Donations to Libraries

Author(s):  
Paul Sturges

The donations of books and other materials to libraries in developing countries reveal the paradox that a gift can be more of a problem than a benefit. In the post-colonial period, well meaning organisations sent boxes of discarded books to libraries. Governments send book donations for propaganda purposes and religious organisations do likewise, with the Church of Scientology currently using its massive translating, publishing and distribution capacity for this purpose. Ways in which donations can be selected so as to serve the actual needs of recipients have been explored in recent years, with the charity Book Aid International being an outstanding example. The experience of libraries in the face of donations of all these types is discussed so as to point to some conclusions on the significance for international cooperation.

Author(s):  
Vaid Divya ◽  
Datta Ankur

This chapter investigates the complex issue of caste and its relationship to modern Hinduism. It starts by drawing up a broad canvas of classical theories about caste from sociology and anthropology, considering caste in relation to the Sanskritic concepts of varna and jati. The authors then move on to the emergence of caste in its modern form in the colonial period and post-colonial period. The chapter’s discussion of the emergence of a modern conception of caste in the colonial period converges with what has been discussed concerning the ‘invention’ or ‘standardization’ of Hinduism. The chapter also discusses caste in relation to post-colonial politics, and to work and occupation, tracing the transformation of caste in the face of contemporary socio-economic and political change. Hence the chapter also considers the relationship of caste with Modern Hinduism and Hindu society with reference to law and the state, Dalit politics, affirmative action, violence, and the economy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-130
Author(s):  
Muhammad Saleem ◽  
Saiful Islam

The problem of national integration can be found mostly in the developing countries. The post-colonial period holds great significance in this connection. The governments of those countries did introduce different kinds of strategies to ensure national integration but failed. National integration is a big issue in Pakistan and the main reason is multi-cultural society having conflicting ethno-linguistic interests. No ruler or government seems to have honestly tried to resolve this turbulent issue. All groups living in Pakistan have many kinds of grievances. The unfair distribution of wealth is faced by all groups. The state espoused authoritarian policy to establish its position and power. Baluchistan has natural gas but is the poorest province. Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa produces electricity of Pakistan but faces more load shedding than other provinces. As for as the attainment and maintenance of national integration are concerned, provincial autonomy and strong federal institutions are the prerequisites. Only those countries have achieved national integration in the post-colonial period who have adopted pluralistic and rejected assimilationist approach. Strengthening of political institutions and federal system can redress the grievances of the oppressed groups. In this paper the researcher has tried to discuss implications of ethno-linguistic politics on national integration in Pakistan.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P.S. Goh

AbstractThe three cities of Malacca, Penang and Singapore share a century-long history as the British Straits Settlements, with similar multicultural traditions and urban morphology of dense shophouse districts. In the post-colonial period, these have been the basis for the production of heritage for urban renewal, civic identity formation, and international tourism. Yet, each city has approached the production of its history as heritage in different ways. The differences have been specified in terms of whether heritage production has been led by the state, market or civil society, and criticised as ideology or ambivalently interpreted as formative of identity in the face of globalisation. As colonial port-cities integrating into or becoming a new nation-state, I argue that the production of heritage in the three cities is driven by the politics of post-colonial identity interacting with the political economy of urban redevelopment. I argue that the production of heritage is one facet in the production of space and an increasingly important one in globalising Asian urbanisms. We can specify the differences in production of heritage space in the three cities in terms of the orientation of imagination and the ends of production. I show that the three city-states have been interpreting its history for heritage production in either Asian or cosmopolitan imaginations and configuring its heritage production for either political identity formation or economic product development, or a mix of both. The differences, I demonstrate, are caused by the differing politics of post-colonial identity and economic development involving the three cities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-213
Author(s):  
Arthur Aritonang

The background of the research conducted by Richard Siwu stems from the events of the Western colonial period to countries in Asia and Africa. Previously, Siwu wanted to divide this era into two periods: the colonial era and the post-colonial era. The colonial era meant the expansion of western civilization into Africa and Asia. While the post-colonial era where the end of Western domination and the birth of new nations in Africa and Asia. In colonial times, most of the countries in Asia and Africa were colonies of European nations and were politically under the control of the West. Awareness of nationalism only grew when the influence of modernization brought by Western colonialism to Africa and Asia created a form of resistance to the West which eventually gave birth to new countries. At that time there was an assumption that Christianity was a Western religion because it came along with the expansion of the West into Asia and Africa. However, the awareness of nationalism at that time encouraged the churches in Asia in particular to break away from the domination of the Western churches and also indigenize the churches in Asia with a local style. Does the end of colonialism end the mission of the church? The answer is no because from the beginning Christianity was a missionary religion read Matthew 28:19. So, this research will analyze Protestant views in Asia regarding mission from 1910 to 1991. This research shows that after the colonial era they were polarized in two main streams: ecumenical and evangelical.


