The poems present classic Appalachian subjects leaving the homeplace to find work, mountain folklore, country life versus city life and touch on a wide range of broader themes, such as bullying, gender roles, the power of language, and the power of kindness.
This book provides a short, dispassionate introduction to Christianity in simple terms for people who know little or nothing about the subject, providing insight to the beliefs and practices of Christians. Although written from a Christian perspective, the book aspires to be both objective and inclusive throughout. As well as covering the history and the reasoning behind Christian belief, topics of belief which are difficult for outsiders to understand are covered, such as church in all its various forms, the Bible, Heaven and Hell, miracles, sin, sex and marriage, forgiving others, praise and prayer, and why bad things happen. Christian characters in media fiction are there for dramatic purposes and this usually gives a false impression of what Christians believe and how they behave. This book explains why the Christians we come across in real life believe what they believe, why they read the Bible and go to church and why they do the things they do - things which are not generally understood by non-Christians.
Being gay is not a given. Through a rigorous ethnographic inquiry into the material foundations of sexual identity, The Struggle to Be Gay makes a compelling argument for the centrality of social class in gay life—in Mexico, for example, and by extension in other places as well. Known for his writings on the construction of sexual identities, anthropologist and cultural studies scholar Roger N. Lancaster ponders four decades of visits to Mexican cities. In a brisk series of reflections combining storytelling, ethnography, critique, and razor-edged polemic, he shows, first, how economic inequality affects sexual subjects and subjectivities in ways both obvious and subtle, and, second, how what it means to be de ambiente—“on the scene” or “in the life”—has metamorphosed under changing political-economic conditions. The result is a groundbreaking intervention into ongoing debates over identity politics—and a renewal of our understanding of how identities are constructed, struggled for, and lived.
Documents the effects of war and embargo on the cultural and economic fabric of Nicaraguan society. This book reveals the enduring character of Nicaraguan society as he records the experiences of three families and their community through times of war, hyperinflation, dire shortages, and political turmoil.