Contemporary Conversations Research Articles

Teaching The Second Sex: A Conversation

In this published conversation, the authors discuss their teaching of Simone de Beau-voir’s The Second Sex more than seventy years after its 1949 publication, paying particular attention to the text’s potential significance for students in several different fields of study, including women, gender, and sexuality studies; American studies; African American studies; and performance studies. The authors share pedagogical strategies for encouraging students to read the text historically; which portions of the book they find especially useful to assign; and other texts and authors that pair fruitfully with Beauvoir. In addition to thinking about the text’s historical significance, the authors discuss what The Second Sex may offer in the wake of poststructuralism, particularly for contemporary conversations regarding ethics, freedom, and the mattering of life.

Seeing History: Thinking about and with Photographs

Long before the invention of photography in 1839, people in the western half of the North American continent used visual means to make sense of their world; in petroglyphs and pictographs, on hide painting and ceramic vessels, with bead work and devotional art. But the settlement of the West as a part of the United States largely coincides with the invention and spread of photography. The new American region and the new medium came of age together. Through photography, many Americans encountered the West for the first time. And in the nineteenth-century West, American photography found its most distinctive and readily recognizable subject. Photographs now shape our mental images of the West. In our mind’s eye we imagine gold miners in California, Native peoples in their own communities, workers on the transcontinental railroad, sod-house settlers on the central plains. We see the Sierras and the Rockies, Dust Bowl farms and Sunbelt sprawl. Nonetheless, as western historians we’ve been more apt to use these photographs as illustrations than to think about them as primary sources that can help us answer central questions about the western past. We’ve let writers and scholars from other disciplines shape the contemporary conversations about how to understand photographs.1

Walking at Midnight: Women and Danger on Delhi’s Streets

I discuss the walking practice of Delhi-based artist Mallika Taneja in the context of its engagement with, and intervention in, the contemporary conversations on sexualised violence, gender, space and mobility in India. Taneja’s work is part of a variety of feminist activism to take place in India since the horrific gang rape of Jyoti Singh in Delhi in December 2012. Taneja organises regular midnight walks in various parts of the city, which are advertised via social media. This essay explores the significance of walking as a pedagogical tool to understand the relationship between gender, city, space and mobility in Delhi. When conversations on sexualized violence are accelerating in the wake of #MeToo, I examine the contours of embodied knowledge practices enabled by collective walking by women at midnight. I discuss how walking-based methodologies allow for a learning process that is lived, somatic, and personal and which is rooted in specific spatial contexts based on listening and care. Using an intersectional perspective that pays close attention to the role of region, class, caste, sexuality and ethnicity (Mohanty, 2013), this essay is also a prompt against a unified theory of gender, safety, and mobility.

Asking for It

Amidst the fallout of the Jian Ghomeshi scandal, playwright Ellie Moon conducted interviews with her friends about consent and the limits of sexual freedom. The resulting play, Asking For It, provided in this issue in excerpted form, situates contemporary conversations about sex and power, coercion and choice, in dialogue among a set of friends searching for understanding in the mess.

Conversação eleitoral em democracias monitoradas: uma tipologia para análise de comentários em redes sociais on-line

O artigo discorre sobre como a abundância comunicativa potencializada pelos espaços on-line afeta a organização das conversações democráticas contemporâneas. Discute-se como os mo- nitores sociais geram fluxos de comunicação próprios, especialmente nas redes sociais on-line, direcionados a instituições e atores políticos. Analisa-se o comportamento do debate on-line sobre as eleições de 2014 no Brasil a partir de 610 mil comentários feitos às fanpages no Facebook da Folha de S. Paulo, do Estadão e de O Globo. A pergunta de pesquisa respondida é: os comenta- dores dos três jornais apresentam comportamentos similares ou distintos? Além disso, propõe-se uma tipologia para classificar os comentários. Entre os resultados obtidos, tem-se que o volume de ruído no debate eleitoral digital é superior aos comentários temáticos.

