Temples For Tomorrow

In this timely book, a group of leading scholars provides a comprehensive assessment of China's polity, economy, and society. Taking the thirtieth anniversary of Beijing's adoption of reform and opening as an occasion to reflect on the course of development over the past three decades, the contributors consider where the country may be going in the future. Just as China has had enormous success in developing its economy, it continues to face equally enormous challenges across a wide variety of issues, including inequality, social protest, energy, the environment, and a resurgence of religion. As a polity, China has tried to build a modern legal system while balancing center-local relations, sustaining a viable ideological framework, and maintaining stable politics at the elite level. At the same time, the current global economic crisis poses a major obstacle to China's model of development. Authoritative, accessible, and current, this book will be an invaluable resource for all readers interested in the fate of a rising global power. Contributions by: Edward A. Cunningham, Joseph Fewsmith, Sebastian Heilmann, Jamie Horsley, Joanna Lewis, Yawei Liu, Barry Naughton, Elizabeth J. Perry, Ren Jiantao, Carl Riskin, Sun Yanfei, Robert Weller, Min Ye, and Yongnian Zheng.

The Harlem Renaissance is rightly considered to be a moment of creative exuberance and unprecedented explosion. Today, there is a renewed interest in this movement, calling for a re-evaluation and a closer scrutiny of the era and of documents that have only recently become available. Temples for Tomorrow reconsiders the period -- between two world wars -- which confirmed the intuitions of W. E. B. DuBois on the "color line" and gave birth to the "American dilemma," later evoked by Gunnar Myrdal. Issuing from a generation bearing new hopes and aspirations, a new vision takes form and develops around the concept of the New Negro, with a goal: to recreate an African American identity and claim its legitimate place in the heart of the nation. In reality, this movement organized into a remarkable institutional network, which was to remain the vision of an elite, but which gave birth to tensions and differences. This collection attempts to assess Harlem's role as a "Black Mecca", as "site of intimate performance" of African American life, and as focal point in the creation of a diasporic identity in dialogue with the Caribbean and French-speaking areas. Essays treat the complex interweaving of Primitivism and Modernism, of folk culture and elitist aspirations in different artistic media, with a view to defining the interaction between music, visual arts, and literature. Also included are known Renaissance intellectuals and writers. Even though they had different conceptions of the role of the African American artist in a racially segregated society, most participants in the New Negro movement shared a desire to express a new assertiveness in terms of literary creation and indentity-building.

The Harlem Renaissance is rightly considered to be a moment of creative exuberance and unprecedented explosion. Today, there is a renewed interest in this movement, calling for a re-evaluation and a closer scrutiny of the era and of documents that have only recently become available. "Temples for Tomorrow" reconsiders the period - between two world wars - which confirmed the intuitions of W.E.B. DuBois on the 'colour line' and gave birth to the 'American dilemma', later evoked by Gunnar Myrdal. Issuing from a generation bearing new hopes and aspirations, a new vision takes form and develops around the concept of the New Negro, with a goal: to recreate an African American identity and claim its legitimate place in the heart of the nation. In reality, this movement organised into a remarkable institutional network, which was to remain the vision of an elite, but which gave birth to tensions and differences. This collection attempts to assess Harlem's role as a 'Black Mecca', as 'site of intimate performance' of African American life, and as focal point in the creation of a diasporic identity in dialogue with the Caribbean and French-speaking areas. Essays treat the complex interweaving of Primitivism and Modernism, of folk culture and elitist aspirations in different artistic media, with a view to defining the interaction between music, visual arts, and literature. Also included are known Renaissance intellectuals and writers. Even though they had different conceptions of the role of the African American artist in a racially segregated society, most participants in the New Negro movement shared a desire to express a new assertiveness in terms of literary creation and indentity-building.

