Bible and Bedlam first critically questions the exclusion and stereotyping of certain biblical characters and scholars perceived as 'mad', as such judgements illustrate the 'sanism' (prejudice against individuals who are diagnosed or perceived as mentally ill) perpetuated within the discipline of Western biblical studies. Second, it seeks to highlight the widespread ideological 'gatekeeping' - 'protection' and 'policing' of madness in both western history and scholarship - with regard to celebrated biblical figures, including Jesus and Paul. Third, it initiates creative exchanges between biblical texts, interpretations and contemporary voices from 'mad' studies and sources (autobiographies, memoirs etc.), which are designed to critically disturb, disrupt and displace commonly projected (and often pejorative) assumptions surrounding 'madness'. Voices of those subject to diagnostic labelling such as autism, schizophrenia and/or psychosis are among those juxtaposed here with selected biblical interpretations and texts.

The senses are used within New Testament texts as instruments of knowledge and power and thus constitute important mediators of cultural knowledge and experience. Likewise, those instances where sensory faculty is perceived to be 'disabled' in some way also become key sites for ideological commentary and critique. However, often biblical scholarship, itself 'disabled' by eye-centric and textocentric 'norms', has read sensory-disabled characters as nothing more than inert sites of healing; their agency, including their alternative sensory modes of communication and resistance to oppression, remain largely unaddressed. In response, Louise J. Lawrence seeks to initiate a variety of interdisciplinary dialogues with disability studies and sensory anthropology in a quest to refigure characters with sensory disabilities featured in the gospels and provide alternative interpretations of their conditions and social interactions. In each instance the identity of those stigmatised as 'other' (according to particular physiological, social and cultural 'norms') are recovered by exploring ethnographic accounts which document the stories of those experiencing similar rejection on account of perceived sensory 'difference' in diverse cross-cultural settings. Through this process these 'disabled' characters are recast as individuals capable of employing certain strategies which destabilize the stigma imposed upon them and tactical performers who can subversively achieve their social goals.

This book examines the role of compassion in refiguring the university. Plotting a reimagining of the university through care, other-regard, and a commitment to act in response to the suffering of others, the author draws on various humanities disciplines to illuminate the potential of compassion in the campus. The book asks how the sector can reclaim the university from the tides of neoliberalism, inequalities and increased workloads, and which moral principles and competencies would need to be championed and instilled to build inclusive citizenship and positive connection with others. A value that is too scarcely taught, experienced, or advocated in contexts of higher education, compassion is reframed as an essential pillar of the university and a means to an epistemically just campus and curricula.

Louise Lawrence introduces you to contextual Bible reading, which prioritizes the question 'what does the Bible mean to you in your context?'. She provides a practical resource that will enable you to initiate such readings within your own context. Examples of readings from a range of contexts are given, including reading with a group from an urban regeneration area, reading with a rural village, reading with priests and reading with deaf people. Tips and resources for how to run your own contextual Bible reading are also given enabling you, and your community, to read the Bible in a new light.

This book examines the role of compassion in refiguring the university. Plotting a reimagining of the university through care, other-regard, and a commitment to act in response to the suffering of others, the author draws on various humanities disciplines to illuminate the potential of compassion in the campus. The book asks how the sector can reclaim the university from the tides of neoliberalism, inequalities and increased workloads, and which moral principles and competencies would need to be championed and instilled to build inclusive citizenship and positive connection with others. A value that is too scarcely taught, experienced, or advocated in contexts of higher education, compassion is reframed as an essential pillar of the university and a means to an epistemically just campus and curricula.

The senses are used within New Testament texts as instruments of knowledge and power and thus constitute important mediators of cultural knowledge and experience. Likewise, those instances where sensory faculty is perceived to be 'disabled' in some way also become key sites for ideological commentary and critique. However, often biblical scholarship, itself 'disabled' by eye-centric and textocentric 'norms', has read sensory-disabled characters as nothing more than inert sites of healing; their agency, including their alternative sensory modes of communication and resistance to oppression, remain largely unaddressed. In response, Louise J. Lawrence seeks to initiate a variety of interdisciplinary dialogues with disability studies and sensory anthropology in a quest to refigure characters with sensory disabilities featured in the gospels and provide alternative interpretations of their conditions and social interactions. In each instance the identity of those stigmatised as 'other' (according to particular physiological, social and cultural 'norms') are recovered by exploring ethnographic accounts which document the stories of those experiencing similar rejection on account of perceived sensory 'difference' in diverse cross-cultural settings. Through this process these 'disabled' characters are recast as individuals capable of employing certain strategies which destabilize the stigma imposed upon them and tactical performers who can subversively achieve their social goals.

Bible and Bedlam first critically questions the exclusion and stereotyping of certain biblical characters and scholars perceived as 'mad', as such judgements illustrate the 'sanism' (prejudice against individuals who are diagnosed or perceived as mentally ill) perpetuated within the discipline of Western biblical studies. Second, it seeks to highlight the widespread ideological 'gatekeeping' - 'protection' and 'policing' of madness in both western history and scholarship - with regard to celebrated biblical figures, including Jesus and Paul. Third, it initiates creative exchanges between biblical texts, interpretations and contemporary voices from 'mad' studies and sources (autobiographies, memoirs etc.), which are designed to critically disturb, disrupt and displace commonly projected (and often pejorative) assumptions surrounding 'madness'. Voices of those subject to diagnostic labelling such as autism, schizophrenia and/or psychosis are among those juxtaposed here with selected biblical interpretations and texts.