History Commons^™

Re-Thinking Burial Dates At A Graeco-Roman Cemetery: Fag El Gamous, Fayoum, Egypt, Kerry Muhlestein, R. Evans, David Whitchurch

Kerry Muhlestein

The Fag el-Gamous cemetery is a 125 hectare Graeco-Roman necropolis on the eastern edge of the Fayoum Depression. The 1000 + burials excavated to date at the cemetery are found largely in rectangular shafts at 0.3–3.0 m deep and oriented on an east–west axis. The high burial density, varying between 1.3 and 3.0 burials per square meter, is due in part to multiple burials in the same shaft. The stratigraphically deepest burials in a shaft are buried head east and later burials in the same shaft are buried head west. It has been argued that this directional shift occurred as …

Anatomy Of Dissent In Islamic Societies, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

The 'Arab Spring' that began in 2011 has placed a spotlight on the transfer of political power in Islamic societies, reviving old questions about the place of political dissent and rebellion in Islamic civilization and raising new ones about the place of religion in modern Islamic societies.

In Anatomy of Dissent in Islamic Societies, Ahmed E. Souaiaia examines the complex historical evolution of Islamic civilization in an effort to trace the roots of the paradigms and principles of Islamic political and legal theories. This study is one of the first attempts at providing a fuller picture of the place of …

Review Of Michael Ostling, Between The Devil And The Host: Imagining Witchcraft In Early Modern Poland. Oxford University Press, 2011, For Polin/American Association For Polish Jewish Studies, Magda Teter

Magda Teter

Witches and witchcraft have fascinated not only the people of the premodern era, but also modern scholars who produced a tremendous amount of scholarship that has covered not only a large geographic area but also a wide variety of topics related to this subject in European history. Scholars have studied the legal and cultural underpinnings of witch-hunts; records of witch trials and works on witchcraft have served scholars as sources for the history of women and gender and the history of folk medical practices in the premodern era. Anyone interested in the history of witchcraft and magic in Europe can …

Deeply Within: Catholicism, Faith And History, Nick Salvatore

Nick Salvatore

[Excerpt] In the decade I spent living with Gene Debs, I thought much about faith's relation to intellect, especially in the political realm. It was not just that a socialist in capitalist America needed faith but rather that Debs's very vision of America's promise was itself a profound act of faith. But with the exception of the last chapter, which I titled, "A Species of Purging," following a phrase in one of Debs's prison letters, overt discussion of any religious sensibility was largely sotto voce, echoes of a private dialogue with myself. Pleased as I was with the book when …

To The Jew First: A Socio-Historical And Biblical-Theological Analysis Of The Pauline Teaching Of `Election' In Light Of Second Temple Jewish Patterns Of Thought, Anthony Thornhill

A. Chadwick Thornhill

Paul's "doctrine" of election has remained a controversial and enigmatic topic for centuries. Few studies, however, have approached Paul's doctrine through the context of Second Temple Judaism. This study examines Paul's view of election through the lens of Second Temple Jewish texts written prior to 70 CE. In doing so, it is argued that the best framework through which to view Paul's discussion of election is through a primarily corporate model of election. While such a model is rooted in Judaism, Paul departs from his Jewish contemporaries in arguing that the locus of election is in God's Messiah, Jesus.

Before Religion: A History Of A Modern Concept, William Cavanaugh

William T. Cavanaugh

No abstract provided.

Putting "Blood Libel" In Historical Context, Magda Teter

Magda Teter

When Sarah Palin used the term “blood libel” in response to the shooting in Arizona that left six people dead and severely injured others, including Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords, she stirred a controversy. To defend herself in the midst of the controversy, Palin defined the term “blood libel” very broadly as “being falsely accused of having blood on your hands.” Despite her broad definition, blood libel is a term that refers very specifically to the historical accusation that Jews killed Christian children to obtain their blood. A false accusation, to be sure, but one with a long and painful history, …

Egyptian Middle Kingdom Contexts For Human Sacrifice, Kerry Muhlestein, John Gee

Kerry Muhlestein

No abstract provided.

Social And Cultural Boundaries In Pre-Modern Poland, Magda Teter, Adam Teller, Antony Polonsky

Magda Teter

Boundaries—physical, political, social, religious, and cultural—were a key feature of life in medieval and early modern Poland, and this volume focuses on the ways in which these boundaries were respected, crossed, or otherwise negotiated. It throws new light on the contacts between Jews and Poles, including the vexed question of conversion and the tensions it aroused. The collected articles also discuss relations between the various elements of Jewish society—the wealthy and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, and the religious and the lay elites, considering too contacts between Jews in Poland and those in Germany and elsewhere. Classic studies …

Enlightenment And The Creation Of German Catholicism, Michael Printy

Michael Printy

This book tells the story of how eighteenth-century German Catholics rethought the Church. Educated German Catholics envisioned a Church that would solidify the link between religion, civilization, and morality. The first account of the German Catholic Enlightenment, this book explores the ways in which eighteenth-century Germans reconceived the relationship between religion, society, and the state. Seeking a balance between Germany and Rome, Catholic reformers desired a national Church that would enjoy a large measure of autonomy but would still be in communion with the universal Church. In trying to reform the Church, educated Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire questioned …

The Blasphemies Of Thomas Aikenhead: Boundaries Of Belief On The Eve Of The Enlightenment, Michael Graham

Michael F. Graham

This is the first modern book-length study of the case of Thomas Aikenhead, the sometime University of Edinburgh student who in 1697 earned the unfortunate distinction of being the last person executed for blasphemy in Britain. Taking a micro-historical approach, Michael Graham uses the Aikenhead case to open a window into the world of Edinburgh, Scotland and Britain in its transition from the confessional era of the Reformation and the covenants, which placed high emphasis on the defence of orthodox belief, to the polite, literary world of the Enlightenment, of which Edinburgh would become a major centre. Graham traces the …

A Guide To The Church : Its Origin And Nature, Its Mission And Its Ministries, Lawrence Porter

Rev. Lawrence B. Porter, Ph.D

No abstract provided.