The interfaith movement, which began with the 1893 World¿s Parliament of Religions in Chicago, has grown worldwide. Although this movement has been largely unknown to the public, it now provides a spiritual face for globalization, the economic and political forces leading us all from nationalism to ¿One World¿. The most ambitious organization in today¿s interfaith movement is the United Religions Initiative (URI), founded by William Swing, the Episcopal Bishop of California. Investigative reporter Lee Penn, a Catholic ex-Marxist, exhaustively documents the history and beliefs of the URI and its New Age and globalist allies, the vested interests that support these movements, and the direction they appear to be taking. The interfaith movement is no longer merely the province of a coterie of little-heeded religious idealists with grandiose visions. The URI¿s proponents have ranged from billionaire George Soros to President George W. Bush, from the far-right Rev. Sun Myung Moon to the liberal Catholic theologian Hans Küng, and from the Dalai Lama to the leaders of government-approved Protestant churches in the People¿s Republic of China. The interfaith movement, including the URI, is being promoted by globalist and New Age reformers who favor erosion of national sovereignty, marginalization of traditional religions, establishment of ¿global governance¿, and creation of a new, Earth-based ¿global spirituality¿¿in effect, a one-world religion. Therefore, the URI and the interfaith movement are poised to become the spiritual foundation of the New World Order: the ¿new civilization¿ now proposed by Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union. In The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, French metaphysician René Guénon spoke of the ¿anti-tradition¿ (the forces of materialism and secular humanism) finally giving way to the ¿counter-tradition¿ (the satanic inversion of true spirituality), leading to the regime of Antichrist. The ¿anti-tradition¿ weakens and dissolves traditional spiritualities, after which the ¿counter-tradition¿ sets up a counterfeit in their place. Since Guénon¿s time, as is well known, anti-traditional forces have greatly advanced worldwide. It is less well-known that counter-traditional movements have also made great strides, and now stand closer to the centers of global political and religious power than ever before. The ¿counter-tradition¿ is making inroads on the political and cultural Right, as much as it is doing on the Left. False Dawn painstakingly documents these trends, and speculates on their future development. In so doing, the author takes investigative reporting to the threshold of prophecy, and gives us a stunningly plausible picture of the global religious landscape of the 21st century. This extraordinary project is the literary equivalent of turning over a flat rock. There is much to be seen and learned here¿all of it unsettling, disquieting, occasionally downright scary. ¿William Murchison, Radford Distinguished Professor, Baylor University When a bishop of a Christian church happily worships alongside a Wiccan invoking other gods, something has gone horribly wrong. In False Dawn, Lee Penn has produced a comprehensive and critical history of the United Religions Initiative. This book sounds a clear warning: Anyone who makes theological truth subservient to utopianism denigrates all religions. ¿Douglas LeBlanc, Editor, GetReligion.org

In the humanities, the term 'diaspora' recently emerged as a promising and powerful heuristic concept. It challenged traditional ways of thinking and invited reconsiderations of theoretical assumptions about the unfolding of cross-cultural and multi-ethnic societies, about power relations, frontiers and boundaries, about cultural transmission, communication and translation. The present collection of essays by renowned writers and scholars addresses these issues and helps to ground the ongoing debate about the African diaspora in a more solid theoretical framework. Part I is dedicated to a general discussion of the concept of African diaspora, its origins and historical development. Part II examines the complex cultural dimensions of African diasporas in relation to significant sites and figures, including the modes and modalities of creative expression from the perspective of both artists/writers and their audiences; finally, Part III focusses on the resources (collections and archives) and iconographies that are available today. As most authors argue, the African diaspora should not be seen merely as a historical phenomenon, but also as an idea or ideology and an object of representation. By exploring this new ground, the essays assembled here provide important new insights for scholars in American and African-American Studies, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies, and African Studies. The collection is rounded off by an annotated listing of black autobiographies.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow is a travelogue with a difference. Two retired women set off in a campervan from London to tour Europe. Neither has driven a campervan before, much less had any experience driving on the right. They journey through four countries and cover 4,000 miles, often bewildered by one-way systems and rapid changes of language, yet meeting kindness wherever they go. The women’s varied and often bizarre escapades make for entertaining reading from start to finish. They experience being locked in an underground toilet in France, finding distant relatives in Germany quite by chance, and spending a frightening night freedom camping on the Riviera. For those who love to read about the touring experiences of others, and are pining to get out on the open road themselves, it’s all here in this true and eccentric account.

Have aliens been influencing human development for millennia? An intrepid group of friends think so, and they'll face any danger to prove it. Archeologists Bones and Miller believe that aliens from another world known as the Sirius Star System created the Earth's religions. UFO enthusiasts Dusty, Bill, and Roxie join them on their quest, along with former alien abductee Johnny Two Eagles. Then there's millionaire playboy, Rex Rand, and his movie-star girlfriend, Tracy Trout, who are simply looking for a good time. The world's sacred monuments hold the clue to this ancient puzzle. The monoliths appear to have a purpose-transmitting radio signals. To prove this, the group faces danger exploring the Great Pyramid in Egypt. In Teotihuacan, Mexico, they discover a hidden chamber that holds important secrets beneath the Temple of the Sun. But when they travel to the Amazon rain forest, they find a lost city that may help uncover the truth about alien visitation. This exciting tale blends nonstop action, evocative settings, intriguing scientific lore, and the supernatural. Travel along with Bones, Miller, and their cohorts as they try to answer the question, "Are we alone in the universe?"