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With Africa as its point of reference and departure, this volume examines why and how the two concepts – radicalisms and conservatisms – should not be taken as mere binaries around which to organize knowledge. It demonstrates that these concepts have multiple and diverse meanings as perceived and understood from different disciplinary vantage points, hence, the deliberate pluralization of the terms. The essays show what happens when one juxtaposes the two concepts and how they are easily intertwined when different peoples'lived experiences of poverty, political and social alienation, education, intolerance, youth activism, social (in)justice, violence, etc. across the length and breadth of Africa are brought to bear on our understandings of these two particularisms. Contributors are: Adekunle Victor Owoyomi, Adeshina Francis Akindutire, Adewale O. Owoseni, Bright Nkrumah, Clement Chipenda, Ebenezer Babajide Ishola, Edwin Etieyibo, Israel Oberedjemurho Ugoma, Jonah Uyieh, Jonathan O. Chimakonam, Madina Tlostanova, Maduka Enyimba, Muchaparara Musemwa, Odirin Omiegbe, Obvious Katsaura, Olufunke Olufunsho Adegoke, Peter Kwaja, Philip Akporduado Edema, Tafadzwa Chevo, and Temitope Owolabi.

Theatre Australia (Un)limited tells a truly national story of the structures of post-war Australian theatre: its artists, companies, financial and policy underpinnings. It gives an inclusive analysis of three ‘waves'of Australian theatrical activity after 1953, and the types of organisations which grew up to support and maintain them. Subsidy, repertoire patterns, finances and administration, theatre buildings, companies, festivals and notable productions of the commercial, mainstream and alternative Australian theatre are examined state by state, and changes to governmental policy analysed. Theatrical forms comprise not only spoken-word drama, but also music theatre, comedy, theatre-restaurant, circus, puppetry, community theatre in several forms and new mixed-media genres: physical theatre, circus, visual theatre and contemporary performance. Theatre Australia (Un)limited is the first comprehensive overview of the fortunes of Australian theatre as a national enterprise, providing the industrial analysis of the ‘three waves'essential for the understanding of the New Wave and of contemporary drama.

Disability and Dissensus is a comprehensive collection of essays that reflects the interdisciplinary nature of critical cultural disability studies. The volume offers a selection of texts by numerous specialists in different areas of the humanities, both well-established scholars and young academics, as well as practitioners and activists from the USA, the UK, Poland, Ireland, and Greece. Taking inspiration from Critical Disability Studies and Jacques Rancière's philosophy, the book critically engages with the changing modes of disability representation in contemporary cultures. It sheds light both on inspirations and continuities as well as tensions and conflicts within contemporary disability studies, fostering new understandings of human diversity and contributing to a dissensual ferment of thought in the academia, arts, and activism. Contributors are: Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Dan Goodley, Marek Mackiewicz-Ziccardi, Małgorzata Sugiera, David T. Mitchell, Sharon L. Snyder, Maria Tsakiri, Murray K. Simpson, James Casey, Agnieszka Izdebska, Edyta Lorek-Jezińska, Dorota Krzemińska, Jolanta Rzeźnicka-Krupa, Wiktoria Siedlecka-Dorosz, Katarzyna Ojrzyńska, Christian O'Reilly, and Len Collin.

The study of wellbeing is not new. Over two millennia ago, the Ancient Greeks were already debating different conceptions of the good life, and how it may be fostered, albeit a debate for the privileged in ancient Greek society. More recently, the post-WWII concern with economic scarcity gave way – as prosperity rose in the later 20th century – to values such as personal growth and social inclusion. In parallel, research has increasingly turned its focus to wellbeing, going beyond traditional measures of income, wealth and employment. Greater attention is now paid to the subjective experience of wellbeing which, it is broadly agreed, has many dimensions such as life satisfaction, optimal functioning and a good quality of life. Perspectives on Wellbeing: A Reader brings together a number of chapters that examine wellbeing from different disciplinary perspectives. A number of the chapters take the angle of human flourishing, looking at the respective contributions of belonging, emotional resilience, spirituality, prosocial behaviour, literacy and leisure. Others look at wellbeing through a social relations lens, including family relations, youth, persons with disability and gender. Finally, a chapter on wellbeing and economics illustrates different approaches to measuring wellbeing and identifying its determinants. The book concludes with a chapter that argues for the enduring importance of the welfare state if the wellbeing of all is to be ensured. This book is likely to be of interest to both undergraduate and postgraduate students in the social sciences as well as to a general readership. Contributors are: Angela Abela, Andrew Azzopardi, Paul Bartolo, Marie Briguglio, Amy Camilleri Zahra, Joanne Cassar, Marilyn Clark, Ruth Falzon, Vickie Gauci, Ingrid Grech Lanfranco, Natalie Kenely, Mary Anne Lauri, Marceline Naudi, Claudia Psaila, Clarissa Sammut Scerri, Sandra Scicluna Calleja, Barbara Stelmaszek, Sue Vella, and Val Williams.

