This book presents an in-depth ethnographic case study carried out in the years following the 2010 Haiti earthquake to present the role of faith beliefs in disaster response. The earthquake is one of the most destructive on record, and the aftermath, including a cholera epidemic and ongoing humanitarian aid, has continued for years following the catastrophe. Based on dozens of interviews, this book gives primacy to survivors' narratives. It begins by laying out the Haitian context, before presenting an account of the earthquake from survivors' perspectives. It then explores in detail how the earthquake affected the religious, mainly Christian, faith of survivors and how religious faith influenced how they responded to, and are recovering from, the experience. The account is also informed by geoscience and the accompanying "complicating factors." Finally, the Haitian experience highlights the significant role that religious faith can play alongside other learned coping strategies in disaster response and recovery globally. This book contributes an important case study to an emerging literature in which the influence of both religion and narrative is being recognised. It will be of interest to scholars of any discipline concerned with disaster response, including practical theology, anthropology, psychology, geography, Caribbean studies and earth science. It will also provide a resource for non-governmental organisations.

Inspired by a collection of letters received by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle during the First World War, Philip Abbott sets out to explore the inspirational campaign to provide body armour to British soldiers serving in the trenches. Setting the letters in the context of the terrible losses suffered during the Battle of the Somme, Abbott reveals the actions of the War Office and Ministry of Munitions in providing better protection for the troops. He examines Conan Doyle's personal motives for involvement, and investigates the part played by another Edinburgh graduate, Caleb Saleeby, in promoting the development of helmets, body armour and shields. Saving Lives is an absorbing account of how the creator of Sherlock Holmes used his fame to campaign against the horrific casualties on the Western Front.

This book presents an in-depth ethnographic case study carried out in the years following the 2010 Haiti earthquake to present the role of faith beliefs in disaster response. The earthquake is one of the most destructive on record, and the aftermath, including a cholera epidemic and ongoing humanitarian aid, has continued for years following the catastrophe. Based on dozens of interviews, this book gives primacy to survivors' narratives. It begins by laying out the Haitian context, before presenting an account of the earthquake from survivors' perspectives. It then explores in detail how the earthquake affected the religious, mainly Christian, faith of survivors and how religious faith influenced how they responded to, and are recovering from, the experience. The account is also informed by geoscience and the accompanying "complicating factors." Finally, the Haitian experience highlights the significant role that religious faith can play alongside other learned coping strategies in disaster response and recovery globally. This book contributes an important case study to an emerging literature in which the influence of both religion and narrative is being recognised. It will be of interest to scholars of any discipline concerned with disaster response, including practical theology, anthropology, psychology, geography, Caribbean studies and earth science. It will also provide a resource for non-governmental organisations.

Synopsis: The aim of Sit on Our Hands, or Stand on Our Feet? is not to present a theology that explains disasters. In fact there is no such theology. Nor is this work primarily for those who are responded to; it is not part of the theological 'grab bag' that Christian responders carry with them to use for the benefit of casualties. It is more a part of the Christian's engaged practical theological apprenticeship prior to, and during, a response. This book represents the role of the practical theologian, who empowers the church community's legitimation and contribution in disaster response, and who encourages individual Christians--whose calling into particularly relevant professions, whose natural skills and/or professional training, could find them placed in a major incident responding status (paid or voluntary)--doing their work as unto the Lord. It is a serious must-read for any Christians who have hearts heavy with compassion but who are not sure what to do or why when disaster strikes. Endorsements: "A pioneering contribution to practical theology that is urgently needed . . . Use this book for serious study and involvement " --Eryl Davies, Wales Evangelical School of Theology "Systematic theologies offer little help in knowing what to do in the face of major catastrophes, or what to say when one comes face to face with anguished victims. The great merit of Abbott's book is that he thinks theologically about just such practical matters relating to distinctly Christian disaster management. He builds in interesting ways on my own approach to theology as theatrical direction for practical understanding: drama of doctrine, meet human trauma. Abbott shows in compelling ways how pastoral carers formed by the story of Christ can help heal the wounds to personal narratives shattered by disaster." --Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Author Biography: Roger Philip Abbott is Research Associate in Natural Disasters for the Faraday Institute of Science and Religion, Cambridge University, UK, and a visiting lecturer at the Wales Evangelical School of Theology.

In the decades following the end of the Cold War, scholars turned their attention to reevaluating patriotism. Many saw both its ability to serve as a cohesive force and its desirability as a political and moral concept waning in a time of peace and globalization. The shock of September 11 shook this assessment, as it brought a new surge of patriotism to America. In this volume, nine authors debate the consequences of the 21st century's patriotic resurgence, examining it both in theoretical and comparative terms that draw on examples of patriotism from ancient Greece to post-apartheid South Africa. Each author has chosen a different angle of approach, examining a variety of interlinking questions. Should patriotism be defined to enhance universalistic concerns or is its particularistic vantage point the source of its virtue? Is patriotism a concept prone to manipulation by elites or is it a source of independent judgments by citizens? If patriotism is love of one's country, how is that love best expressed? Is such love demonstrated by fidelity, gratitude, compassion, remembrance, shame, dissent, or some combination? Joined together by Philip Abbott's incisive introduction, the essays illuminate the many-faceted nature of patriotism today. Published in cooperation with The Center for the Study of Citizenship at Wayne State University.

In the decades following the end of the Cold War, scholars turned their attention to reevaluating patriotism. Many saw both its ability to serve as a cohesive force and its desirability as a political and moral concept waning in a time of peace and globalization. The shock of September 11 shook this assessment, as it brought a new surge of patriotism to America. In this volume, nine authors debate the consequences of the 21st century's patriotic resurgence, examining it both in theoretical and comparative terms that draw on examples of patriotism from ancient Greece to post-apartheid South Africa. Each author has chosen a different angle of approach, examining a variety of interlinking questions. Should patriotism be defined to enhance universalistic concerns or is its particularistic vantage point the source of its virtue? Is patriotism a concept prone to manipulation by elites or is it a source of independent judgments by citizens? If patriotism is love of one's country, how is that love best expressed? Is such love demonstrated by fidelity, gratitude, compassion, remembrance, shame, dissent, or some combination? Joined together by Philip Abbott's incisive introduction, the essays illuminate the many-faceted nature of patriotism today. Published in cooperation with The Center for the Study of Citizenship at Wayne State University.

This first biography of V.F. Calverton gives an intellectual history of the American radical movement from 1920 to 1940 and shows how he and his Modern Quarterly led the forefront in wars of ideas about sex, lit, and party. This lively study of the career and times of Calverton examines basic questions about the relationships between literature and politics, feminist agendas, and political theory in ways that are still relevant. Students of political thought, American history, and American literature will find this biography a provocative one that brings the period alive in new ways. A short introduction shows how Calverton yearned to be an American Lenin-Cassanova-Pericles. Philip Abbott then follows Calverton's participation in a series of intellectual wars fought in the 1920s and the 1930s. Thus does Abbott reassess American radicalism and the development of American bohemia and socialism. Calverton was the central figure in two efforts to found an American radical republic, both of which were rejected by his colleagues--famous writers and thinkers of his time. One attempt sought to create a republic of being in which participants explored the capacities of sexual liberation as an agent for change. Another involved the creation of a republic of doing in which radical citizens acted out revolutionary roles. This biography of a neglected theorist reevaluates radical projects in politics, psychology, and the arts in America in a seminal period in their development.