides an interpretation of sport in contemporary South Africa through an historical account of the evolution and social ramifications of sport in the twentieth century. It comprises chapters which trace the growth of sports such as football, cricket, surfing, boxing and rugby, and considers their relationship to aspects of racial identity, masculinity, femininity, political and social development in the country. The book also draws out the wider geo-political significance of South African sport, placing it in the context of the development of sport both elsewhere on the African continent and internationally. The history of sport has seen significant international growth over the past few decades. For the most part, however, the history of sport in Africa has remained largely untraced. By detailing the way in which sport 's development in South Africa overlapped with major socio-political processes on the wider African continent, this volume seeks to narrow the gap.

This book was previously published as a special issue of the International Journal of the History of Sport.

Despite the disapproval that "visibly" Muslim women face in the West, the U.S. does not ban the hijab or niqab. Nevertheless, it does find a way to manage assertive Muslim women. How so? Subtly and without outright confrontation: through the courts, bureaucratic processes and liberal discourses. From a range of juridical decisions connected not only by a distinctly neocolonial gaze, but also through the tacit dimension of race, Muslim women-among other women of color-are reconceived as neonates who must be taught to behave: as Americans, as professional women, and as autonomous, mildly independent subjects. Focusing on the discrimination claims of Muslim women, this study examines juridical and political approaches that dismiss Muslim women and other populations of color as culturally backward, misguided in their thinking, and gratuitously nonconformist. Likewise, it analyses the experience of racial dismissal through excruciation: the phenomenon by which vulnerable populations are pressed into hopeless performances of cultural assimilation. Racial dismissal is excavated through legal opinions, court transcripts, and other encounters between Muslim women and the state. Ultimately, this work finds that the racial address of dismissal and the phenomena of excruciation have been pivotal to a liberal juridical order that otherwise claims neutrality. By concentrating on the treatment of Muslim women, this book uncovers dynamics of social and racial division which have inhabited and bolstered liberal legal neutrality from its inception. This book's framework, while focusing on Muslim women in the U.S., is a template for understanding how exclusion is juridically implemented for other racialized and marginalized populations.

This book approaches the concept of cosmopolitan sociability as a cultural or territorial rootedness that facilitates a simultaneous openness to shared human emotions, experiences, and aspirations.

Cosmopolitan Sociability critiques definitions of cosmopolitanism as a tolerance for cultural difference or a universalist morality that arise from contemporary experiences of mobility and globalization. Challenging these assumptions, the book explores the degree to which a 'cosmopolitan dimension' can be practised within particular religious communities, diasporic ties, or gendered migrant identities in different parts of the world. A wide variety of expert contributors offer rich ethnographic insights into the interplay of social interactions and cosmopolitan sociability. In this way the book contributes significantly to ethnic and migration studies, global anthropology, social theory, and religious and cultural studies.

Cosmopolitan Sociability was originally published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies.

China has experienced a tremendous turn-around over the past three decades from the ethos of sacrificing life to the emergent appeal for valuing life. This book takes an interdisciplinary look at China during these decades of transformation through the defining theme of governance of life. With an emphasis on how to achieve an adequate life, the contributors integrate a whole range of life-related domains including: the death of Sun Zhigang, the peril caused by rising tobacco consumption, the emerging suicide intervention, the turning points in the fight against AIDS, the intensely evolving birth policy, the emerging biological citizenship, and so on. In doing so, they explore how biological life has been governed differently to enhance the wellbeing of the population instead of promoting ideological goals. This change, dubbed "the deepening in governmentality," is one of the most important driving forces for China's rise, and will have huge bearings on how the Chinese will achieve an adequate life in the 21st century. This book presents works by a number of internationally known scholars and will be of interest to students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, political science, history, Chinese philosophy, law, and public health.

Since German unification, there have been many reports about xenophobia in Germany and the government has attempted to stem the new wave of racism. In contrast, the voices of the victims of racism -- refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants -- are seldom heard.
This first anthology of essays by significant writers from minority groups in Germany -- Turks, Afro-Germans, German Jews, Eastern Europeans and others -- sheds new light on the diverse experiences of minority groups living in Germany today. It also introduces to English-speaking audiences innovative literary talents whose contribution to German culture has not yet received the attention it deserves.
Students of contemporary German culture who wish to increase their understanding of the changing nature of German society will find this book invaluable. It will also be of interest to anyone following the rise of xenophobia in Germany, its possible causes, and the changing politics of immigration.

