To early American immigrants, nineteenth-century newcomers from the Scandinavian peninsula likely seemed all of a type. to immigrants hailing from Norway and Sweden, however, differences in language, culture, and religion sorted them into distinct groupings: not Scandinavian, but Norwegian or Swedish—and proud of their lineage.<br /><br />How did these differences affect relationships in the new world? In what ways did Swedes and Norwegians preserve their cultures in the city and in rural areas? On what political subjects did they disagree—or perhaps agree? Did they build communities together or in opposition to each other? Where they were neighbors, were they also friends? In this groundbreaking volume, scholars from the United States, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark debate these issues and more, sharing perspectives on context, culture, conflict, and community.<br /><br />Essayists include Philip J. Anderson, Jennifer Attebery, H. Arnold Barton, Ulf Jonas Bj rk, Dag Blanck, Jørn Brøndal, Angela Falk, Mark Granquist, Per Olof Gr nberg, Ingeborg Kongslien, James p. Leary, Joy K. Lintelman, Odd S. Lovoll, David Mauk, Byron J. Nordstrom, Kurt W. Peterson, Harald Runblom, and Mark Safstrom.
"Each morning I would strike out for this temple of learning in the crisp autumn air . . . with a sense of purpose and the conviction that this was where I belonged."—Marilyn Stasio from "My Research Project"<br /><br />Inspired partly by Richard Altick's The Scholar Adventurers, the thirteen writers in Curiosity's Cats offer powerful arguments for the value of hands-on research, be it chasing documents, cracking mysteries, interviewing long-lost subjects, or visiting exotic and not-so-exotic locales.<br /><br />Alberto Martinez explains how diligence with dates can provide clues to unlock the most difficult historical puzzles. Jan Reid explores the difference between research for an epic novel and research to write the epic biography of a friend. Margot Livesey suspects that she continues to write novels simply to do the research. But every essay testifies to the fact that research is valuable not only because of the product that may result from it, but because the process itself fulfills a basic human need.<br /><br />Contributors include: Philip J. Anderson, Annette Kolodny, Theodore Kornweibel, Jr., Margot Livesey, Alberto Martínez, Bruce Joshua Miller, Katherine Hall Page, Jan Reid, Ali Selim, Marilyn Stasio, Ned Stuckey-French, Bruce White, and Steve Yates.<br /><br />"Research has always seemed a bit like homework to me. Whatever the topic, I feel like a naughty schoolboy who's cramming for an exam. What a relief to realize I am not alone. Through a variety of methods and circumstances, the writers in this fascinating collection demonstrate that research, like exploration, is challenging, maddening, frustrating, and exhausting. But like any great explorer (or naughty schoolboy), we know we cannot reach our goal without it, and the journey is often more rewarding than the destination." —Alan Cumming, actor and author<br /><br />?"In our age of the Twitter and the Internet, it's such a joy to see the art of the essay so alive and strong. Read this book and rediscover that real knowledge and connections still reside at the source: out in the field and inside the human condition." —Dan Buettner, National Geographic Fellow and New York Times best-selling author of The Blue Zones<br /><br />?"No book has better portrayed the intimate, sometimes exasperating relationship between writer and research. It's all here, and it's never dull—the thrill of the chase, the unexpected discoveries, the crushing setbacks, the exhilarating 'Aha!' moments. There's even a stray bookworm—yes, a real one—that literally wriggles off the page." —Patricia T. O'Conner, author of Woe Is I and, with Stewart Kellerman, Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language.<br /><br />?"If you have ever sensed a marvelous story or a startling emotion hidden within a historic document, photo, artifact, or place, you'll find many kindred spirits in this inspiring book. It made me want to drop everything to set out on a grand intellectual adventure in the nearest archive." —Jack El-Hai, author of The Nazi and the Psychiatrist and Non-Stop: A Turbulent History of Northwest Airlines
A collection of Civil War–era letters written by Hans Christian Heg, who grew up in southeastern Norway, migrated to Wisconsin, and traveled to the gold fields of California and the mining camps of the West, only to return to the Badger State to lead a regiment of Scandinavian immigrants—the Fifteenth Wisconsin—in the Civil War. His achievements are well known among Norwegian-Americans but little known outside that circle. However, his life story typifies the processes of transition and service to his new country that have marked the lives of thousands of immigrants.<br /><br />The many personal accounts by the soldiers of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment, penned in battlefield letters to family and friends, remain the most evocative and moving contributions, valuable primary source material to a wrenching national experience. These intimate narratives relate both the horrors of the conflict and the loyalty of the young men, many of them recent arrivals from Norway, to what they consistently refer to as "our new fatherland."<br /><br />The Civil War period is a dramatic watershed event in the adjustment of Norwegian-Americans to the challenges they encountered in America as they moved toward integration with a new society. The heroic roles played by the men of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment remain lasting and treasured images in the iconography of the Norwegian-American experience.
