This book offers a systematic, bottom-up account of irony across both everyday contexts and literary and linguistic texts, using an empirically rigorous approach in distinguishing between central irony, non-central ironies, and non-ironies and highlighting a new way forward for irony research. The volume considers the current landscape of irony, in which the term is used with increasing frequency with the knock-on effect of a loosening of its meaning. Pattison addresses this challenge by applying a systematic form of analysis, rooted in frameworks from pragmatics and complementary disciplines, to a database of over 500 irony candidates from a wide range of sources. The book uses these examples to illustrate the features of central ironies as well as the attributes used to differentiate between central ironies, non-central ironies, and non-ironies. These attributes are mapped across four key domains, including: difference and opposition; the role of context; how ironies are signaled; and speaker attitude and intention. Taken together, the volume puts forth a credible account for more clearly characterizing examples of irony and equips researchers with a comprehensive step-by-step method for undertaking future research. This book is key reading for scholars in stylistics, pragmatics, literary studies, and psycholinguistics.

Faces are all around us and fundamentally shape both everyday experience and our understanding of people. To lose face is to be alienated and experience shame, to be enfaced is to enjoy the fullness of life. In theology as in many other disciplines faces, as both physical phenomena and symbols, have not received the critical, appreciative attention they deserve. This pioneering book explores the nature of face and enfacement, both human and divine. Pattison discusses questions concerning what face is, how important face is in human life and relationships, and how we might understand face, both as a physical phenomenon and as a series of socially-inflected symbols and metaphors about the self and the body. Examining what face means in terms of inclusion and exclusion in contemporary human society and how it is related to shame, Pattison reveals what the experience of people who have difficulties with faces tell us about our society, our understandings of, and our reactions to face. Exploring this ubiquitous yet ignored area of both contemporary human experience and of the Christian theological tradition, Pattison explains how Christian theology understands face, both human and divine, and the insights might it offer to understanding face and enfacement. Does God in any sense have a physically visible face? What is the significance of having an enfaced or faceless God for Christian life and practice? What does the vision of God mean now? If we want to take face and defacing shame seriously, and to get them properly into perspective, we may need to change our theology, thought and practice - changing our ways of thinking about God and about theology.

This interdisciplinary study brings together many contemporary discourses about shame within a new critical perspective. It will be an invaluable, stimulating resource for all those who are concerned with understanding shame and assisting those whose lives are lived in the shadow of it. Psychologists, philosophers and therapists will find this a fascinating source of new insight into the theory and phenomenology of shame. It will be of particular interest to those who are interested in relationships between religion and mental health, to pastoral workers, and to religious thinkers and theorists.

Practical theology as a subject area has grown and become more sophisticated in its methods and self-understanding over the last few decades. This book provides a complete and original research primer in the major theories, approaches and methods at the cutting-edge of research in contemporary practical theology. It represents a reflection on the very practice of the discipline itself, its foundational questions and epistemological claims. Each chapter examines different aspects of the research process: starting with experience and practice, aspects of research design and epistemology, communities of learning, the influence of theological norms and tradition on the practice of research, and ethical considerations about what constitutes 'the good' in advanced research. The uniqueness of this book rests in its authoritative overview of current practical theological research across a range of traditions and approaches, combined with a comprehensive introduction to research methodology. It offers worked examples from the authors, their colleagues and research students that serve to illustrate key ideas and approaches in practical theological research. The four authors are all internationally-leading scholars and rank amongst the most influential figures in practical theology of their generation. The book promises to be of interest to students, teachers and researchers in practical theology, especially those looking to conduct original practice-based enquiry in the field.

Practical theology as a subject area has grown and become more sophisticated in its methods and self-understanding over the last few decades. This book provides a complete and original research primer in the major theories, approaches and methods at the cutting-edge of research in contemporary practical theology. It represents a reflection on the very practice of the discipline itself, its foundational questions and epistemological claims. Each chapter examines different aspects of the research process: starting with experience and practice, aspects of research design and epistemology, communities of learning, the influence of theological norms and tradition on the practice of research, and ethical considerations about what constitutes 'the good' in advanced research. The uniqueness of this book rests in its authoritative overview of current practical theological research across a range of traditions and approaches, combined with a comprehensive introduction to research methodology. It offers worked examples from the authors, their colleagues and research students that serve to illustrate key ideas and approaches in practical theological research. The four authors are all internationally-leading scholars and rank amongst the most influential figures in practical theology of their generation. The book promises to be of interest to students, teachers and researchers in practical theology, especially those looking to conduct original practice-based enquiry in the field.

This is the first book to show how Latin American liberation theology can be applied to and can transform pastoral care in countries such as Britain and the USA. Hitherto pastoral care has tended to concentrate on looking after individuals. Stephen Pattison suggests that much of the suffering endured by individuals is actually socially and politically caused, and so is avoidable if the appropriate action is taken. The author argues that what we now require is a socio-politically aware and committed pastoral care which makes an option for oppressed and poor people and engages in practical struggle against the forces of injustice and oppression. Focussing as it does especially on mentally ill people and on women, the book will be of interest to all those who want to broaden their vision and knowledge of liberation theology or pastoral care, whether theologians, pastors, students for ministry, members of caring professions, or users of the services they provide.

