The Politics of Prophecy: The US Culture Wars and the Battle Over Public Education in the Left Behind Series for Kids

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Ann Abate Michelle
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Culture Wars ◽  
Church History ◽  
Good News ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
School Prayer ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Religious Books ◽  
The Us

This essay argues that in spite of their obvious Biblically-based subject matter, clear Christian content, and undeniable evangelical perspective, the Left Behind novels for kids are not simply religious books; they are also political ones. Co-authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins may claim that their narratives are interested in sharing the good news about Jesus for the sake of the future, but they are equally concerned with offering commentary on contentious US cultural issues in the present. Given the books’ adolescent readership, they are especially preoccupied with the ongoing conservative crusade concerning school prayer. As advocates for this issue, LaHaye and Jenkins make use of a potent blend of current socio-political arguments and of past events in evangelical church history: namely, the American Sunday School Movement (ASSM). These free, open-access Sabbath schools became the model for the public education system in the United States. In drawing on this history, the Left Behind series suggests that the ASSM provides an important precedent for the presence not simply of Christianity in the nation's public school system, but of evangelical faith in particular.

Contractual and stewardship timescapes: The cultural logics of US–Philippines environmental conflict and negotiations

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 616-629
Author(s):  
Victoria Reyes
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Environmental Conflict ◽  
Class Action ◽  
Environmental Toxins ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Us Military ◽  
The Us ◽  
Legal Arguments

In 1992, the US military withdrew from its bases in the Philippines. But they left behind environmental toxins that continue to pollute the land and people. Why was the US military able to leave without cleaning up this environmental damage? What can the environment tell us about the broader Philippine–US relationship? In this article I analyse a 2002 class action lawsuit against the United States regarding environmental damages caused by the US military. I argue that at the heart of these legal arguments are different understandings of time and history, what I call a contractual timescape versus a stewardship timescape.

New Fronts in the Culture Wars? Religion, Partisanship, and Polarization on Religious Liberty and Transgender Rights in the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 650-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremiah Castle
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Culture Wars ◽  
Religious Liberty ◽  
Culture War ◽  
Underlying Structure ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Original Culture ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Partisan Conflict

Beginning in the 1960s, the United States experienced religious and partisan conflict over cultural issues such as abortion that was described as a “Culture War.” Recent, highly salient battles over religious liberty and transgender rights have led the media to characterize these issues as “new fronts in the culture war,” thereby giving reason to revisit the culture wars debate. In this article, I test whether the public is polarized on religious liberty and transgender rights, as well as whether these issues share the same underlying structure of public opinion as traditional culture wars issues. Using a dataset from the Pew Research Center, I find that a substantial subset of Americans hold polarized views on these issues, and that religion and party are important factors in explaining that polarization. The results suggest that the religious and partisan divides that fueled the original “culture wars” remain an important factor in American politics.

scholarly journals ’The Trump Era is Here, and I Finally Feel at Home‘ – Sayed Kashua in Illinois

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 123-147
Author(s):  
Shiri Goren
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
White Privilege ◽  
The United States ◽  
Place Of Residence ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
American Counterpart ◽  
The Us ◽  
The One ◽  
Midwestern City ◽  
At Home

In early July 2014, the Israeli-Palestinian author Sayed Kashua declared in his popular Hebrew column in the Ha’aretz newspaper that he is done with Jerusalem, that he has moved to the United States for good and is never coming back. Despite this emotional statement and his decision to give up on Israel, Kashua continued to write his popular weekly column for over three years mostly from his new place of residence in the midwestern city of Champaign, in Illinois, a location vastly different from the Jerusalem he left behind. Using theories of migration and transnational writing to examine Kashua’s non-fictional Hebrew and English works during this period I argue that there is tension between the character Kashua assumes for his Israeli readership and the one he assumes when writing for an American audience. These fictional personae relate differently to the move to the US and the possibility of returning to Israel. Moreover, Kashuua’s Israeli persona continues to write from a minority position whereas his American counterpart, despite concerted efforts, cannot avoid identifying with white privilege. The article then traces the dissolution of Kashua’s dual personae to his decision in November 2017 to stop writing the weekly column.

11. Backlash

2021 ◽  
pp. 233-248
Author(s):  
John S. Dryzek
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Culture Wars ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Evangelical Christianity ◽  
Environmental Discourse ◽  
Fundamental Identity ◽  
Climate Change Denial ◽  
The Us

This chapter analyzes an anti-environmental discourse that can be understood as a profound reaction against environmentalism in its entirety. This anti-environmental “gray radicalism,” especially prominent under the Trump presidency in the United States, entails climate change denial, but is much more than that, drawing on populism, extreme conservatism, nationalism, and (in the US) evangelical Christianity. It is opposed to technological progress that would for example replace coal with renewable energy. This chapter locates gray radicalism in relation to right-wing partisan identity, expands on its differences with Promethean discourse, and details how it can be enmeshed in broader “culture wars.” Because gray radicalism is a matter of fundamental identity for its subscribers, it can be difficult to engage through evidence and argument.