The Inconspicuous God: Heidegger, French Phenomenology & the Theological Turn by Jason W. Alvis

Reviewed by: The Inconspicuous God: Heidegger, French Phenomenology & the Theological Turn by Jason W. Alvis Chad Engelland Alvis, Jason. W. The Inconspicuous God: Heidegger, French Phenomenology & the Theological Turn. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2018. 249 pp. Cloth, $65.00 Nearly three decades after Dominique Janicaud's 1991 criticism of "the theological turn in French phenomenology," Jason Alvis delivers a sustained defense of the phenomenological viability of the turn by elucidating Martin Heidegger's phenomenology of the inconspicuous. In Being and Time, Heidegger says there is need for phenomenology only because the phenomena for the most part do not show themselves as they are in themselves. The later Heidegger becomes even more attentive to this theme of elusiveness or nonappearance of phenomenology's subject matter. Alvis's book exploits the resources of this Heideggerian emphasis and draws on some of the voices that comprise the theological turn in French phenomenology in order to explore the ordinary inconspicuousness of God. Each of the eight chapters focuses on a different "inconspicuous" theme. The first chapter examines inconspicuous revelation by arguing that Jean-Luc Marion's saturated phenomenon can apply not only to the spectacular but to the inconspicuous as well. The second chapter focuses on inconspicuous phenomenology by offering a reading of Heidegger's later talk of a phenomenology of the inapparent (Unscheinbarkeit). Alvis prefers translating this as "inconspicuous" rather than "inapparent," because he wants to emphasize, against Janicaud, that the concept cannot be identified with the invisible as such. By Alvis's count, there are three possible interpretations of inconspicuousness: first, it may name the hiddenness that characterizes all of phenomenology's phenomena; second, it may name a hiddenness that in principle could be registered in any and all phenomena; third, it may name a hiddenness characteristic of one class of phenomena in particular. Alvis acknowledges that the first interpretation is generally favored, but his own preference is for the third. In this way, the divine would count as one of those classes of phenomena that are peculiarly marked by inconspicuousness. The third chapter attends to the inconspicuous lifeworld of religion in light of Heidegger's focus on world and with reference to Michel Henry's claim that the affectivity of life is prior to the world. For Alvis, the tension between life [End Page 127] and world opens the place for inconspicuous revelation. The fourth chapter focuses on inconspicuous liturgy and the reduction to the inconspicuous place of the Absolute that Jean-Yves Lacoste wields against Heidegger's closed conception of world. The fifth chapter turns to inconspicuous adoration present in Jean-Luc Nancy's deconstruction of Christianity. Alvis notes that Nancy's atheism shields him from Janicaud's censure even though his project exploits Heidegger's phenomenology of the inapparent to develop religious motifs, in this case the praise of the ordinary. The sixth chapter joins William Alston, Merold Westphal, and Anthony Steinbock in arguing against William James's reduction of religious experience to the realm of private feeling; the notion of inconspicuous evidence allows for an element of paradox concerning the question of warrant in religious experience. The seventh chapter details an inconspicuous faith by charting senses of forgetting at work in Jean-Louis Chrétien and in Heidegger, including the forgetfulness of being and the flight of the last gods. Alvis then suggests that such forgetfulness operates in the way that the act of faith recedes into the background of the life of faith, an experience he likens to the way the car recedes into the background while driving. The eighth turns to the inconspicuous God by examining Heidegger's explorations of hiddenness in the introduction to Being and Time. Alvis argues that inconspicuous phenomena and inconspicuous givenness provide an alternative to the idolization of incomprehensibility that marks much of the contemporary philosophical discussion of the divine. The Inconspicuous God exploits a central if ambiguous concept in phenomenology to provide a thematic treatment of the mode of ordinary religious phenomena with reference to recent French phenomenological authors. God, the book argues, is not to be found in the spectacular but in the inconspicuous. This is a welcome emphasis in the contemporary conversation about the relation of God to...

Sex, Love, and an Old Brick Building: A United Church of Canada Congregation Transitions to LGBTQ Inclusion

AbstractWhereas much literature focuses on ways that Christian discourses can perpetuate homophobia and transmisogyny, there is less scholarly attention focused on Christian groups that embrace people with diverse gender and sexual identities. As this article demonstrates, it is precisely because of their traditional marginalization that active inclusion of LGBTQ people may come to serve as a signifier of less institutionally oriented and more socially progressive forms of religiosity, especially for communities actively negotiating intersecting neoliberal oppressions. Drawing on sustained fieldwork with a progressive Protestant congregation, this project analyzes two of the community’s foundational narratives: one of a minister coming out as lesbian; and one of giving up their church building. As members connect these stories to their more recent embrace of the first known transwoman to be ordained in the denomination, they reveal tensions surrounding power, embodiment, and sexuality at the core of contemporary conversations about North American religion.