Tackle systemic racism in the workplace with practical strategies In The Anti-Racist Organization: Dismantling Systemic Racism in the Workplace, HR strategist Shereen Daniels delivers an incisive and honest discussion of how business leaders can change workplace practices to create a more anti-racist and equitable environment. The author draws on her personal and client-facing experience, historical fact, legal proceedings, HR insights, and quantitative analysis to equip readers with the knowledge and tools they need to transform their companies. Daniels also looks at: The role of executive leaders and how to push past discomfort to credibly and authentically lead change Strategies for recognising the problem of systemic racism and implementing impactful solutions Why it's important to empower colleagues to be pioneers of change and how to do that Explanations of why diversity and inclusion initiatives haven't yet solved the problem Ways language can either be a weapon to perpetuate systemic racism or a tool to dismantle An indispensable exploration of how systemic racism is engrained into business structures, policies, and procedures, The Anti-Racist Organization: Dismantling Systemic Racism in the Workplace belongs in the libraries of all business leaders seeking to make their workplace more inclusive and equitable.

African Clusters in India examines the discrimination and stereotypes faced by the African migrants in India. It outlines the narratives of the migrants and demonstrates how their 'African identity' gets associated with drugs, prostitution, and cannibalism. The book brings to the fore how the African migrants experience racial profiling based on a conflated African identity, and how this identity gets generalised irrespective of their different nationalities and leads to social exclusion. This monograph argues that the antagonistic urban environment facilitates the formation of a pan-African identity as a response to biases and stereotypes. It also explores the role of language, culture, and politics of representation to show the process of othering and exclusion in India. Drawing on lived experiences of the migrants, the volume engages with the larger discourse of globalization, liberalisation, and migration within the global south. It will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of critical race theory, ethnography, urban sociology, African studies, and South Asian studies

Immigration has been a contested issue for decades. This distinctive volume of essays on Southern Californian immigration is inspired by Michael Burawoy's call for academic consideration to be more open and accessible to people in what he calls "public sociology." The essays in Scholars and Southern Californian Immigrants in Dialogue: New Conversations in Public Sociology bridge the gap between scholars and undocumented persons themselves in an interdisciplinary and vibrant dialogue. The conversations include sociologists, lawyers, and community and religious leaders, alongside first-hand stories of immigrant survival in hostile and exploitive environments. This volume serves as a model for genuine public engagement of the immigration battle.

Decolonising the Human examines the ongoing project of constituting ‘the human’ in light of the durability of coloniality and the persistence of multiple oppressions

The ‘human’ emerges as a deeply political category, historically constructed as a scarce existential resource. Once weaponised, it allows for the social, political and economic elevation of those who are centred within its magic circle, and the degradation, marginalisation and immiseration of those excluded as the different and inferior Other, the less than human.

Speaking from Africa, a key site where the category of the human has been used throughout European modernity to control, exclude and deny equality of being, the contributors use decoloniality as a potent theoretical and philosophical tool, gesturing towards a liberated, pluriversal world where human difference will be recognised as a gift, not used to police the boundaries of the human. Here is a transdisciplinary critical exploration of a wide range of subjects, including history, politics, philosophy, sociology, anthropology and decolonial studies.

Nwankwo Nwaezeigwe's revelatory study of the Igbo people and their Nri neighbors presents a paradigm shift in the interpretation of Igbo history and culture. British colonial ethnography held that the Nri, who form part of a larger Igbo subgroup named Umunri, are the scions of a remote historical kingdom that once ruled the entire Igbo land. It further advanced the thesis that before the coming of the Nri, the Igbo as an ethnic group had no culture defined as Igbo except what the Nri introduced to become what is defined today as Igbo culture. By this definition of origin, Politics, Culture, and Origins in Nigeria posits that the Nri were not originally Igbo but recent immigrants from Igala kingdom of Idah who arrived in the early sixteenth century and that the Nri origin myth is factually and historically invalid.

