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  The Gendering of Voice in Medieval Hindu Literature

  Nancy M. Martin

  "To fully grasp the implications of the gendering of voice in this literature, we must first understand the religious context that generates these voices and the life stories of the saintly figures in whose names these voices continue to be spoken. Accordingly, we will trace the origins and nature of devotional Hinduism. Theologically gender inclusive and embracing a feminine spiritual identity, the stories and songs of its saints will nevertheless reveal an ongoing bias against women and upholding of patriarchal norms that is continually challenged, particularly by women saints whose life stories follow very different trajectories than their male counterparts, and that male and female devotees alike must transcend. We will explore the nuances of male saints speaking of their love for God in female voice, in contrast to women saints doing so. Such analysis will lead us to consider the larger implications of subsequent devotees, both male and female, speaking in these gendered saints' voices. While touching on a wide range of male and female saints' stories and songs, we will focus in more detail on arguably the two most popular poet-saints-the sixteenth century royal female devotee of Krgia, MirabaI, and, by way of contrast, the fifteenth-century low-caste male devotee of the Lord beyond form, Kabir."

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  Exile as “Place” for Empathy

  Ilana Maymind

  "Historically, exile has been a political act that has various philosophical and psychological ramifications. In the Roman world, exile was a substitute for physical death.¹ Adorno argues that exile is a 'life in suspension' as a result of being placed in the diasporic conditions of estrangement. For Adorno, 'it is part of morality not to be at home in one’s home,'² since being in exile makes one a perpetual stranger and sharpens one’s ethical stance. The idea of being a stranger leads to the significance of the issue of empathy. In this chapter, I discuss Shinran and Maimonides as I maintain that the focus in some of their writings demonstrates the effects of exile as 'place' for empathy. I further propose a link between empathy and ethics by viewing empathy as a measure of genuine ethical concern."

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  Invest Your Humanity: Celebrating Marvin Meyer

  Julye Bidmead and Gail J. Stearns

  Edited by Julye Bidmead, Gail J. Stearns

  Foreword by Daniele C. Struppa, Elaine Pagels

  This volume is dedicated to Marvin C. Meyer, a person of passionate spirit and personality, known to many as the preeminent scholar who brought to life the Gnostic Gospels. Meyer made ancient discoveries relevant to our lives: from his work with National Geographic, informing thousands, to the time he spent with individual students, opening their eyes to the mystery and meaning of a Coptic text. Friends, students, and scholars here pay tribute to Meyer with reflections, new pedagogies, and explorations in biblical texts, ancient magic, and archaeological discoveries.

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  The Holocaust Chronicle

  Marilyn Harran, Dieter Kuntz, Russell Lemons, Robert A. Michael, Keith Pickus, and John K. Roth

  The complete full-text of a seminal book for Holocaust studies, The Holocaust Chronicle. The site contains every word of the main text, as well as the index and all of the images from the print edition. The information within was gathered and fact-checked by top Holocaust scholars, and covers everything 1933-1945, beginning with the restrictive laws passed when Hitler took power to the deaths of at least six million Jews, Gypsies, Freemasons, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, prisoners of war, Communists, and others.