A Historical View on Health Care: A New View on Austerity?

It is an axiom of contemporary conversations about austerity and health care that the relationship between the two is essentially direct. Cutting funds damages health care systems and hurts the health of individuals who rely on them. Though this premise has provoked necessary discussion about global politics, the global economy and their impact on individual well-being, it is nonetheless intrinsically problematic. Assigning health and health care as objects of austerity not only obscures the complexity of health care systems and the opacity of health’s definitional borders, but also misunderstands austerity, its manifestations and its significance. The ambition of this essay is to bring health care back into the debate, in order to establish the greater dynamism of the contemporary austerity and health care relationship. This historical reconstruction will challenge the significance of our current situating of austerity as health care’s bogeyman, press for a reconsideration of our contemporary definitions of the key factors involved here (health, health care and austerity) and finally conclude with some thoughts on how we might more productively approach the problem of health now.

The Art of Dying Well according to Erasmus of Rotterdam and Teresa of Ávila

Contemporary conversations about death and dying are lost and unsatisfying on many levels. This phenomenon subsists not only in fields like bioethics, but also in religion and spirituality. Modern culture is preoccupied with seeking ways to live a longer, youthful life, ignoring the inevitable forthcoming of death. One period during which the topic of death and dying was reflected upon by the common Christian was between the fifteenth and the seventeenth centuries, during which a specific genre of literature was formed: ars moriendi. This genre attempted to provide intellectual, cultural and religious answers as to how death should be understood and ritualized. Two spiritual writers who contributed to the understanding of ars moriendi are Desiderius Erasmus and Teresa of Ávila. What unites these figures of the Catholic tradition is their attempt to show that preparation for death is a lifelong process of cultivating appropriate virtues.

Critical conversations in continuing education: Contemporary memes, themes, and dreams.

Continuing education (CE) and ongoing professional development have occupied a sustained presence within the field of professional psychology across the course of the field's development. Contemporary conversations in this area highlight a commitment to aligning the processes and procedures of continuing education with its primary objectives, which include the maintenance of competence, the improvement of clinical service, and the protection of the public. But a wide range of different perspectives inform the pursuit of this common cause, providing broadly complementary, and sometimes acutely competing, visions. Prominent memes, themes, and dreams animate the divergent discussions regarding these visions, and this special issue gives expression to that full chorus of voices. United in their collective concern with CE as a lopsidedly talking head approach to professional training, each contribution to this special issue introduces different images and elements into the discussion of continuing professional development. Their otherwise diverse perspectives nonetheless converge on 3 predominant themes, which address (a) the quality and consistency in continuing education, (b) the importance of continuing competence as one of its key objectives, and (c) the growing groundswell of demand for interprofessional continuing professional development in the evolving world of integrated care. These varying perspectives give rise to a range of different visions that promise a plurality of possibilities for the field of professional psychology as it continues to articulate, and implement, its developing images across time.

Suffering for Others While Making Others Suffer: Military Narratives of Sacrifice.

Voices from theology seldom participate in a contemporary conversation on military cultures and identities; this article attempts to stimulate this conversation from such a perspective. The article combines a literature review with narratives of sacrifice from real-life cases. It presents a reflective perspective on the formation of military identities with regard to responsibilities and sacrifices. Forgiveness and atonement are discussed as pathways to cultivate growth which can lessen feelings of guilt and regret.

Varieties of Buddhist Healing in Multiethnic Philadelphia

While an increasing amount of attention has been paid in the last decade to mindfulness meditation, the broader impact of Buddhism on healthcare in the United States, or any industrialized Western countries, is still much in need of scholarly investigation. The current article presents preliminary results from an ethnographic study exploring the impact of a wide range of Buddhist institutions, practices, and cultural orientations on the healthcare landscape of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. By particularly focusing on segments of the population that are non-white and that have limited English language skills, one of the main goals of this project is to bring more diverse voices into the contemporary conversation about Buddhism and wellbeing in America. Moreover, as it extends far beyond the topic of meditation, this study also is intended to highlight a wider range of practices and orientations toward health and healing that are current in contemporary American Buddhism. Finally, this paper also forwards the argument that the study of these activities should be grounded in an appreciation of how individual Buddhist institutions are situated within specific local contexts, and reflect unique configurations of local factors.

