Difference Troubles

Difference Troubles, first published in 1997, examines the implications for social theory and sexual politics of taking difference seriously. It explores the trouble difference makes not only for the social sciences, but also for the people - feminists, queer theorists, postmodernists - who champion difference. Seidman asks how social thinkers should conceptualize differences such as gender, race, and sexuality, without reducing them to an inferior status. This is a wide-ranging and sophisticated discussion of contemporary social theory and sexual politics, presented with Seidman's familiar imagination and clarity. In addition, it argues persuasively for a pragmatic approach to difference troubles in theory and politics.

The title of Dr. Harris' book suggests that life is like a two-sided coin: it can be an Ocean of Love but can also be a Sea of Troubles. The subtitle clarifies this paradox: first, there are many signs of God's reality and activity in the world, and the first section of the book examines ways in which people are aware of God as both a creative and immanent presence in life. The "signs" of God are not philosophical "proofs" but empirical realities accessible to all people. In the second section, the biblical responses to suffering in the world are explored--through both Old and New Testaments. In the third section the writings of two modern apologists, C. S. Lewis and Philip Yancey, are assessed, and then finally there is a chapter of interviews with people who have known suffering in their lives.

Ellen T. Armour shows how the writings of Jacques Derrida and Luce Irigaray can be used to uncover feminism's white presumptions so that race and gender can be thought of differently. In clear, concise terms she explores the possibilities and limitations for feminist theology of Derrida's conception of "woman" and Irigaray's "multiple woman," as well as Derrida's thinking on race and Irigaray's work on religion ..."

"Includes a selection of published and unpublished papers"--Introd.

This book deals with a spectrum of problems related to the mathematical modeling of multiphase filtration. Emphasis is placed on an inseparable triad: model — algorithm — computer code. An analysis of new and traditional filtration problems from the point of view of both their numerical implementation and the reproduction of one or another technological characteristics of the processes under consideration is given. The basic principles which underlie the construction of efficient numerical methods taking into account the filtration problems are discussed: non-evolutionary nature, degeneration, strongly varying coefficients, the (temporal) duration of the processes involved, etc. Also attention is paid to the splitting method in terms of the physical processes involved, the method of fictitious domains and the method of front separation in grid solution. A modular analysis is performed with computational algorithms, making it possible to set up simultaneously the structure of the algorithms themselves and the structure of programs to implement these algorithms on a computer. In conclusion, the author discusses issues concerning the possibility of constructing a model of an oil deposit on a computer.

This book provides a detailed comparative account of the development of citizenship and civil society in Hong Kong from its time as a British colony to its current status as a special autonomous region of China.

Has evolution made men promiscuous skirt chasers? Pop-Darwinian claims about men's irrepressible heterosexuality have become increasingly common, and increasingly common excuses for men's sexual aggression. The Caveman Mystique traces such claims about the hairier sex through evolutionary science and popular culture. After outlining the social and historical context of the rise of pop-Darwinism's assertions about male sexuality and their appeal to many men, Martha McCaughey shows how evolutionary discourse can get lived out as the biological truth of male sexuality. Although evolutionary scientists want to use their theories to solve social problems, evolutionary narratives get invoked by men looking for a Darwinian defense of bad-boy behaviors. McCaughey argues that evolution has nearly replaced religion as a moral guide for understanding who we are and what we must overcome to be good people. Bringing together insights from the fields of science studies, body studies, feminist theory and queer theory, The Caveman Mystique offers a fresh understanding of science, science popularization, and the impact of science on men's identities making a convincing case for deconstructing, rather than defending, the caveman.