Reimagining Nature is a new introduction to the fast developing area of natural theology, written by one of the world’s leading theologians. The text engages in serious theological dialogue whilst looking at how past developments might illuminate and inform theory and practice in the present. This text sets out to explore what a properly Christian approach to natural theology might look like and how this relates to alternative interpretations of our experience of the natural world Alister McGrath is ideally placed to write the book as one of the world’s best known theologians and a chief proponent of natural theology This new work offers an account of the development of natural theology throughout history and informs of its likely contribution in the present This feeds in current debates about the relationship between science and religion, and religion and the humanities Engages in serious theological dialogue, primarily with Augustine, Aquinas, Barth and Brunner, and includes the work of natural scientists, philosophers of science, and poets

Reimagining Urban Nature questions some of the underlying imaginaries which have for so long allowed us humans to develop technologically at great cost to the more-than-human world and ourselves. In urban places, cultural and more-than-human entities are in frequent contact; however, the non-human is often seen as expendable in these human-centric places. While much important work has been done on improving care for the more rural and wild areas of the globe, to really address environmental damage we must work towards reimagining the city. These are places where the majority of people live and work, and where the majority of decisions are made about the care and protection of many environments within and beyond the city. This book contributes to the still under-developed field of urban ecocriticism by adding a posthumanist perspective, as well as expanding current discussions within urban studies and environmental activism that seek to shift political and cultural imaginaries of urban nature. Importantly, this investigation is grounded in the Australian (and more broadly, the Australasian) context to allow for the analysis of a more diverse set of voices, texts and ecologies in an area still dominated by the northern hemisphere and the Global North.

Reimagining Thoreau synthesizes the interests of the intellectual and psychological biographer and the literary critic in a reconsideration of Thoreau's career from his graduation from Harvard in 1837 to his death in 1862. The purposes of the book are threefold: 1) to situate Thoreau's aims and achievements as a writer within the context of his troubled relationship to m microcosm of ante-bellum Concord; 2) to reinterpret Walden as a temporally layered text in light of the successive drafts of the book and the evidence of Thoreau's journals and contemporaneous writings; and 3) toverturn traditional views of Thoreau's decline by offering a new estimate of the post-Walden writing and its place within Thoreau's development.

A practical approach to shared inquiry and exploration in K-12 classrooms We are in a period of unknowns unlike any in a generation or more. As educators, we need new pathways and ideas that can help us educate children for the world to come. Reimagining the Classroom: Creating New Learning Spaces and Connecting with the World provides practical steps and examples that parents and educators can use to begin to create new learning spaces, approaches, and outcomes. Dr. Richards’ provocative book asks us to reconsider some of our basic assumptions about teaching and learning. It helps parents and educators question and recast these assumptions and practices while providing concrete, tested activities and ideas that will help readers reimagine educational spaces rooted in the notion that classrooms—and the stories we tell in them—are a metaphor for the world we hope to create. Reimagining the Classroom is divided into two parts. The first offers the intellectual framework parents and educators are seeking; it identifies specific problems with current approaches, offers an alternative vision and set of narratives, and then offers a new pedagogy to satisfy this vision. The second part of the book moves from the theoretical to the practical. Dr. Richards provides tested pedagogical tools for classrooms in science and math; literature and fine arts; spirituality and mindfulness; practical arts; and justice and social-emotional learning. Discover practical tools for creating educational spaces that prepare students for the world they will encounter Help students express their values and learn to live in community Replace or supplement school with at-home learning and activities that will give students an edge for the future Learn how the traditional approach to education is failing our kids and leading to an epidemic of depression and anxiety For educators and parents ready to consider a radical shift in service of our children’s wellbeing, this book explains what, fundamentally, education can and should look like.

This book approaches the subject of contemporary art by exploring the social embeddedness and identities of Singaporean artists. Linking artistic processes and production to both personal worlds and wider issues, the book examines how artists negotiate their relationships between self and society and between artistic freedom and social responsibility. It is based on original research into the discourses and artistic practices of local artists, with a special focus on emerging artists and artists whose work and perspectives engage with questions of identity. Reimagining contemporary Singapore and their place within it, artists are asserting their multiple and heterogeneous self-identities and contesting hegemonic norms and notions, as they negotiate and adapt to the world around them. This book is relevant to students and researchers in the fields of cultural studies, media studies, art, sociology of art, arts education, and race and ethnicity studies.