Personhood in the Byzantine Christian Tradition: Early, Medieval, and Modern Perspectives ed. by Alexis Torrance and Symeon Paschalidis

Reviewed by: Personhood in the Byzantine Christian Tradition: Early, Medieval, and Modern Perspectives ed. by Alexis Torrance and Symeon Paschalidis Ionuţ Biliuţă Alexis Torrance and Symeon Paschalidis, eds. Personhood in the Byzantine Christian Tradition: Early, Medieval, and Modern Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge, 2018. 202 pp. One of the key questions of theological modernity relates to the status of the person and its defining features, according to the conceptual framework of patristic and modern theology. Scholars such as Karl Barth, Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae, Nikos Nissiotis, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Metropolitan John Zizioulas, and Fr. Nikolaos Loudovikos have reinterpreted patristic ideas and engendered a new approach to the human person, connecting the ancient Byzantine views with the philosophical voices of modernity. Whether approaching the teachings of the fathers of the Church or appropriating the main streams of modern philosophical thought, these theologians have explored the mutations and permutations of the human person in contemporary thought. The present book, edited by two of the most promising and brilliant representatives of this new wave of theologians, readdresses the crucial question of the human in light of the longue durée enjoyed by this theological construct, from the early patristic thought up to the present day. It has a double intention: on the one hand to reconfigure the relation between tradition and modernity by placing the human person at the apex of theological reflection for over two thousand years and, on the other hand, to explore the origins of theological efforts to crystallize a compelling perception regarding the very nature of the human person. In this book, the editors bring together various reputed voices from the field of patristics (Paul Blowers, Johannes Zachhuber, Demetrios Harper, Jean-Claude Larchet) and systematic theology (Nikolaos Loudovikos, Nikolaos Asproulis) in their effort to connect the language of the fathers with that of contemporary theologians. From the very first pages, the editors emphasize that the aim of the book is to widen the debate about the genesis and contemporary conversation regarding the status of the human person: “Rather than dwell exclusively on terminological markers (such as the Greek words hypostasis and prosopon) and their meaning in the sources, such an approach needs to be combined with a broader and more widely focused enterprise, one that is not limited to dogmatic formulas and their conceptual content, but includes reflection on the human person arising from other sources, whether liturgical, hagiographic, iconographic, homiletic, ascetic, and so on” (1). Delivered at a conference held in Thessaloniki in May 2014, the papers in the volume are divided into four historical units. The first three (7–44), present the perceptions of the human person in the early Church and Byzantium. Christos Karakolis describes Paul’s views on the connection between personal relation and moral imitation, and Paul M. Blowers’ contribution focuses on the symbiosis between emotional “scripts” and personal moral identity in the thought of the Greek Fathers. Johannes Zachhuber discusses the perceptions regarding the [End Page 121] identity and nature of the human person in the anti-Chalcedonian writings of Severus of Antioch and John Philoponus. The most relevant contributions to the goal of the book set by the editors are those of Blowers and Zachhuber. Introducing the lively discussion about the tension between the innate or the acquired moral traits of each person from contemporary moral psychology and identity theory, Blowers shows how the early fathers (Irenaeus of Lyon, Origen, Athanasius, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, fourth-century Greek monastics, John Cassian and Maximus the Confessor, up to the Fathers of the Philokalia) anticipated these scientific debates in their reflections about the relationship between image and likeness in the realization of the moral self. On the other hand, when comparing the Cappadocian formula for the Trinity (one ousia but as three distinct hypostases) with the Severian solution, Zachhuber emphasizes that for the theological school emerging in the footsteps of Cyril of Alexandria, no hypostasis can exist without a physis (36). Although forgotten or merely disregarded in the Byzantine East, the miaphysite solution proposed by Severus as the “inversion” of the Cappadocian compromise was taken even further by John Philoponus, who argued that particular natures could not be universal, therefore paving the...