Written by a renowned international business scholar with particular expertise in Latin America Provides a broad, academic treatment of the region emphasizing both macro and micro level issues Demonstrates that the countries that make up Latin America have unique cultures and political economies, and discusses how these differences impact on business strategies for the region Second edition has been substantially revised and updated to include emerging political themes that impact upon business practices, along with fresh cases and examples Includes chapters not usually covered in other books, such as entrepreneurship, leadership, HRM, sustainability, income inequality, social responsibility, and transparency

The essays in "Europe in Black and White "offer new critical perspectives on race, immigration, and identity on the Old Continent. In reconsidering the various forms of encounters with difference, such as multiculturalism and hybridity, the contributors address a number of issues, including the cartography of postcolonial Europe, its relation to the production of "difference" and "race," and national and identity politics and their dependence on linguistic practices inherited from imperial times. Featuring scholars from a wide variety of nationalities and disciplinary areas, this collection will speak to an equally wide readership.

The book begins with an agenda-setting introduction which will provide an overview of the central question being addressed, such as the circumstances associated with the move towards a political settlement, the parameters of this settlement and the factors that have assisted in bringing it about. The remaining contributions will focus on a range of cases selected for their diversity and their capacity to highlight the full gamut of political approaches to conflict resolution. The cases vary in:

• the intensity of the conflict (from Belgium, where it is potential rather than actual, to Sri Lanka, where it has come to a recent violent conclusion);
• in the geopolitical relationship between the competing groups (from Cyprus, where they are sharply segregated geographically, to Northern Ireland, where they are intermingled);
• in the extent to which a stable constitutional accommodation has been reached (ranging from the Basque Country, with a large range of unresolved problems, to South Africa, which has achieved a significant level of institutional stability).

This book ranges over the world's major geopolitical zones, including Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe and will be of interest to practitioners in the field of international security.

This book was published as a special issue of Nationalism and Ethnic Politics.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of Stuart Hall's work in shaping the field of racial and ethnic studies for nearly five decades. From his groundbreaking work Policing the Crisis through to his paradigm shattering 'New Ethnicities', Hall's writing has redefined how race research is thought and done, while Hall himself stands as an exemplar of the public and politically engaged intellectual. This collection of essays, from established and emerging scholars, critically engages with Hall's legacy across this body of work, from the foundations of cultural studies as a field of enquiry, through his work on race and articulation, to his insights into 'the politics of difference' and diaspora identities. These essays both reflect back on Hall's interventions and locate them within some of the key spaces and questions of our time - from the 'political theology' of race in South Africa to the terrain of the contemporary city, from reflections on memory, nationhood and belonging to new ethnicities online and the formation of postcolonial subjectivities. The collection includes an in-depth conversation between Les Back and Stuart Hall, in which Hall reflects on his career and explores the challenges facing contemporary multicultural, multifaith societies in a globalised world. This book was published as a special issue of Cultural Studies.

This book is about the phenomenon of transit migration to Europe, and its impact on states and people.This book presets topical subject: the issue is politicized and mediatized. It combines new research data with an originality in approach: both top-down and bottom-up. It focuses inside and outside Europe.Challenging traditional approaches to migration, which see migrants in narrow categories (legal and illegal, newcomer and settler), Transit Migration shows that migrants and refugees live in transit for years, a stage in the migration course profoundly affecting destination countries and the migrants themselves.

This book analyzes widespread global ethnic conflicts that tear asunder nations and regions, such as the former Yugoslavia. Dan Chirot casts his analysis in a discussion of the conflict between national and ethnic identity, discovering that ethnic identity, rooted in centuries of tradition and habit, often trumps national identity, which may be of more recent gestation and have a weaker hold on people. His analysis affords insights into the recent aggressive U.S. posture on nation building, ' showing the blindness of this approach to deeply-entrenched ethnic identities. His timely book can be used in classes on globalization, international development, political sociology, social movements, and theory. The goal of this new, unique Series is to offer readable, teachable "thinking frames" on today's social problems and social issues by leading scholars, all in short 60 page or shorter formats, and available for view on http: //routledge.customgateway.com/routledge-social-issues.html For instructors teaching a wide range of courses in the social sciences, the Routledge Social Issues Collection now offers the best of both worlds: originally written short texts that provide "overviews" to important social issues as well as teachable excerpts from larger works previously published by Routledge and other presses.

