In this translation of the best-selling French book; La Revanche de Dieu; Gilles Kepel; one of Europe's leading authorities on Islamic societies; offers a compelling account of the resurgence of religious belief in the modern world. His focus is radical movements within Christianity; Judaism; and Islam. Much has been written recently about the rise of fundamentalisms in contemporary religion. Kepel; however; finds the term "fundamentalism;" which derives from the American Protestant experience; to be inadequate for understanding revivalist movements throughout the rest of the world. Ranging from America to Europe and the Middle East; from Protestant televangelists to ultra-Orthodox Jews; from Islamic militants to the "charismatic renewal;" Kepel argues that each of these movements resists the spirit of modernity and secularism. Nevertheless; they cannot be dismissed simply as a reaction to modernity. In Kepel's words; "They are true children of our time." Each group contains a militant membership of young; educated; and modern people. Rather than retreat into the past; they seek to recreate society according to a set of symbols and values in accordance with their holy scriptures. Each group pursues both a strategy from above; attempting to seize state power and use state legislation to promote its ends; and a strategy from below; evangelizing the masses and seeking to take control of their daily lives.According to Kepel; we have much to learn from today's religious movements. Like the workers' movements of yesteryear; they have a singular capacity to reveal the ills of society. Whether or not we agree with their diagnoses; they offer an important and perceptive critique of our society at the end of the millennium.
#487757 in Books 2010-02-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .56 x 6.00l; .63 #File Name: 0262514044216 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Stuck in the Shallow End: Education; Race; and ComputingBy The Kwanzaa Coloring BookDuring the summer of 2014; I attended a Tapestry Workshop; a program designed to attract diverse students to computing; on the campus of the University of California; Irvine; at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Science. At the weeklong training program; teachers and professors presented strategies that they have found to be effective in recruiting African American; Hispanic; and female students into computer science; the speakers were inspirational. The teachers who attended the workshop were provided with resources; too; such as the book Stuck in the Shallow End. More important; I decided to read the book to find out how I could recruit diverse students to my AP Computer Science class. At the beginning of the school year; I approached my administrators about offering an AP computer science course. I met with the principal and assistant principal of instruction to present the benefits of the class. The principal had taught science; which is rare; most administrators do not have a background in STEM; and it didn’t take much to convince her of the importance of the class. In addition; I convinced counselors of the importance of getting underrepresented students into the AP Computer Science class through casual conversations. It was harder to convince the assistant principal of instruction because I don’t think she had a STEM background; and she had to consider the scheduling implications of offering the class. In the end; the principal of instruction decided to offer the class to a group of 22 students who were African American; Hispanic; and females. Surprisingly; it is not hard to get students interested in computer science; especially if I can show them some of the applications of the subject. For example; I developed a presentation about computer science using information I obtained from the Tapestry Workshop that included Sphero; a robot that is controlled by an app on a smartphone. I think the students were impressed by the salaries of computer scientists and the future prospects of computer science as a career field; but Sphero was a rock star. More than that; after my presentation to an analytic geometry class; students from all over the school heard about Sphero and would interrupt my class to see Sphero perform. I used some of the strategies in Stuck in the Shallow End to offer AP Computer Science to students who I think would not otherwise have taken this course. Yet as I taught them; I noticed one glaring weakness in the book and my teaching: we had both completely ignored the students. Frederick Douglass speech said it best in 1883 to a congressional church in Washington D. C.: “If we find; we shall have to seek. If we succeed in the race of life; it must be by our own energies; and our exertions. Others may clear the road; but we must go forward; or be left behind in the race of life.†What I think he was trying to say is that students have the most responsibility for their success. The book and the national debate on how to increase the number of underrepresented groups in computer science have ignored the fact that students; regardless of their background; have some accountability for their success.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A must-read for teachers in all STEM fields.By Bennett BrownMargolis and company have led an incredibly effective program to engage Black; Hispanic; and female students in computer science. This book reveals how the underlying problems they discovered were causing minorities and women to be underrepresented in the CS pipeline. Profiling three very different schools; they find that each school channels the majority of talent away from computer science; but in different ways. Teachers from any school will find unexpected reflections of themselves and their school in Stuck in the Shallow End; and in the end will put down the book with greater insight into how their school's programs might be contributing to the problem. An important book to read for educators and systemic thinkers; its lessons apply not only to computer science but to all fields in which women and minorities are under-represented.I've mentioned my high regard for Stuck in the Shallow End to several leaders in computer science education. All gave a surprisingly similar response: "That book changed my career." Through this book; our efforts to address a national crisis -- in which we find ourselves devastatingly short on people with the skills or interest in computer science -- become a direct descendant of the civil rights work that inspired a generation. A must-read.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great BookBy Raymund C. VergaraGreat book all teachers should read