Popular interest in empathy has surged in the past two decades. Research on its origins, uses and development is on the rise, and empathy is increasingly referenced across a wide range of sectors – from business to education. While there is widespread consensus about the value of empathy, however, its supposed stable nature and offerings remain insufficiently examined. By critically exploring different perspectives and aspects of empathy in distinct contexts, Exploring Empathy aims to generate deeper reflection about what is at stake in discussions and practices of empathy in the 21st century. Ten contributors representing seven disciplines and five world regions contribute to this dialogical volume about empathy, its offerings, limitations and potentialities for society. By deepening our understanding of empathy in all its complexity, this volume broadens the debate about both the role of empathy in society, and effective ways to invoke it for the benefit of all.

This volume of Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion includes a wide range of papers from a social-science perspective. The special section gives a unique insight into the rapidly growing field of psychological studies of religion in China. It draws on experts from China and the USA who met for a conference at Fuller Theological Seminary and have together compiled a collection of original research and reviews that helps to locate the current state of the discipline from a specifically Chinese perspective. Other papers in the volume examine intergenerational religious transmission and religious problem-solving styles in the USA.

When James R. Lewis, one of the editors of the current collection, first moved to Norway in late 2009, he was unprepared to discover that so many researchers in Nordic countries were producing innovative scholarship on new religions and on the new age subculture. In fact, over the past dozen years or so, an increasingly disproportionate percentage of new religions scholars have arisen in Nordic countries and teach at universities in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Baltic countries. Nordic New Religions, co-edited with Inga B. Tøllefsen, surveys this rich field of study in this area of the world, focusing on the scholarship being produced by scholars in this region of northern Europe.

“Bringing a different world into existence—Action Research as a trigger for innovations” was the overarching theme and vision of the international CARN Conference 2011 in Vienna. The chapters in this book are drawn mainly from conference contributions. The authors share practical knowledge which has arisen from their work, and reflect on development processes in schools, in teacher education and professional development, social work, social pedagogy, health care and community development. This book offers what some critics believe has been missing in recent action research literature, namely first person accounts of action researchers who endeavour to change working conditions and social relations in their environment through the conduct of action research. This book is also distinguished by assembling contributions from people who are linking action research to a broad diversity of differing contexts, and who are exploring topics or issues across various applications of action research.

This volume, the first major study in its field, offers an invaluable stepping-stone to a more informed understanding of the fundamental social changes taking place in Asia – defined as ‘a reconstruction of the intimate and public spheres'. Such changes are being observed worldwide, but previous studies relating to this phenomenon are largely based on Western experiences dating back to the 1970s. Developments in Asia, however, are manifesting both similarities and differences between the two regions. The book's strongest appeal, therefore, lies in its theoretical orientation, seeking to define frameworks that are most relevant to the Asian reality. These frameworks include compressed and semi-compressed modernity, familialism, familialization policy, unsustainable society, the second demographic dividend, care diamonds, and the transnational public sphere. Such concepts are seen as essential in any discussion concerning the intimate and public spheres of contemporary Asia. Accordingly, Transformation of the Intimate and the Public in Asian Modernity can be seen as a valuable text as well as a work of reference and will be welcomed by social scientists and cultural anthropologists alike.The book comprises an in-depth introduction and ten chapters contributed by scholars from Japan, Korea, Thailand and Canada covering topics ranging from low fertility, changing life course, increasing non-regular employment, care provision, migrant workers, social policies, and family law, to the activities of transnational NGOs, with a special focus on distinctive features of Asian experiences.