The Struggle over Arabisation in Medieval Arabic Christian Hagiography

The process of Arabisation and Islamisation that began shortly after the Muslim conquests in greater Syro-Palestine was still in full swing well after the ‘Abbāsid revolution. One of the neglected sources for unravelling the nuances of the cultural transformations that were taking place is the Christian hagiography of the period. This article argues that the contrast between Byzantine and Arab Christian hagiography from the late eighth through the ninth century provides an important window in the process of Arabisation and Islamisation in the Early Islamic period. In particular when the Byzantine account of the Twenty Martyrs of Mar Saba is compared to the Arabic account of the Martydom of Raw[hdot] al-Qurayshī, an Arab Christian, many of the significant features of the process of cultural change come to the fore.     

Fowler's Faith Development Christian Perspectives on Faith Development

The work of James W. Fowler on faith development has become well known in the USA and in British theological and religious education circles in the last 15 years, even if this research has yet to make much impact on general education or any on philosophy of education. Now Drs Astley and Francis have produced a large, one volume collection of papers by Fowler, his associates and his critics. His theory and discussion of it, evaluation and application of it in various spheres, is at last available in a convenient compass (although for a detailed acquaintance, reference must be made to his main publications, cited in this book's bibliography).     

Use of Videotaped Initial Family Interviews in Training Beginning Family Therapists

The author describes how student-conducted and videotaped initial family interviews can provide a common frame of reference for learning family systems theories.     

'Shame' as a Neglected Value in Schooling

The first part of the paper examines the significance of shame values in South Asian societies and the implications of this for schools. The second section considers the common anthropological distinction and disjunction between 'shame culture' and guilt culture. The third section draws on the recent study of Ancient Greece by Bernard Williams. Williams suggests that the conflict between shame values and autonomy is not inevitable. In fact, shame values may have much to contribute to ethical thought, exposing weaknesses in contemporary Kantian moral outlooks and contributing to fuller conceptions of personal autonomy and personal identity, thus holding, as the final section indicates, important educational implications.