Beyond the American culture wars: A call for environmental leadership and strengthening networks

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-95
Author(s):  
Kate A. Berry
Keyword(s):  
American Culture ◽  
The United States ◽  
Culture Wars ◽  
Culture War ◽  
Environmental Leadership ◽  
Progressive Politics ◽  
Traditional Morality ◽  
The Us ◽  
The One ◽  
Cultural Openness

This article focuses on the United States (US), looking at the American culture war specifically as it relates to environmental issues. Looking at the US today is a reminder that the culture wars are as overtly political as they are culturally motivated, and they diminish social cohesion. The term “culture wars” is defined as increases in volatility, expansion of polarization, and obvious conflicts in various parts of the world between, on the one hand, those who are passionate about religiously motivated politics, traditional morality, and anti-intellectualism, and, on the other hand, those who embrace progressive politics, cultural openness, and scientific and modernist orientations. The article examines this ideological war in contemporary environmental management debates. It identif es characteristics of environmental leadership and discusses how networks can act as environmental leaders.

Negotiating the Slippery Slope: School Change and Literacy Achievement

2005 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn H. Au
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Education ◽  
School Change ◽  
The United States ◽  
Literacy Achievement ◽  
Academic Expectations ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
High Stakes Tests ◽  
Education Today

Newspaper headlines from across the United States reflect the turmoil in public education today, with some states protesting federal requirements for testing, some states lowering proficiency requirements, other states raising proficiency requirements, and even kindergarten and preschool children facing higher academic expectations. These headlines, reflecting the accountability pressures of higher standards and high-stakes tests, are having predictable effects upon educators in schools. My home state of Hawaii is no exception. “Teachers say they're the ones being left behind,” stated a headline in the Honolulu Advertiser, while the line below read, “Morale low, frustration high among many” (DePledge, 2004).

Reliability of the Geriatric Depression Scale for Use Among Elderly Asian Immigrants in the USA

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada C. Mui ◽  
Suk-Young Kang ◽  
Li Mei Chen ◽  
Margaret Dietz Domanski
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Geriatric Depression Scale ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Geriatric Depression ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Elderly Immigrants ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa

The increasing numbers of Asian and other immigrants in the United States have resulted in greater demands for research methodology sensitive to cross-cultural issues. A regional probability sample (n = 407) of Asian elderly immigrants of different nationalities (Chinese, Korean, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, or Japanese) residing in New York City was used to examine the reliability of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Using the 30-item GDS, about 40% of this representative sample of Asian elderly immigrants was considered to be depressed, indicating higher depression rates than in the previous studies of other Asian elderly samples in the US and in Asia. Results also showed that the 30-item GDS and 15-item GDS Short Forms were reliable measures to assess depression in community-dwelling Asian immigrant elders. Data strongly suggest that Asian elderly immigrants in the US are at risk of depression, indicating a need for the design of culturally sensitive mental health programs.

Relation of Statistically Significant, Abnormal, and Typical WAIS-R VIQ-PIQ Discrepancies to Full Scale IQs

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis M. Hsu ◽  
Judy Hayman ◽  
Judith Koch ◽  
Debbie Mandell
Keyword(s):  
Graphical Method ◽  
The United States ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
True Score ◽  
Absolute Value ◽  
Normative Population ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Mean ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Quadratic Models

Summary: In the United States' normative population for the WAIS-R, differences (Ds) between persons' verbal and performance IQs (VIQs and PIQs) tend to increase with an increase in full scale IQs (FSIQs). This suggests that norm-referenced interpretations of Ds should take FSIQs into account. Two new graphs are presented to facilitate this type of interpretation. One of these graphs estimates the mean of absolute values of D (called typical D) at each FSIQ level of the US normative population. The other graph estimates the absolute value of D that is exceeded only 5% of the time (called abnormal D) at each FSIQ level of this population. A graph for the identification of conventional “statistically significant Ds” (also called “reliable Ds”) is also presented. A reliable D is defined in the context of classical true score theory as an absolute D that is unlikely (p < .05) to be exceeded by a person whose true VIQ and PIQ are equal. As conventionally defined reliable Ds do not depend on the FSIQ. The graphs of typical and abnormal Ds are based on quadratic models of the relation of sizes of Ds to FSIQs. These models are generalizations of models described in Hsu (1996) . The new graphical method of identifying Abnormal Ds is compared to the conventional Payne-Jones method of identifying these Ds. Implications of the three juxtaposed graphs for the interpretation of VIQ-PIQ differences are discussed.

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