Here are some recent survey articles from Blackwell Compass, which give broad overviews of current scholarship on topics of interest. Good place to start research or catch up after a time away. Blackwell Compass is composed of eight different individual Compass journals: History, Geography, Literature, Language and Linguisitics, Philosophy, Religion, Sociology, and Social and Personality Psychology. Kabbalah: A Medieval Tradition and Its Modern Appeal “Although scholarship on kabbalah has flourished in the twentieth century, kabbalah has become a variant of New-Age religions, accessible to all, regardless of ethnic identity or spiritual readiness.” Indian Buddhist Preachers Inside and Outside the Sutras “This article explores a few portraits of preachers painted in the Buddhist sūtra corpus, and attempts to draw provisional conclusions regarding the impact of such portraits on Buddhist preachers’ own conceptions of doctrinal authority.” The Neglected Social Psychology of Institutional Racism “These issues can be illuminated by critically reviewing how theories of institutional racism and institutionalized discrimination handle issues of social psychology. Issues of social psychology are often treated only minimally or implicitly, and often dismissively.” Understanding Contemporary Millenarian Violence “…focusing on the key recurring characteristics and dynamics that have been highlighted by commentators as playing a significant role in both predisposing millenarian groups to volatility/violence…” Views of Jihad Throughout History “The essay traces the transformations in the meanings of jihad – and the related concepts of martyr and martyrdom – from the earliest period of Islam through the late medieval period and down to our present time.” How to Use Modern Critical Editions of Medieval Latin Texts “To use these editions effectively, we must be aware of the theories, assumptions, and conventions that underlie them.” ————————————————————————————————————– Subject Guides Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion ————————————————————————————————————–

Here are some recent survey articles from Blackwell Compass, which give broad overviews of current scholarship on topics of interest. Good place to start research or catch up after a time away. Blackwell Compass is composed of eight different individual Compass journals: History, Geography, Literature, Language and Linguisitics, Philosophy, Religion, Sociology, and Social and Personality Psychology. The Case of the Etymologies in Plato’s Cratylus “The Cratylus contains Plato’s most extensive study of the relation of language to reality and to the pursuit of wisdom.” Race, Colorblindness, and Continental Philosophy “…I will argue that race has a social reality that makes the practice of colorblindness, at least for the time being, politically untenable, and it may remain suspect even as a long-term goal.” Major Topics of the Hadith “Despite the significance of this literature, its contents remain largely inaccessible to non-Arabic readers, in part due to many Western scholars’ preoccupation with the question of its authenticity rather than the function of hadith in Islamic thought.” Russian and the Origins of Twentieth-century Antisemistism “The role played by the Tsarist Empire – darkest, backward Russia – has frequently been overlooked or underplayed. Until the past decade or so, antisemitism in the dying days of Tsarism was often characterised as little different from its medieval predecessor.” Social Ethic of Religiously Unaffiliated Spirituality “Claims that non-institutional, non-dogmatic forms of religiosity promote narcissism and social alienation are scattered throughout the social scientific literature.” Outlines of a Critical Sociology of Consumption: Beyond Moralism and Celebration “The ‘new’ sociology of consumption that emerged in the 1980s acknowledged that consumption is a significant cultural and social practice and not just a mere signifier of the pathological elements of contemporary societies.” ‘Have You Seen Any Good Films Lately?’ Geopolitics, International Relations and Film “…thereafter, it considers the interrelationship between Hollywood, the Bush administration and the post-9/11 era in an attempt to better understand some of the contours of the military-industrial-media-entertainment complex. Using Conversation Analysis in Feminist and Critical Research “Conversation analysis – the study of talk-in-interaction – is proving a valuable tool for politically engaged inquiry and social critique.” ————————————————————————————————————– Subject Guides Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion ————————————————————————————————————–