Taking as its starting-point the ambiguous heritage left by the British Empire to its former colonies, dominions and possessions, And the Birds Began to Sing marks a new departure in the interdisciplinary study of religion and literature. Gathered under the rubric Christianity and Colonialism, essays on Brian Moore. Timothy Findley, Margaret Atwood and Marian Engel, Thomas King, Les A. Murray, David Malouf, Mudrooroo and Philip McLaren, R.A.K. Mason, Maurice Gee, Keri Hulme, Epeli Hau'ofa, J.M. Coetzee, Christopher Okigbo, Chinua Achebe, Amos Tutuola and Ngugi wa Thiong'o explore literary portrayals of the effects of British Christianity upon settler and native cultures in Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, and the Africas. These essays share a sense of the dominant presence of Christianity as an inherited system of religious thought and practice to be adapted to changing post-colonial conditions or to be resisted as the lingering ideology of colonial times. In the second section of the collection, Empire and World Religions, essays on Paule Marshall and George Lamming, Jean Rhys, Olive Senior and Caribbean poetry, V.S. Naipaul, Anita Desai, Kamala Markandaya, and Bharati Mukherjee interrogate literature exploring relations between the scions of British imperialism and religious traditions other than Christianity. Expressly concerned with literary embodiments of belief-systems in post-colonial cultures (particularly West African religions in the Caribbean and Hinduism on the Indian subcontinent), these essays also share a sense of Christianity as the pervasive presence of an ideological rhetoric among the economic, social and political dimensions of imperialism. In a polemical Afterword, the editor argues that modes of reading religion and literature in post-colonial cultures are characterised by a theodical preoccupation with a praxis of equity.

The introduction to a series of interdisciplinary titles, both monographs and essays, concerned with matters of literature, art and textuality within religious traditions founded upon texts and textual study.

Teaching Religion and Literature provides a practical engagement with the pedagogical possibilities of teaching religion courses using literature, teaching literature classes using religion, and teaching Religion and Literature as a discipline. Featuring chapters written by award winning teachers from a variety of institutional settings, the book gives anyone interested in providing interdisciplinary education a set of questions, resources, and tools that will deepen a classroom’s engagement with the field. Chapters are grounded in specific texts and religious questions but are oriented toward engaging general pedagogical issues that allow each chapter to improve any instructor’s engagement with interdisciplinary education. The book offers resources to instructors new to teaching Religion and Literature and provides definitions of what the field means from senior scholars in the field. Featuring a wide range of religious traditions, genres, and approaches, the book also provides an innovative glimpse at emerging possibilities for the sub-discipline.

Intended To Serve The Academic Needs Of The Students Of English Literature, The Companion Is An Ultimate Literary Reference Source, Providing An Up-To-Date, Comprehensive And Authoritative Biographies Of Novelists, Poets, Playwrights, Essayists, Journalists And Critics Ranging From Literary Giants Of The Past To Contemporary Writers Like Peter Burnes (1931-2004), Anthony Powell (1905-2000), Patrick O Brian (1914-2000), Iris Murdoch (1919-1999), Grace Nicholas (1950- ) And Douglas Adams (1952-2001). Over The Last Few Decades English Literary Canon Has Become Relatively More Extensive And Diverse. In Recognition Of The Significance Of The New Literatures In English, Special Emphasis Has Been Given On The Writers Of These Literatures. In Addition, The Indian Writers Writing In English Have Been Given A Prominent Place In The Book, Thereby Making It Particularly Useful For The Students Of Indian English Literature. The Companion Is Unique Of Its Kind As It Gives A Broad Outline Of The Story And Not Merely A Brief Account Of The Plot Structure Of A Literary Work So As To Enable The Students To Have A Fairly Good Idea Of The Story. Likewise, Before Getting Down To The Writings Of An Author, The Companion Provides An Invaluable And Authoritative Biographical Note Believing That An Author S Biography Facilitates Proper Understanding Of His/Her Contributions.On Account Of Its Clear And Reliable Plot Summaries And Descriptive Entries Of Major Works And Literary Journals And Authentic Biographical Details, The Companion Is A Work Of Permanent Value. It Is Undoubtedly An Indispensable And Path-Breaking Handy Reference Guide For All Those Interested In Literatures In English Produced In The United Kingdom, The United States, Canada, Australia, Africa, The Caribbean, India And Other Countries.

The authors chart a middle course in our war over religion and public education, one that builds on a developing national consensus among educational and religious leaders. While it is not proper for schools to practice religion or proselytize, neither is it permissible to make them religion-free zones. Schools do not take religion seriously, as the authors' review of textbooks and the new national content standards makes clear. In Part One, they outline the civic, constitutional, and educational frameworks that should shape the treatment of religion in the curriculum and classroom. In Part Two, they explore major issues relating to religion in different domains of the curriculum in elementary education and in middle and high school courses in history, civics, economics, literature, and the sciences. They also discuss Bible courses and world religions courses and explore the relationship of religion to moral education and sex education. Note: This product listing is for the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the book.

This book explores current trends in the interdisciplinary study of literature and theology - an area of academic activity that has developed dramatically in the past twenty years. The field of study originated from the impetus to embrace the richness of imaginative resources in theological reflection and was stimulated by the re-emergence of the sacred in contemporary theory. Since the mid '90s critical theory has undergone a number of significant transformations, theology has become a subject of public concern and the boundaries between sacred and cultural texts have become increasingly unstable. This book brings together the work of leading scholars in the field with that of emerging voices. Offering an important resource for the growing number of postgraduate courses exploring the relation between religion and culture in the contemporary context, this book delineates current trends in interdisciplinary debate as well as tracing emerging configurations.