July 19, 1918: The wounded were pouring into the four Hospitals of the town. . . . We have decided to double up for a few days—half of us work at the Canteen and half at the Hospitals, taking turns. It will be hard work for awhile but everyone feels that you can't work hard enough these days.<br /><br />In March 1918, twenty-six-year-old Alice O'Brien and three close friends set off from New York harbor, bound for wartime France. Unlike the soldiers aboard their ship, they were unpaid volunteers. As the daughter of a wealthy family, Alice had no need to work—no need to go to war. But she also drove her own car, was trained as an auto mechanic, spoke French, and had the passion and determination to contribute selflessly to the war effort.<br /><br />Alice and her friends joined hundreds of American women serving as nurses, clerks, drivers, and canteen workers for the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other organizations. Her letters home, full of breezy gossip and telling detail, describe living conditions, attitudes and actions of French soldiers and civilians, and her own remarkable efforts near the front. Alice was brave and funny, proud and jingoistic, privileged and unassuming, and Alice made a difference in France.
The history of the Philippines is a long and complex one but the stories and reflections in Dark Days of Authoritarianism, from remarkable individuals who were willing to stake their lives for freedom, shed light on life under the martial law instituted by President Ferdinand Marcos from 1972 to 1981, and up to the peaceful popular uprising of 1986. This book not only covers the social, economic and political conditions across the country during martial law but also how those conditions affected ordinary people personally and spiritually. Many of the contributions illustrate the strength and determination of Philippine women to create a better society despite being met by great adversity and the importance of Christian faith for sustaining the lives of those who suffered and survived this tumultuous period. This book provides important lessons for a new generation facing the menace of authoritarianism today, wherever they are, to fight for democracy and resist any attempts to diminish people’s freedom.
Everyone who has “eyes to see” acknowledges the growing importance of the African church to the future of global Christianity. But what does it mean for the church to take root in Africa? How should the message of the gospel and the practice of Christianity be contextualized for Africa? African Contextual Realities addresses many of the questions surrounding contextualization from a practical point of view and is the fruit of the 6th Annual Conference of the Africa Society of Evangelical Theology held in Nairobi in 2016. The book explores such questions as: • In what ways should the mission of God be universally recognizable in every cultural context? • In our efforts to contextualize, how do we avoid compromising the very gospel we are to proclaim? • How can the African church wean itself away from dependency on the Western church? • How does Christianity speak into some of the cultural and social issues arising out of contemporary African settings – issues like widow cleansing, Christian-Muslim relations, and peace-building? All those who are interested to learn more about the contextualization of African Christianity will find this volume to be an important resource.
This reference collection presents academic reviews of more than twelve-hundred contemporary Africa-related publications relevant for informed Christian reflection in and about Africa. The collection is based on the review journal BookNotes for Africa, a specialist resource dedicated to bringing to notice such publications, and furnishing them with a one-paragraph description and evaluation.
Now assembled here for the first time is the entire collection of reviews through the first thirty issues of the journal’s history. The core intention, both of the journal and of this compilation, is to encourage and to facilitate informed Christian reflection and engagement in Africa, through a thoughtful encounter with the published intellectual life of the continent. Reviews have been provided by a team of more than one hundred contributors drawn from throughout Africa and overseas.
The books and other media selected for review represent a broad cross-section of interests and issues, of personalities and interpretations, including the secular as well as the religious. The collection will be of special interest to academic scholars, theological educators, libraries, ministry leaders, and specialist researchers in Africa and throughout the world, but will also engage any reader looking for a convenient resource relating to modern Africa and Christian presence there.
The Book of Revelation describes a church from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation glorifying the Lamb that was slain. As the church expands in the Majority World and Christianity becomes an increasingly global faith, this vision is an increasingly visible reality. The insights found in The Church from Every Tribe and Tongue are not commonplace. Written by nine theologians and biblical scholars from Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America, each provides fresh perspectives surveying the most pressing ecclesiological issues in their various regions. The end result is a prescient analysis and constructive proposal detailing how the worldwide church can bear witness in a diverse and changing world.
The ICETE Programme for Academic Leadership (IPAL) was officially established in 2010 and arose out of the need to provide training to theological institutions in different regions of the world. IPAL provides a three-year cycle of seminars for the professional development of evangelical academic leaders and administrators to help institutions in their pursuit of quality and excellence in theological education.
This publication is the second of three volumes intended to accompany and support the IPAL seminars as well as independently providing wider access to the principles required by academic leaders for institutional and curriculum development.
Each chapter shares and illustrates the expertise and understanding the contributors have of education and curriculum design in the field of evangelical academic institutions. With an intentional awareness of a wide range of non-Western contexts, this volume is a much-needed guide for course administrators around the world.
Tension between theory and practice in theological education is an unfortunate yet common occurrence, with educators sometimes finding themselves on one extreme or the other. Some academics can be so immersed in high-level theological discourse that they hardly interact with the main questions of the average church-goer, while others are so keen to be engaging and relevant they fail to be rigorous in their scholarship. Regardless of the reasons the results are the same – failure to present the good news with a powerful, credible voice. To address this tension between academia and the church, a group of Eastern European theologians came together in the spring of 2013 in Berekfüdő, Hungary. This publication is a collection of 10 edited papers presented at that conference. While topics are addressed from a European context the principles behind them are far-reaching, providing important insight for the global church and academy alike.