Beyond Multiculturalism


Book Description

The Canadian socio-cultural landscape is undergoing constant transformation due to immigration. Communities of faith have traditionally embraced this diversity through a stance of hospitality framed by a modern idea of “multiculturalism.” However, the modern idea of “multiculturalism” often falls short of fully integrating newcomers into the family life and leadership of a congregation. As diverse cultural expressions of world Christianity continue to blossom throughout Canada, both new and established Canadians must explore relational approaches to transcend historical, cultural, racial, and linguistic divides. The goal is to foster genuine community and forge deeper covenantal unity, allowing the transformative nature of King Jesus to be evident to the world. Beyond Multiculturalism advocates for Christians to showcase tangible examples of Jesus’ Kingdom culture in which humility, compassion, and self-giving love are valued. Authored by Canadian scholars and practitioners, representing twelve ethnicities and ten denominations, the chapters delve into various theological, sociological, and pragmatic aspects that churches should address. These considerations aim to guide churches into deeper conversation, enabling them to align with the evolving dynamics of God's work in Canada and worldwide.




Mission and Evangelism in a Secularizing World


Book Description

Secularization, as a movement away from a religious orientation to life, is strong in Canada and has influence worldwide. In this volume, missiologists and practitioners across Canada consider how an agenda of Christian mission and evangelism can be advanced in a secularizing environment. How can believers be "curious and engaged rather than defensive and fearful"? What changes are required from the evangelical community so that there is productive dialogue and action in ways that maintain faithfulness to the cause of Christ? What should the approach of mission be to a new generation steeped in secular narratives? How do we answer negative caricatures of Christian mission in light of the history of Residential Schools? What examples from the past teach us about developing an irenic approach? What positive trends are currently evident in Canada and around the world that counter the secularizing narrative? These questions and more are considered in this volume by Canadian scholars who recognize the importance of being relevant to society while maintaining integrity with the Gospel message. The essays address secularism in Canadian and worldwide contexts with seriousness, insight, and an underlying theme of hope, recognizing that "God's mission has been accomplished, is being accomplished, and will be accomplished."




Geographies of the Haitian Diaspora


Book Description

This book considers the full sweep of Haitian community invention and recreation in a multitude of national territories, with an eye toward the "place" factors that shape the everyday lives of Haitian migrants. Regine O. Jackson brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars to explore how Haitian communities differ across time and place, as well as how migrants adjust to new economic, political and racial realities. The volume includes descriptive ethnographies of Haitians in 19th century Jamaica, eastern Cuba, Detroit, the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Paris, and Boston, and innovative scholarly work on non-geographic sites of Haitian community building. The most important question addressed here is not whether the places described represent typical or exceptional Haitian diasporic communities, but how, why and to what effect do Haitians in particular places use diaspora as a signifier. By examining the diversity (and sameness) of the Haitian experience in diaspora, Geographies of the Haitian Diaspora asks how we might situate community in view of increased scholarly attention to transnational processes.




On the Margins of the World


Book Description

Fifty million people in the world today are victims of forced relocation caused by wars and violence. Whole new countries are being created, occupied by Afghan refugees, displaced Columbians, deported Rwandans, exiled Congolese, fleeing Iraqis, Chechens, Somalians and Sudanese who have witnessed wars, massacres, aggression and terror. New populations appear, defined by their shared conditions of fear and victimhood and by their need to survive outside of their homelands. Their lives are marked by the daily trudge of dislocation, refugee camps, humanitarian help and the never-ending wait. These populations are the emblems of a new human condition which takes shape on the very margins of the world. In this remarkable book Michel Agier sheds light on this process of dislocation and quarantine which is affecting an ever-growing proportion of the world's population. He describes the experience of these people, speaking of their pain and their plight but also criticising their victimization by the rest of the world. Agier analyses the ambiguous and often tainted nature of identities shaped in and by conflicts, but also the process taking place in the refugee camp itself, which allows refugees and the deported to create once again a sense of community and of shared humanity.




Gender in Refugee Law


Book Description

Questions of gender have strongly influenced the development of international refugee law over the last few decades. This volume assesses the progress toward appropriate recognition of gender-related persecution in refugee law. It documents the advances made following intense advocacy around the world in the 1990s, and evaluates the extent to which gender has been successfully integrated into refugee law. Evaluating the research and advocacy agendas for gender in refugee law ten years beyond the 2002 UNHCR Gender Guidelines, the book investigates the current status of gender in refugee law. It examines gender-related persecution claims of both women and men, including those based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and explores how the development of an anti-refugee agenda in many Western states exponentially increases vulnerability for refugees making gendered claims. The volume includes contributions from scholars and members of the advocacy community that allow the book to examine conceptual and doctrinal themes arising at the intersection of gender and refugee law, and specific case studies across major Western refugee-receiving nations. The book will be of great interest and value to researchers and students of asylum and immigration law, international politics, and gender studies.




Orientations


Book Description

DIVA critical examination of what constitutes the varied positions grouped together as Asian American, seen in relation to both American and transnational forces./div




Sex at the Margins


Book Description

Laura Agustín presents an analysis of the position prostitutes occupy within the global economy.




The Present and Future of Evangelical Mission


Book Description

Crisis is an invitation to both prophetic evaluation and new imagination. In this volume, Canadian missiologists and practitioners consider the past and how the past might enable the church to move forward in Christian mission—in the academy, agency, assembly, and the agora. How can the Canadian church welcome different voices from the periphery? What must be done to empower the next generation? How can we respond in light of the injustices done to our Indigenous brothers and sisters? Where does reconciliation fit into the picture? How might we navigate between secularization and fundamentalisms? How ought we move together in mission and in unity across denominational difference? How can we equip laypeople to live their callings faithfully in the agora? How can work in the marketplace be ministry? And lastly, how is the Spirit at work in our contexts in this day and age? These questions (among others) onboard us into the ongoing conversation about the state of evangelical mission in Canada, and each of these essays adeptly lead us into the beginnings of answers to these questions. These essays address how the past informs our future, and how we might answer the prophetic call with both hope and renewed vigor to participate in the mission of God.




Diasporas Reimagined


Book Description