What Does the Bible Say? A Critical Conversation with Popular Culture in a Biblically Illiterate World ed. by Mary Ann Beavis and Hyeran Kim-cragg

Reviewed by: What Does the Bible Say? A Critical Conversation with Popular Culture in a Biblically Illiterate World ed. by Mary Ann Beavis and Hyeran Kim-cragg Gordon H. Matties mary ann beavis and hyeran kim-cragg, What Does the Bible Say? A Critical Conversation with Popular Culture in a Biblically Illiterate World ( Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2017). Pp. xvi + 186. Paper $25. "The Bible says," a popular expression in some circles, needs elucidation. Professors in universities and seminaries lament biblical illiteracy. For better or worse, movies and television shape religious and theological understandings. This book aims, therefore, to offer a critical perspective on a variety of contested theological and ethical topics, along with contemporary film. The authors bring their expertise to the conversation, with Mary Ann Beavis as biblical scholar and HyeRan Kim-Cragg as practical theologian. They write to teach and to warn. [End Page 721] The authors are concerned that growing biblical illiteracy is giving way to "dangerous" and "harmful" interpretations that foster "Fundamentalism or Anti-Semitism or … facile rejection of Christianity." In offering their perspective on "what the Bible actually says," the authors contest "how the Bible is being used, abused, and misused to oppress, exclude, and judge," and offer "other ways of reading" (pp. xi-xii). The authors are writing primarily for "Christian faith communities today," some of whom were drawn into conversation in small groups (church groups, student groups, women's groups) who viewed and discussed the movies together with the authors (p. xiv). The authors are worried that "lack of knowledge" among people in those communities will become "a chain that constrains us, makes us docile, and leads us to a cynical (or overly rosy) view of the Bible or the world or both" (p. xii). The book is a resource for those wrestling with, or even curious about, some of the pervasive themes and issues of our time. The authors hope that "knowing what the Bible really says or does not say, helps us to slip out of the chains of misinformation, which may in turn liberate us to find new insights in order to live out the faithful life" (p. xii; italics original). They suggest that their approach is "counter-cultural" in its challenging "popular understandings and misperceptions as disseminated in … film, advertising, television, etc." (p. xiv). The authors wish to expose and challenge simplistic readings of biblical texts and to offer alternatives that are healthy and hopeful. The first two chapters deal with easily misunderstood theological topics. Chapter 1, "Creation and Apocalypse," brings seven biblical creation texts into conversation with one another and with Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke (1997). In chap. 2, the authors challenge popular notions of sin and salvation, particularly the concept of "original sin," while engaging with the film Jesus of Montreal (1989). Chapters 3 and 4 explore the critical issues of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism through explication of "Moses and Jesus" and "Jews and Christians" in the Bible. The movies Prince of Egypt (1998) and The Chosen (1981) are contemporary conversation partners. In chaps. 5, 6, and 7 B. and K.-C. turn to the themes "Heaven and Hell," "God and Satan," and "Christ and Antichrist." The authors challenge the binary articulations of those topics in some contemporary readings of the Bible. Their engagement with Heaven Is for Real (2014), Spiderman II (2004), and Agora (2012) shows how popular cultural productions reinforce misguided biblical interpretation. Chapter 8, "Gender and God," challenges the practice of male-oriented language for God and offers the movie Babette's Feast (1986) for constructive insight. In chap. 9, "Purity and Sex," the authors question the idea that the Bible offers clear teaching on sexual purity and suggest, instead, that notions of honor and shame better reflect the cultural assumptions of biblical texts. The movie The Virgin Suicides (1999) provides a dark and challenging dialogue partner. Chapter 10, a bookend to the two opening theologically oriented chapters, challenges theology that associates Jesus's crucifixion with an overly simplistic understanding of sacrifice and atonement, and offers thoughtful reflection on The Passion of the Christ (2004) and Chocolat (2000). Although the book provides nuanced exegesis, the authors could have reflected more on the...