With trust in Parliament and politicians at a seriously low level, there is an increasing need to rebuild our public institutions. This innovative book questions what Parliament should be in the 21st century and how it can be reimagined. It shows how a new democratic parliamentary space can be created to better represent and engage with citizens; to furnish a safe, inclusive and fair working environment for all staff and members; and to secure greater responsiveness and accountability of government. Bringing together a vibrant group of parliamentary scholars and practitioners, it proposes an institutional world of possibilities beyond the present Westminster village, to help restore faith in democracy. .

Failed attempts in Africa to develop, democratise and instil virtues of a just state and society which promote benevolent leadership and advance political and economic rights and freedoms call for a ‘new’ imagination. By exploring a wide range of issues concerning justice, human rights and leadership, this book makes two major contributions to the extant literature in each of these areas. Firstly, as a project in decoloniality, it constitutes an ‘epistemic break’ from mainstream logics and approaches to understanding state, society and development in Africa, presenting an approach that is filtered through a Euro-American lens that reifies the hegemony of a particular spatio-temporality. In other words, it emphasises the importance of situatedness by thinking from rather than about or with Africa. And secondly, it addresses a fundamental shortcoming in decolonial thought, which is often criticised for rejecting western paradigms of thought without providing viable alternatives. The issues covered include state failure in Africa, the geopolitics of US and NATO military interventions on the continent, individual states’ responses to international law, indigenous moral political leadership, authentic inclusion of marginalised voices in development practice, an endogenous approach to environmental ethics, and a spiritualist reflection on the need for Africa to chart her own course to political, social and economic redemption. By searching for alternative paths to justice, human rights and leadership, this book represents an effort to actualise the core vision of the African Renaissance to find ‘African solutions for African problems’.

Reimagining Ministry offers an overview of mission and ministry in Britain for ordinands and practising clergy. It is intended as a contribution to thinking about ministry, in particular ordained ministry in the context of the social and cultural setting of the twenty-first century, several significant theological developments and a perception of the way God through the Holy Spirit is leading the church in Britain.Following an analysis of the situation in which ministry takes place, the author then invites his readers to consider a new and different paradigm of ministry for the church of the future. The groundwork for a new paradigm of ministry needs to include an account of the kingdom of God, which is the goal of mission; the role of the church in the mission of God; and, for reasons that will be developed briefly in the synopsis, individual discipleship and transformation.

The Spirit presents itself to many as an enigma. Its existence is mysterious and complex, generating misunderstandings and unawareness of its true purpose. The Spirit’s ambiguous nature opens the opportunity for study to unearth the exciting truths that it holds. The Spirit is present in our world in various forms. This book aims to examine the Spirit as experienced in light, wind, breath, and vibration to help us uncover some of its aspects that invite us to work for climate justice, racial justice, and gender justice. The Holy Spirit has always been a mover and shaker of ideas and action. The Spirit’s presence moves, stirs, and changes us to become aware of the social ills in our world. The different ways in which we reimagine the Holy Spirit can challenge some traditional assumptions in Christianity and provide a liberative vision that allows us to work for social justice. The work of the Holy Spirit stirs us to work toward new kinships with God that are sustainable, just, and whole.

This book addresses the crucial issue of how we value and deploy the idea of “freedom” that underlies contemporary curriculum studies. Whether we are conventional curriculum thinkers who value knowledge development or favor a Deweyan, individualist orientation toward curriculum or are a critical social justice curriculum thinker, at the heart of all these orientations and theorizing is the value of “freedom.” The book addresses “freedom” through novel sources: the work of Martin Buber on education, Julia Kristeva on the uses of imagination and the female/male dialectic, Emmanuel Levinas’ unique approach to ethics, and more. Readers will find new ways to understand freedom and the world of ethical life as informing curriculum thinking. It provides a more ecumenical vision that can draw our differences together. It helps readers to reconsider ourselves in fruitful ways that can bring more relevance and substance to the field.