The Stranger As My Guest

The migration crisis of recent years has elicited a double response: on the one hand, many states have responded by tightening border controls, in an attempt to restrict population movements, while on the other hand many citizens have responded by welcoming new arrivals, offering them shelter, food and whatever help they could provide. By so doing, they have re-awakened an old form of anthropology that was long-considered to be dead – that of hospitality. In this book, Agier develops an original anthropology of hospitality that starts from the reality of hospitality as a social relationship, albeit an asymmetrical one, in which each party has rights and duties. He argues that, with the decline of state and religious support, hospitality is now making a comeback at individual and municipal levels but these local initiatives, while important, are insufficient to respond to the scale of migration in the world today. We need a new hospitality policy for the modern era, one that will regard hospitality as a right rather than a favour and will treat the stranger as a guest rather than as an alien or an enemy. This timely and original book will be of great interest to students and scholars in anthropology, sociology and the social sciences generally, and to anyone concerned with migration and refugees in the world today.

A pioneering look at the implications of Christian faith for foreign language education. It has become clear in recent years that reflection on foreign language education involves more than questioning which methods work best. This new volume carries current discussions of the value-laden nature of foreign language teaching into new territory by exploring its spiritual and moral dimensions. David Smith and Barbara Carvill show how the Christian faith sheds light on the history, aims, content, and methods of foreign language education. They also propose a new approach to the field based on the Christian understanding of hospitality.

Jesus Told Us Where to Find Him. Just Look for an Outcast. His first followers knew that Jesus could be found with the fatherless, the widows, and the hungry and homeless. He said that he himself was a stranger, and commended those who welcomed him. If he really meant these things, what would happen if you opened your door to every person who came with a need? Jonathan and Leah Wilson-Hartgrove decided to find out. The author and his wife moved to the Walltown neighborhood in Durham, North Carolina, where they have been answering the door to anyone who knocks. When they began, they had little idea what might happen, but they counted on God to show up. In Strangers at My Door, Wilson-Hartgrove tells of risks and occasional disappointments. But far more often there is joy, surprise, and excitement as strangers become friends, mentors, and helpers. Immerse yourself in these inspiring, eye-opening accounts of people who arrive with real needs, but ask only for an invitation to come in. You will never view Jesus and the people he cares about the same way again.

At a time when global debates about the movement of people have never been more heated, this book provides readers with an accessible, student-friendly guide to the subject of forced migration. Readers of this book will learn who forced migrants are, where they are and why international protection is critical in a world of increasingly restrictive legislation and policy. The book outlines key definitions, ideas, concepts, points for discussion, theories and case studies of the various forms of forced migration. In addition to this technical grounding, the book also signposts further reading and provides handy Key Thinker boxes to summarise the work of the field’s most influential academics. Drawing on decades of experience both in the classroom and in the field, this book invites readers to question how labels and definitions are used in legal, policy and practice responses, and to engage in a richer understanding of the lives and realities of forced migrants on the ground. Perfect for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in courses related to migration and diaspora studies, Introducing Forced Migration will also be valuable to policy-makers, practitioners, journalists, volunteers and aid workers working with refugees, the internally displaced and those who have experienced trafficking.

Chiefly proceedings of a conference held in 2009 at Boston College.

The international-bestselling Russian fantasy author continues the adventures of Sir Max, the lazy gumshoe of the enchanted city of Echo. The tales of Sir Max, who was a daydreaming loser before he discovered the parallel world of Echo, have become an international literary sensation. In the second novel of the Labyrinths of Echoes series, Max is still a hardened smoker, glutton, and all-around loafer. But once again, he finds himself travelling to an alternate universe where he must root out illegal magic as an agent of the Secret Investigative Force. This time, Sir Max is called upon to handle a peculiar political dispute, investigate strange happenings in the cemetery, and when Echo’s police captain is poisoned, he must lead a team of magicians in pursuit of magical outlaws. “Echo is a world of all sorts of plots, a sort of Krypton with tobacco and the counter-universe’s equivalent of vodka.” —Kirkus Reviews

Abraham, the father of all believers, plays host to three strangers, one of whom is God, and thus sets an example for others to follow. Jews, Christians, and Muslims often treat each other as strangers. Their Holy Books are not the cause of their conflicts and enmity but rather show the way to solve them. They tell a common story of the lifelong journey of the human being to the promised city, the promised land, and the promised world where justice and righteousness reign.

Discussing the Bible and the Qur'an in one breath will surprise some Jews, Christians, and Muslims. But Anton Wessels argues that all three traditions must read the Scriptures together and not againsteach other. As his book title suggests, the three books, in the end, are actually one tale. Wessels accepts Muhammad as a prophet and takes the Qur'an seriously as Holy Scripture along with the Old and New Testaments -- without giving up his own Christian convictions. Respectfully reading the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur'an together, he argues, is of crucial importance: our world often sees these religious books as the cause of conflicts rather than the solution to them.