American Catholics and “The Use and Abuse of Reading,” 1865–1873

ABSTRACTIn the wake of the Civil War, Father Isaac Hecker launched several publishing ventures to advance his dream of a Catholic America, but he and his partners soon found themselves embroiled in a debate with other American Catholics, notably his friend and fellow convert Orestes Brownson, over the “use and abuse of reading.” Although the debate was certainly part of a contemporary conversation about the compatibility of Catholicism and American culture, this essay argues that it was equally rooted in a moment of American anxiety over a shifting social order, a moment when antebellum faith in the individual was being tested by the rights claims of women and Americans of color. Tacitly accepting and internalizing historical claims of intrinsic and through-going Catholic “difference,” claims offered both by American Protestants and American Catholics like Brownson, scholars often presume that debates within American Catholicism reflect “Catholic” concerns first and foremost, qualifying their utility as sources of “American” cultural history. By examining American Catholic discussions of reading, individual liberty, social order, and gender in the 1860s and 1870s, this essay argues that Brownson's arguments against the compatibility of American and Catholic life were in fact far more representative of ascendant ideas in American culture than Hecker's hopeful visions of a Catholic American future made manifest through the power of reading. In doing so, it demonstrates the ways that American Catholicism can be a valuable and complex site for studying the broader history of religion and culture in the United States.

Digging in to the Alphabet Soup: Exploring Trends and Embracing Change in LGBTQ+ YA Literature

Digging in to the Alphabet Soup:Exploring Trends and Embracing Change in LGBTQ+ YA Literature Robert Bittner (bio) Jenkins, Christine A., and Michael Cart. Representing the Rainbow in Young Adult Literature: LGBTQ+ Content since 1969. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. 293 pp. $45.00 pb. ISBN 9781442278066. Christine A. Jenkins and Michael Cart, in the introduction to their new volume, Representing the Rainbow in Young Adult Literature, note that their goal is to "both to chart the evolution of the field and to identify titles that are remarkable either for their excellence or for their failures" (xiii). Their goal is admirable and also successful in many respects, but before assessing individual elements of the text and the various ways in which the authors engage with primary texts, one must understand the text whence Representing the Rainbow came to be. Cart and Jenkins's The Heart Has Its Reasons was and continues to be a groundbreaking work in the arena of GLBTQ (changed to LGBTQ+ in Representing the Rainbow) young adult (YA) literature scholarship. Not only did their original text provide a comprehensive analysis of trends during each decade between 1969 and 2004,1 but the inclusion of an annotated bibliography allowed children's and young adult (C/YA) literature scholars to easily discover texts and trends that had previously remained unknown or hidden within the overall output of YA novels. Jenkins and Cart, in their updated book Representing the Rainbow, highlight and discuss LGBTQ+ literature published after 1969 but additional chapters also cover new titles and trends since 2004, and even envision new trends to watch for in the coming years. In this volume, Jenkins and Cart revisit their previous work and assertions and integrate the discoveries of contemporary conversations, including discussions around diversity, own voices authorship,2 and the increasing representation of identities outside a gay/lesbian [End Page 179] sexual dichotomy, particularly bisexuality, which was not an orientation typically included in earlier fiction for teen readers. In addition, Representing the Rainbow engages with the increased incorporation of trans, intersex, and gender fluid characters in youth literature, through additional chapters in the section called "Part II: Breaking Down the Barriers." Working from Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop's Shadow and Substance: Afro-American Experience in Contemporary Children's Fiction, Jenkins and Cart reimagine Bishop's three categories of literature to create a simplified model of categorizing LGBTQ+ YA fiction. The chronological model describing fictional portrayals of African American characters consists of "social conscience" books (Bishop 17-32), "melting pot" books (33-48), and "culturally conscious" books (49-78). Within Representing the Rainbow, the categories become "homosexual visibility" (the coming out story), "gay assimilation" (inclusion of LGBTQ+ secondary characters and themes that are not the narrative focus), and "queer consciousness/community" (in which LGBTQ+ characters are able to find community and are not isolated within their respective stories) (xiv). While this simplified categorical model does make it easier for librarians, educators, and others to find commonalities among narratives, it does, in some cases, ignore certain complexities that scholars focusing on intersectional approaches to literature are likely to focus on (e.g., racial stereotypes, issues around class, or even sexualities/genders in other cultural contexts). For example, a book that is categorized as "gay assimilation" may incorporate secondary queer or trans characters, but there is no explicit space within this framework for an intersectional approach to better understanding those characters. [End Page 180] Though the tone of the book is sometimes more informal than academic texts—with personal anecdotes and subjectively positioned asides—the accessibility of the reviews and overarching analysis ensure that Representing the Rainbow is an ideal text for students, educators, librarians, and academics. Jenkins and Cart present readers with a combination of in-depth reviews of texts they consider to be foundational or radical, and overviews of the socio-political climates during which the books were published. For instance, when discussing the overwhelming number of gay characters who die in YA literature in the 80s, Jenkins and Cart note the presence of the AIDS epidemic (38-40) as well as the influence of publishers who refused to publish positive queer stories for fear of backlash (42). Unlike some academic disciplines that...