This interdisciplinary study brings together many contemporary discourses about shame within a new critical perspective. It will be an invaluable, stimulating resource for all those who are concerned with understanding shame and assisting those whose lives are lived in the shadow of it. Psychologists, philosophers and therapists will find this a fascinating source of new insight into the theory and phenomenology of shame. It will be of particular interest to those who are interested in relationships between religion and mental health, to pastoral workers, and to religious thinkers and theorists.

Since it was first published, the SCM Studyguide to Theological Reflection has quickly gained a reputation for being a vital and accessible guide to the subject for all who embark on it for the first time. This studyguide offers newcomers a step by step introduction to understanding what theological reflection is and helps them to explore which of the methods introduced best suits them and their particular situation. It is practical in emphasis, providing students with a wide variety of worked examples and opportunities to carry out their own exercises. This 2nd edition will bring the content up to date, offering a revised and improved bibliography and updated and refreshed examples and exercises, including new sections on scriptural reasoning and contemplative theology.

Professional values in healthcare are in a state of constant and increasingly rapid change. While all professions now emphasise teamwork and collegiality in practice, fewer are inclined to consider shared or differing values across professions. This interdisciplinary volume explains how health care professions and their values have changed over the last forty years, charting where they have come from, where they are now, and how they might develop in the future. There is coverage of a wide range of different professions within healthcare, from GPs, mental health nurses, adult nurses and pharmacists, to NHS managers and chaplains. Chapters are followed by critical responses from senior healthcare practitioners. This original and insightful book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, senior healthcare professionals and healthcare managers.

Written by significant researchers and practitioners within the field, this collection of key texts introduces the reader to practical theology. It critically explores the way in which the spiritual dimension of pastoral care has entered into constructive dialogue with other disciplines and ways of thinking, including psychiatry, psychology, counselling, intercultural studies, educational methodology, narrative theory and political studies.;Set within this multidisciplinary context, the individual contributions ( a selection of articles from a leading journal of pastoral theology, "Contact: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Pastoral Studies") cover a wide range of practical and theological issues that alert the reader to the spiritual dimension of pastoral care, such as bereavement, sexuality, ethics, learning disabilities, infertility, the meaning of pain, sickness and suffering and the nature of theology as a practical discipline. The book should be of interest to practitioners, researchers, students and all who have an interest in the ways in which a spiritual dimension can enhance caring practices within a multidisciplinary context.

Seeing Things considers in detail the experience of perceiving visual objects, from high art to everyday artefacts. It looks in particular at the problems encountered with the ways we in Western culture look upon the world and things, and encourages and argues for ways to look and visualise the world more critically, broadly and widely. Sight is one of the main ways we perceive and relate to the world, and yet it is mostly assumed rather than actively reflected on. Objects designated as art and the realm of aesthetics attract some active attention and reflection, but most of the visible world is ignored in the context of what is described here as our 'ordinary blindness'. The author of this book is arguing that the range of things we choose to see and value is arbitrary and limited and the ways in which we relate to things and objects are mostly crude and un-nuanced. It is also argued here that it is desirable to consider more person-like relationships with all manner of visibly perceived objects, from classical sculptures to tennis rackets. If we begin to apply this person-like relationship with things, we transgress the Western secular and religious practice and belief that maintains that the realm of the manufactured is 'dead' and so can be treated by humans exactly as they wish without consideration. This person-like relationship does not mean reanimating or re-sacramentalising the world, but observation and exploration of the actual phenomenology of the object should not be a lost cause. Professor Stephen Pattison is currently Professor of Religion, Ethics and Practice at the University of Birmingham. He is widely published, writing A Critique of Pastoral Care, for SCM, 1988, 1993, 2000. He recently held the prestigious position of Gifford Lecturer in 2007

This innovative workbook enables students and those working in health and social care to deepen their understanding of the values that underpin their practice. Rich in practical exercises and downloadable resources that invite the reader to engage with their own values, it explores how values, though not often reflected on, define the quality of care delivered. Supported by case studies and including a glossary of key terms and concepts, the workbook provides an overview of how values are adopted and adapted in professional contexts across health and social care services. With an emphasis on the ever-evolving nature of values, it examines professional ethics through the lens of legislation, codes of conduct, cost-effectiveness and whole-organisation management. This unique resource allows readers to gain a clearer picture of what their values are and how they can realistically implement them in their work, thus achieving the highest possible quality of care delivery.

In this book, the author advances a powerful case for a re-energized, committed public theology, alongside a politicized and compassionate form of pastoral care.

According to Stephen Pattison, managers have become the cultural heroes of our time. In this book, he examines some of the values, assumptions, beliefs and practices they embrace. Managerialism, he argues, is a form of religious faith, and he criticises the utopianism of those whom managers look upon as gurus. He suggests that managers should apply to their faith some of the critical spirit that theologians have applied to religious belief. His book will be of interest all who want more from management that manipulative technique and incomprehesible jargon. Stephen Pattison is a senior lecturer in the School of Health and Social Welfare at The Open University. He has been an ethicist, a management specialist and a theologian.