2020 ◽  
pp. 9-29
Author(s):  
Gerard McCann

The immediate post-colonial period offered opportunities as well as formidable challenges for former colonies of European powers. While colonial mentalities still pervaded in many European capitals and paternalism remained pervasive throughout the political diplomacy of the period, other perspectives were emerging. Through innovative policy engagements that occurred in the late 1950s and into the 1960s, a new sense of transnational purpose could be seen which presented former colonies with partnership options that were seemingly and practically outside the context of the historic geo-economic imposition. Whereas some European powers continued to exert overly dismissive attitudes to African engagement and society, other approaches experimented with developmental policies that were lauded by both sides at the time. This article will look at the practice and policies of associationism - the outworking of the Yaounde and Lome agreements - and will look at the formative international cooperation policies of the European Community (EC), as it evolved through the period when former European colonies were attaining independence. Finally, it will survey the reasons for the demise of associationism and speculate on the onset of what some have described as "neo-colonalism" (Langan, 2018: 1-32; Nkrumah, 1965).


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-280
Author(s):  
Rhoderick John Suarez Abellanosa

The declaration of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in various provinces and cities in the Philippines did not impede the Catholic Church from celebrating its sacraments and popular devotions. Mired with poverty and various forms of economic and social limitations, the presence of God for Filipinos is an essential element in moving forward and surviving in a time of pandemic. Predominantly Roman Catholic in religious affiliation, seeking the face of God has been part of Filipinos' lives whenever a serious disaster would strike. This essay presents how the clergy, religious and lay communities in the Philippines have innovatively and creatively sustained treasured religious celebrations as a sign of communion and an expression of faith. In addition to online Eucharistic celebrations that are more of a privilege for some, culturally contextualised efforts were made during the Lenten Season and even on Sundays after Easter. This endeavour ends with a reflection on the Church as the sacrament of God in a time of pandemic. Pushed back to their homes, deprived of life's basic necessities and facing threats of social instability, unemployment and hunger, Filipinos through their innovative celebrations find in their communion with their Church the very presence of God acting significantly in their lives.


2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-291
Author(s):  
Manuel A. Vasquez ◽  
Anna L. Peterson

In this article, we explore the debates surrounding the proposed canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero, an outspoken defender of human rights and the poor during the civil war in El Salvador, who was assassinated in March 1980 by paramilitary death squads while saying Mass. More specifically, we examine the tension between, on the one hand, local and popular understandings of Romero’s life and legacy and, on the other hand, transnational and institutional interpretations. We argue that the reluctance of the Vatican to advance Romero’s canonization process has to do with the need to domesticate and “privatize” his image. This depoliticization of Romero’s work and teachings is a part of a larger agenda of neo-Romanization, an attempt by the Holy See to redeploy a post-colonial and transnational Catholic regime in the face of the crisis of modernity and the advent of postmodern relativism. This redeployment is based on the control of local religious expressions, particularly those that advocate for a more participatory church, which have proliferated with contemporary globalization


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-74
Author(s):  
Martin Soukup ◽  
Dušan Lužný

This study analyzes and interprets East Sepik storyboards, which the authors regard as a form of cultural continuity and instrument of cultural memory in the post-colonial period. The study draws on field research conducted by the authors in the village of Kambot in East Sepik. The authors divide the storyboards into two groups based on content. The first includes storyboards describing daily life in the community, while the other links the daily life to pre-Christian religious beliefs and views. The aim of the study is to analyze one of the forms of contemporary material culture in East Sepik in the context of cultural changes triggered by Christianization, colonial administration in the former Territory of New Guinea and global tourism.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lufuluvhi Maria Mudimeli

This article is a reflection on the role and contribution of the church in a democratic South Africa. The involvement of the church in the struggle against apartheid is revisited briefly. The church has played a pivotal and prominent role in bringing about democracy by being a prophetic voice that could not be silenced even in the face of death. It is in this time of democracy when real transformation is needed to take its course in a realistic way, where the presence of the church has probably been latent and where it has assumed an observer status. A look is taken at the dilemmas facing the church. The church should not be bound and taken captive by any form of loyalty to any political organisation at the expense of the poor and the voiceless. A need for cooperation and partnership between the church and the state is crucial at this time. This paper strives to address the role of the church as a prophetic voice in a democratic South Africa. Radical economic transformation, inequality, corruption, and moral decadence—all these challenges hold the potential to thwart our young democracy and its ideals. Black liberation theology concepts are employed to explore how the church can become prophetically relevant in democracy. Suggestions are made about how the church and the state can best form partnerships. In avoiding taking only a critical stance, the church could fulfil its mandate “in season and out of season” and continue to be a prophetic voice on behalf of ordinary South Africans.


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