The Jesuits and Religious Intercultural Management in Early Modern Times

Human Capital, a Global Mindset, and Missionary Work in Japan and Peru during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

Frank Jacob, Nord University, Norway

December 2023 / ISBN: 978-1-64889-809-9
Availability: In stock
232pp. ¦ $77 £61 €71

This book discusses the role of human capital and a global mindset for a successful intercultural management of the Society of Jesus in the geographical contexts of Japan and Peru during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Historical data for more than 200 Jesuits has been evaluated and analyzed according to modern management theory. The work is, therefore, an interdisciplinary study related to the history of religious orders, European expansion, and trans- or intercultural management and shows how the Jesuit missionaries in Japan and Peru were able to achieve and stimulate a successful expansion of their order’s influence in these regions of the world. While analyzing a historical topic, the book is also of interest to modern day managers and those who are interested in creating a successful strategy for intercultural management.

A Crisis of Loyalties: The Destruction and Abandonment of the Gosport Navy Yard

Stephen Chapin Kinnaman

January 2024 / ISBN: 978-1-64889-808-2
Availability: In stock
318pp. ¦ $80 £64 €75

In the opening days of the American Civil War, the U.S. Navy suffered the catastrophic loss of its most valuable navy yard at Gosport, Virginia, commonly known as the Norfolk Navy Yard. Its fate was sealed by Virginia’s vote for secession and the subsequent resignation of most of the yard’s Southern officers, leaving its commandant, Charles Stewart McCauley, virtually defenseless. Early in the morning of Sunday, 21 April, fleeing federal forces set fire to and abandoned the Gosport Navy Yard, burning ten warships and surrendering 1,200 naval guns to Virginia’s militia. A year later, the Confederate ironclad "Virginia", built on the charred hulk of the steam frigate "Merrimack", chose the sloop "Cumberland"—the one ship to escape Gosport—as her first target during the Battle of Hampton Roads. "Virginia" then attacked the frigate "Congress", leaving in her wake nearly 280 dead or wounded Union sailors and two sunken ships. The birds from the disaster of Gosport had finally come home to roost. In his quest to uncover the details behind Gosport’s destruction, the author methodically cross-tracked chronologies, carefully examined primary sources and dug deeper into the principal officers’ backgrounds to grasp just what was in their minds during the hours leading up to the navy yard’s burning. This fresh focus has yielded a more nuanced explanation of McCauley’s decision to hold back "Merrimack", of Paulding’s rush to burn the yard and run, and of opportunities for success missed by all three commodores present. "A Crisis of Loyalties" is the first full-length work of history to present the entire story of the destruction and abandonment of the Gosport Navy Yard.

Tomar la palabra. Islamofobia y participación política después del 15-M

Johanna M. Lems, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain

December 2023 / ISBN: 978-1-64889-807-5
Availability: Available 4 weeks
154pp. ¦ $54 £44 €51

'Tomar la palabra' es un análisis basado en la búsqueda de justicia social por medio de la participación sociopolítica, que aborda con cuidado muchos de los temas que determinan y contribuyen a reproducir las situaciones de subalternidad y subordinación a las que se ven sometidas las personas musulmanas en España. Desde un posicionamiento novedoso sobre el islam en el contexto español, al abordar su estudio desde la existencia de musulmanidades diversas, contribuye al avance de los estudios sobre la realidad social y política de las poblaciones musulmanas en nuestro país. El principal objetivo de la autora ha sido identificar los procesos mediante los que las personas musulmanas – o aquellas leídas como tales– tratan de ganar voz y reclamar los derechos que les son negados sistemáticamente. Todo ello con el fin de contribuir a una comprensión más crítica y menos estigmatizadora sobre el islam y las personas musulmanas que viven en España. Se trata de un trabajo interdisciplinario que parte de una investigación etnográfica llevada a cabo entre 2017 y 2020 en distintas partes del territorio estatal. Puede resultar de gran interés como monografía para profesores y estudiantes de cursos de grado y posgrado en disciplinas como sociología, antropología, ciencias políticas, ciencias de las religiones. Igualmente, será de utilidad como obra de consulta en estudios de subalternidad, feministas y de migraciones o para trabajadores sociales, líderes y comunidades religiosas, instituciones gubernamentales y aquellas personas u organizaciones centradas en los derechos humanos, el diálogo interreligioso o las que, en general, quieren estar informadas sobre el escenario político contemporáneo español.

