Найти книгу: "From Suffering to Solidarity"

As experiences of suffering continue to influence the responses of identity groups in the midst of violent conflict, a way to harness their narratives, stories, memories, and myths in transformative and nonviolent ways is needed. From Suffering to Solidarity explores the historical seeds of Mennonite peacebuilding approaches and their application in violent conflicts around the world. The authors in this book first draw out the experiences of Anabaptists and Mennonites from the sixteenth-century origins through to the present that have shaped their approaches to conflict transformation and inspired new generations of Mennonites to engage in relief, development, and peacebuilding to alleviate the suffering of others whose experiences today reflect those of their ancestors. Authors then explore the various peacebuilding approaches, methods, and initiatives that have emerged from this Mennonite narrative and its preservation and dissemination in subsequent generations. Finally, the book examines how this combined historical sensitivity and resulting peacebuilding theory and practice have been applied in violent conflicts around the world, noting both successes and challenges. Ultimately, From Suffering to Solidarity attempts to answer a question: How can a robust historical infrastructure be used to inspire empathetic solidarity with the Other and shape nonviolent ways of transforming conflict to thrust a stick in the spokes of the cycle of violence?

The life of the Polish-French pianist and composer Frederic Chopin (1810—1849) was, to a great extent, influenced by his disease. Nevertheless, the diagnosis and differential diagnoses of his suffering remain a matter of debates in numerous biographical studies on the composer’s life. This study shall conduct a systematization and overview of Chopin’s medical history, in an effort to outline pathways to his most probable diagnosis.

It is commonly assumed that we live in an age of unbridled individualism, but in this important new book Montserrat Guibernau argues that the need to belong to a group or community – from peer groups and local communities to ethnic groups and nations – is a pervasive and enduring feature of modern social life. The power of belonging stems from the potential to generate an emotional attachment capable of fostering a shared identity, loyalty and solidarity among members of a given community. It is this strong emotional dimension that enables belonging to act as a trigger for political mobilization and, in extreme cases, to underpin collective violence. Among the topics examined in this book are identity as a political instrument; emotions and political mobilization; the return of authoritarianism and the rise of the new radical right; symbols and the rituals of belonging; loyalty, the nation and nationalism. It includes case studies from Britain, Spain, Catalonia, Germany, the Middle East and the United States. This wide-ranging and cutting-edge book will be of great interest to students and scholars in politics, sociology and the social sciences generally.

WINNER of the 2015 ICA Outstanding Book Award This path-breaking book explores how solidarity towards vulnerable others is performed in our media environment. It argues that stories where famine is described through our own experience of dieting or or where solidarity with Africa translates into wearing a cool armband tell us about much more than the cause that they attempt to communicate. They tell us something about the ways in which we imagine the world outside ourselves. By showing historical change in Amnesty International and Oxfam appeals, in the Live Aid and Live 8 concerts, in the advocacy of Audrey Hepburn and Angelina Jolie as well as in earthquake news on the BBC, this far-reaching book shows how solidarity has today come to be not about conviction but choice, not vision but lifestyle, not others but ourselves – turning us into the ironic spectators of other people’s suffering.

Joe knew his mother was cruel and violent, but he trusted his beloved father to protect him from her. When a freak accident saw his father burn to death in front of him, Joe was left at the mercy of his mother. Without the love of his friend and brother, he wouldn't have survived. With them, he went on to spend his life fighting child abuse.Joe was just five years old and the horrific scene literally struck him dumb. He didn't speak for four and a half years, which meant he was unable to ask anyone for help as his life turned into a living hell.His schizophrenic mother and two of his older brothers spent the following years beating him, raping him and locking him in the cellar at the family home. Fed on scraps that he was forced to lick from the floor, he was sometimes left naked in the dark for three days without human contact.Unable to read or write, all Joe could do to communicate his suffering was draw pictures.The violence and sexual abuse grew in severity as more people, including his stepfather, were invited to use him in any way they chose.The only thing that saved Joe was the kindness of his elder brother and his only school friend, both of whom showed him that love was possible even in the darkest of situations.At fourteen he finally found the courage to run away, hiding in a hut by a railway line, fed on scraps by some local children who found him.Joe's is the ultimate insider's story, casting light into the darkest of hidden worlds, and a truly inspirational account of how one small boy found the strength to overcome almost impossible odds and become a remarkable man. Now that he has found his voice again, Joe speaks out against child abuse and helps support and protect other children whose lives have been blighted by it.