Die Scholastische Theologie Im Zeitalter Der Gnadenstreitigkeiten I: Neue Texte Von Diego Paez († 1582), Diego Del Mármol († 1664) Und Gregor Von Valencia († 1603), Ulrich Lehner

Ulrich L. Lehner

Die Gnadenstreitigkeiten des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts bilden die entscheidende geistesgeschichtliche Auseinandersetzung der frühen Neuzeit. Sie führen vor Augen, wie die katholische Theologie zum letzten Mal aus eigener rationaler Anstrengung heraus die christliche Welt zu polarisieren verstand, indem sie - gespalten in die Lager von Molinisten, Augustinisten und Thomisten - das Wirken der göttlichen Gnadenhilfe zu erklären versuchte. Die hier versammelten Editionen zweier bisher unbekannter Jesuitentheologen, Diego Paez und Diego Marmol, verfolgen den Gang der spanischen Jesuitentheologie im 17. Jahrhundert und bereichern dadurch auch die Geschichtsschreibung der neuzeitlichen Philosophie. Ein Dossier über Gregor von Valencia gibt weiteres Material an die …

Kants Vorsehungskonzept Auf Dem Hintergrund Der Deutschen Schulphilosophie Und - Theologie, Ulrich Lehner

Ulrich L. Lehner

Reviews: "Quiconque voudrait désormais étudier la compréhension moderne de l’histoire, du progrès et de la religion nuirait à la précision de son propos s’il s’exemptait de la lecture de Kants Vorsehungskonzept. On relèvera enfin à ce livre le trop rare mérite d’avoir concilié avec une grande compétence l’étude des approches à la fois philosophiques et théologiques." Charles Morerod O.P., bishop of Fribourg, in Nova et Vetera (French Edition), 4/2011.

"Lehner’s extensive research fills a gap in a unique way. He enriches the study of Kant’s philosophy in an as yet neglected field. His detailed research corrects many general judgements and …

Jews And Catholics In Catholic Poland: A Beleaguered Church In The Post Reformation Era, Magda Teter

Magda Teter

My first book, Jews and Heretics in Catholic Poland: A Beleaguered Church in the Post Reformation Era (Cambridge University Press, 2006, pbk 2009), introduced Jews into a traditional Polish narrative of post-Reformation Poland that had been grounded in a Catholic-Protestant dichotomy, allowing me to reposition the role of Jews and other non-Catholics in multicultural Poland in a completely new way. My approach has broadened the context of Poland’s religious history and has revealed the superficiality of the re-Catholicization of the ruling elites, whose economic interests triumphed over their religious loyalties, challenging the view of the “triumph of the Counter-Reformation” in …

Social Discipline In Scotland, 1560-1610, Michael Graham

Michael F. Graham

This volume is an excellent introduction to Calvinist morals’ control in sixteenth-century Geneva, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Scotland. The Calvinists were typically seen as stricter than Lutherans, Catholics, or Anglicans—and in some ways as strict as groups associated with the Radical Reformation. The six case studies presented here are based largely on archival research. They explore the Calvinist endeavor to set high standards of behavior and to enforce them through the consistory.

Faculty Diversity, Kyle Scafide, Barbara Johnson

Kyle Scafide

This article presents a broad view of issues related to faculty diversity. Headings include Demographics, The Growth of Faculty Diversity as an Ideal, and Barriers in the Academic Workplace. Race, ethnicity, and gender are the most common characteristics that institutions observe in order to measure faculty diversity. An even broader approach to faculty diversity involves age, socioeconomic background, national origin, sexual orientation, and diverse learning styles and opinions. Until the latter part of the twentieth century, the professoriate in the western world was composed almost exclusively of privileged, heterosexual males of Caucasian descent. Higher education institutions are generally concerned with …

Conflict And Sacred Space In Reformation-Era Scotland, Michael Graham

Michael F. Graham

No abstract provided.

The Uses Of Reform: 'Godly Discipline' And Popular Behavior In Scotland And Beyond, 1560-1610, Michael Graham

Michael F. Graham

The "Uses of Reform" is a study of the Reformation as a movement for behavioral reform, concentrating on Scotland during the first fifty years (1560-1610) of its Reformation as a primary example. The opening chapters trace the development of "Godly Discipline" as part of the European-wide reform movement. Graham follows this general narrative with a study of the creation and implementation of a disciplinary system in Scotland. Finally, he compares disciplinary practices in the Scottish Church with those of the Huguenot communities of France. Looking closely at the proceedings of church courts which enforced regulations concerning behavior, Graham paints a …

The Civil Sword And The Scottish Kirk, 1560–1600, Michael Graham

Michael F. Graham

This volume presents the evolution of Calvin’s ideas in the latter part of the sixteenth and early part of the seventeenth centuries along national lines. Calvin’s influence is traced in Switzerland, France, Scotland, the Rhinelands, Holland, and England. As John Leith points out in his “Foreword,” this book enables many American Protestants to understand their history, how they came to believe what they do, how scholastic theology of the nineteenth century is firmly rooted in later Calvinism.

Equality Before The Kirk? Church Discipline And The Elite In Reformation-Era Scotland, Michael Graham

Michael F. Graham

No abstract provided.

The Tribal Twenties: "Assimilated" Catholics' Response To Anti-Catholicism In The 1920s, Lynn Dumenil

Lynn Dumenil

No abstract provided.