New quality management for the nonprofit sector

Guido Cuyvers, Thomas More University College, Belgium

December 2023 / ISBN: 978-1-64889-806-8
Availability: In stock
280pp. ¦ $76 £60 €71

For a long time, quality has been the center of attention in the nonprofit sector, influenced by all kinds of developments in society. Due to, among other things, the interference of the government and the increasing competition, all divisions in the nonprofit sector are obliged to work systematically with their quality. Quality has become necessary. However, as more people gain experience with quality assessments, visitations, and accreditations, so does the criticism. This has to do with how quality is assessed and with the criteria that are used. We will examine this critically in this book. Many questions remain unanswered, and contradictions have not been resolved. Moreover, it is no easy task to have all noses pointing in the same direction. In short, there is still work to be done. This book broadens the traditional vision of quality and quality assurance to a vision and approach that is compatible with the support of the organization’s missions in the nonprofit sector. Incidentally, we will speak of quality development rather than quality assurance. The use of the term ‘quality development’ hopes to inspire people to look differently at quality and how their organization deals with it. Furthermore, this book provides nonprofit organizations with methodologies and tools that can help in the process of permanent quality development. The pursuit of quality for nonprofit organizations is approached from a development perspective and a broader social context. This distinguishes it from the traditional quality management manuals. It offers a constructive and appreciative approach that is compatible with the specific mission of various nonprofit organizations (such as education, health care, social work, and government). The approach is also integral because everyone in the organization, as well as the external partners, is involved.

Cuerpos de género y cuerpos politicos. Un estudio de españoles y de US latinos conversos al islam

Marta Boris Tarre, University of Idaho

ISBN: 978-1-64889-769-6
Availability: Forthcoming
$77 £62 €72

"Cuerpos de género y cuerpos políticos" constituye uno de los pocos libros en lengua española sobre las conversiones al islam de los grupos en cuestión, pero más específicamente de como estos utilizan el género y la nación como vehículos identitarios, lo que será útil para investigadores en estudios religiosos y sociológicos. Este libro examina las convergencias que se producen entre conversión al islam y género, nación y ciudadanía por parte de dos grupos poblacionales occidentales –españoles y US latinos–. El estudio etnográfico de campo, los feminismos islámicos y el estudio de masculinidades van a constituir la base para explorar cómo la visión de género que estas mujeres y hombres conversos al islam sostienen representan nuevas formas identitarias de género que constituyen instrumentos políticos y que resisten los estereotipos que se atribuyen al sujeto musulmán. No obstante, estos también representan alternativas de género por incorporar un elemento religioso, lo cual les otorga agencia para vivir el islam en un territorio que vislumbra esta religión de forma hostil. Finalmente, "Cuerpos de género y cuerpos políticos" estudiará cómo los conversos redefinen la identidad de nación y de ciudadanía en función a su afiliación religiosa. El componente moral que su nueva religión aporta contribuye a una idea de nación y de ciudadanía que no puede entenderse sin visionar al ciudadano como un ser moral y religioso, lo que contrasta con la idea de ciudadanía occidental y con la identidad de nación del territorio donde residen en la que lo religioso es privatizada. Ello desemboca en un concepto de “españolidad” y de “latinidad” que incorpora el islam como base infalible de autoridad y que contrasta con una sociedad hegemónica que incorpora otros factores como la región, la cultura y la lengua como base a idea de nación y de cohesión nacional.