Vulnerability, Resilience, and Surviving Destruction: Discussion of “The Analyst’s Experience of Trust and Mistrust”

In this response to Danielle Novack’s intellectually astute and clinically rich paper on the “analyst’s trust,” I reflect on the valuable ways in which Novack elucidates this undertheorized aspect of the analyst’s experience and reconfigures trust/mistrust as a meaningful intersubjective dimension of the therapeutic relationship. Novack shows how attending to shifts in trust/mistrust can provide valuable clues for deciphering the transference/countertransference. While I strongly agree with her construction of trust as a psychoanalytic achievement, I question the notion that the analyst’s trust is a necessary condition for her participation. Novack’s work on the analyst’s trust joins a broader contemporary conversation about potential overreaches in the relational paradigm, which I discuss. Finally, I consider the implications of Novack’s work for specifying the factors that underly resilience and engaging a conversation about surviving destruction in contemporary relational psychoanalysis.

Neo-Calvinism and Ethnic Churches in Multiethnic Contexts

Abstract Despite neo-Calvinism’s thorny historic relationship with apartheid, this article retrieves from neo-Calvinism to contribute to the contemporary evangelical conversation about ethnic and multiethnic churches. Scholars of various disciplines have commonly accepted a link between neo-Calvinism and South Africa’s apartheid. Meanwhile, neo-Calvinists labor to sever this link, wishing to disentangle their tradition from apartheid’s evils, such as the enforcement of racially segregated churches. In reaction to the evils of such segregation, many contemporary Evangelicals have advocated for multiethnic churches that demographically reflect their ethnically diverse communities on the basis of Christian unity. This has implicitly and explicitly challenged the legitimacy of ethnic churches. This article contends that despite the link between neo-Calvinism and apartheid, and despite neo-Calvinist efforts to sever this link, neo-Calvinism offers good biblical and theological support for the establishment of ethnic churches in multiethnic contexts without at all denigrating multiethnic churches or falling into the evils of apartheid.

Frederick Douglass’s Prophecies of Abolition: World Literature and the Black Romantic Man of Letters

ABSTRACTFrederick Douglass’s citations of British Romantic poets have recently attracted the attention of scholars working in two modes of Black Studies: transatlantic literary history and political theory. In this essay, I take as my point of departure that Douglass’s Romanticism indicates his self-conception as a “man of letters” and his participation in the emergent discourse of “world literature.” I show how Douglass reconceived these notions as modes of abolitionist practice. I contend that Douglass explored the generic variety of Romantic literature, and especially sought to exercise its prophetic capacity to address slavery. From the historical vantage of world literature, Douglass formulates a theory of abolition as structurally necessary to the function of liberalism. I conclude by suggesting that this premise helps contextualize the return of abolitionism in contemporary conversations about mass incarceration and police violence.

Dying to Save: Child Sacrifice in theHarry PotterandThe Hunger GamesSeries

J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games series feature the sacrifice of children in ways that reflect the lasting cultural fascination with sacrifice and participate in a wider contemporary conversation that both contests and inscribes the sacrifice of children for a variety of purposes. Whereas a deity's founding or protection of a city or nation has long been central to myths of child sacrifice, thereby linking sacrifice to religious and political ends, the Harry Potter and The Hunger Games series elevate friends and loved ones over civic structures as the primary motivations for the child's willing sacrifice. While these sacrifices ultimately take place within a larger social crisis and have social implications in both series, social change emerges only as a fragile byproduct of a willing self-giving dominated by personal concern for friends and family. Even more, while willing sacrifices for others appear paramount in both series, the novels also raise important reasons for caution in the celebration of sacrifice.