Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2014 in the subject African Studies - Miscellaneous, University of Göttingen, course: Intercultural Theology, language: English, abstract: This is a qualitative research carried out in a Christian organization known as the African Christian Council of Berlin and Brandenburg (RACIBB) and it is a product of narrative description and explanation of the life experiences’ and perceptions of the informants. The research has used migration and religion trajectories; the two trajectories are deemed appropriate for the study because of the nature of the organization (RACIBB). It is an organization founded by the people and for the people with African migrant backgrounds and at the same time operates as a faith-based organization although not in the manner it serves the people. Migratory movement has often resulted into formation of macrostructures, according to Adogame, macrostructures are the informal social networks developed by the migrants to assist them in adjusting to the migration and settlement e.g. the informal networks can be family or community ties (the community can be religious, cultural, ethnic and social ties). As realised during the study some of these macrostructures are later developed to formal Organizations under the state law of the host country. One of the advantages when founded within the perimeters of the law is that the organization is free to implement its activities and can apply for financial assistance from any funding institution. Most of the migrant founded organizations like RACIBB are multi-functional by nature depending on the needs of the members hence their functions can be categorised as follows: Ethno-solidarity, Ethno-cultural, Ethno-specific religious and Ethno-specific political Diaspora activities. Ethno-solidarity activities aim at addressing social and integration issues among its members, for example, it provides members with the information about the host country; what is expected of them and what they can do to live comfortably in the host society.

This inspiring collection of 72 critical and creative contributions honouring the life and work of Desmond Mpilo Tutu comprises a rich and diverse array of reflections on the ecumenical global struggle against Apartheid, and Archbishop Tutu’s role therein, as a political priest, prophet and intellectual. The encounters with ‘the Arch’ and his work has shaped ongoing faith-based, activist and academic pursuits for justice, peace and dignity. Anyone familiar with his outstanding contributions to the promotion of justice, dignity and peace, will know that a hallmark of Desmond Tutu’s celebrated style is his use of narrative and real-life stories. In honour of his unique and remarkable example, the contributions in this book combine oral history and written history paradigms, as well as sociological, philosophical and theological approaches. While the book is meant to be a memorial recollection of encounters with the Arch, the hope is that these recollections will continue to inspire collective struggles and hopes for justice, peace and dignity.

Miriam Schader shows that migrants can use religion as a resource for political involvement in their (new) country of residence – but under certain circumstances only. The author analyses the role religious networks and symbols play for the politicization and participation of Muslim and Christian migrants from sub-Saharan Africa in Berlin and Paris. Against the widely held belief that Islam is a ’political religion’ in itself, this study demonstrates that Christian migrants draw on their religion for political action more easily than their Muslim counterparts. It also highlights that it is not religion in general which helps migrants get politically active, but particular forms of religious organisations and particular theological elements.

This book newly addresses the question about the Christian churches? participation in development. The innovative element of this reflection is the way in which the author finds meaning and significance, particularly in the concept of a fourth generation approach to strategic development engagement. The book?s essential argument is that a fourth generation strategy ? an approach that makes the contemporary social or people?s movements the primary subjects of its development action and theory ? holds the greatest prospect for authentic participation by the Christian churches in development.

What is the role of the church in society? What role did the church play in South Africa ? during apartheid, in the struggle against apartheid and during the period of transformation? The essays collected and published in this volume deal with questions such as these. They are all occasional pieces. They were written over two decades and reflect the times in which they originated ? always intended for specific audiences, always addressing issues of the particular moment.

Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award (Biography) Named of the Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post and the Boston Globe Magisterial in scope, this dual biography examines two complex lives that began alike but ended on opposite sides of the century’s greatest conflict. Marlene Dietrich and Leni Riefenstahl, born less than a year apart, lived so close to each other that Riefenstahl could see into Dietrich’s Berlin apartment. Coming of age at the dawn of the Weimar Republic, both sought fame in Germany’s burgeoning motion picture industry. While Dietrich’s depiction of Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel catapulted her to Hollywood stardom, Riefenstahl—who missed out on the part—insinuated herself into Hitler’s inner circle to direct groundbreaking if infamous Nazi propaganda films, like Triumph of the Will. Dietrich, who toured tirelessly with the USO, could never truly go home again; Riefenstahl could never shake her Nazi past. Acclaimed German historian Karin Wieland examines these lives within the vicious crosscurrents of a turbulent century, evoking piercing insights into "the modern era’s most difficult questions, about illusion and mass intoxication, art and truth, courage and capitulation" (New Yorker).

Chart the development of feminist approaches and theories of interpretation during the period when women first joined the ranks of biblical scholars This collection of essays on feminist biblical studies in the twentieth century seeks to explore four areas of inquiry demanding further investigation. In the first section, articles chart the beginnings and developments of feminist biblical studies as a conversation among feminists around the world. The second section introduces, reviews, and discusses the hermeneutic religious spaces created by feminist biblical studies. The third segment discusses academic methods of reading and interpretation that dismantle androcentric language and kyriarchal authority. The fourth section returns to the first with work that transgresses academic boundaries in order to exemplify the transforming, inspiring, and institutionalizing feminist work that has been and is being done to change religious mindsets of domination and to enable wo/men to engage in critical readings of the Bible. Features: Essays examine the rupture or break in the malestream reception history of the Bible Exploration of the term feminism in different social-cultural and theoretical-religious locations Authors from around the world present research and future directions for research challenging the next generation of feminist interpreters