This book provides rich and provocative comparative studies of South and Southeast Asian domestic workers who migrate to other parts of Asia. These studies range from Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore, to Yemen, Israel, Jordan, and the UAE. Conceptually and methodologically, this book challenges us to move beyond established regional divides and proposes new ways of mapping inter-Asian connections. The authors view migrant workers within a wider spatial context of intersecting groups and trajectories through time. Keenly attentive to the importance of migrants of diverse nationalities who have labored in multiple regions, this book examines intimate connections and distant divides in the social lives and politics of migrant workers across time and space.

Collectively, the authors propose new themes, new comparative frameworks, and new methodologies for considering vastly different degrees of social support structures and political activism, and the varied meanings of citizenship and state responsibility in sending and receiving countries. They highlight the importance of formal institutions that shape and promote migratory labor, advocacy for workers, or curtail workers rights, as well as the social identities and cultural practices and beliefs that may be linked to new inter-ethnic social and political affiliations that traverse and also transform inter-Asian spaces and pathways to mobility.

This book was published as a special issue of Critical Asian Studies.

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"Breaks new ground by offering us a much better understanding of the operation of both religious congregations and race relations in the U.S. The research is impressive, the analysis smart, and the insights and implications important. This is a unique and significant book."
--Christian Smith, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"Draws on six case studies to propose a nuanced theory of the dynamics associated with the success or failure of multicultural congregations. This book honestly confronts the issues related to taking part in or pastoring an integrated congregation."
--Donald E. Miller, Executive Director, Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California

Religious institutions are among the most segregated organizations in American society. This segregation has long been a troubling issue among scholars and religious leaders alike.

Despite attempts to address this racial divide, integrated churches are very difficult to maintain over time. Why is this so? How can organizations incorporate separate racial, ethnic, and cultural groups? Should they? And what are the costs and rewards for people and groups in such organizations?

Following up on Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith's award-winning "Divided by Faith," Against All Odds breaks new ground by exploring the beliefs, practices, and structures which allow integrated religious organizations to survive and thrive despite their difficulties. Based on six in-depth ethnographies of churches and other Christian organizations, this engaging work draws on numerous interviews, so that readers can hear first-hand the joys andfrustrations which arise from actually experiencing racial integration. The book gives an inside, visceral sense of what it is like to be part of a multiracial religious organization as well as a theoretical understanding of these experiences.

Although many Americans think of Jackie Robinson when considering the story of segregation in baseball, a long history of tragedies and triumphs precede Robinson's momentous debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. From the pioneering Cuban Giants (1885-1915) to the Negro Leagues (1920-1960), black baseball was a long-standing staple of African American communities. While many of its artifacts and statistics are lost, black baseball figured vibrantly in films, novels, plays, and poems. In Invisible Ball of Dreams: Literary Representations of Baseball behind the Color Line, author Emily Ruth Rutter examines wide-ranging representations of this history by William Brashler, Jerome Charyn, August Wilson, Gloria Naylor, Harmony Holiday, Kevin King, Kadir Nelson, and Denzel Washington, among others. Reading representations across the literary color line, Rutter opens a propitious space for exploring black cultural pride and residual frustrations with racial hypocrisies on the one hand and the benefits and limitations of white empathy on the other. Exploring these topics is necessary to the project of enriching the archives of segregated baseball in particular and African American cultural history more generally.

In "Contours of White Ethnicity," Yiorgos Anagnostou explores the construction of ethnic history and reveals how and why white ethnics selectively retain, rework, or reject their pasts. Challenging the tendency to portray Americans of European background as a uniform cultural category, the author demonstrates how a generalized view of American white ethnics misses the specific identity issues of particular groups as well as their internal differences. Interdisciplinary in scope, "Contours of White Ethnicity" uses the example of Greek America to illustrate how the immigrant past can be used to combat racism and be used to bring about solidarity between white ethnics and racial minorities. Illuminating the importance of the past in the construction of ethnic identities today, Anagnostou presents the politics of evoking the past to create community, affirm identity, and nourish reconnection with ancestral roots, then identifies the struggles to neutralize oppres sive pasts. Although it draws from the scholarship on a specific ethnic group, "Contours of White Ethnicity "exhibits a sophisticated, interdisciplinary methodology, which makes it of particular interest to scholars researching ethnicity and race in the United States and for those charting the directions of future research for white ethnicities.