Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Roy A. Rappaport. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.536 pp.

Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity

Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence

사회사업 조사연구는 복잡하고 다양한 인간의 욕구와 문제들을 해결하고 예측하기 위하여 과학적 방법론을 적극 활용하여 왔다. 과학적 방법론은 인간행동의 기준을 설정하고 결과를 제시하는데 객관성을 제공한다는 이유로 선호되고 있다. 그러나 이러한 과학적 방법론을 사회사업실천영역에서 사용하는데 있어서 간과해서 안 될 점은 클라이언트를 중심에 놓고 조사연구를 실행할 수 있어야 한다는 것이다. 즉, 개입을 계량화하는데 초점을 두지 않고 클라이언트를 중심에 두고 역량 강화할 수 있는 방법이 필요한 것이다.
이러한 맥락에서 본 연구는 사회사업 본연의 가치인 클라이언트 중심의 조사연구 접근과 이론과 실천의 간극을 메우는 하나의 교량으로서 실행연구(AR: action research)와 참여적 실행연구(PAR: participatory action research)의 개념과 과정을 소개하고 한국 사회사업실천에의 적용가능성을 모색하였다.
AR과 PAR의 개념과 역사, 실행과정을 분석하고 사회사업실천에의 필요성과 적용점을 분석해본 결과, 필요성에 있어서는 실천현장에서의 적용용이성, 지역사회기반의 일반주의 실천접근과의 적합성, 조사연구와 실천의 통합, AR기술의 실천기술로서의 활용성 등으로 나타났다. 적용상의 이점으로는 클라이언트 문제와 욕구에 대한 보다 깊은 이해, 다각적인 맥락에 의거한 해결방법 모색, 조사자 곧 실천가 자신의 반성과 성장, 임파워먼트 실행의 촉매제로서의 기능, 조사연구의 확대가능성, 지역사회기반의 조사연구 확대, 효과적인 사회복지 조직관리에 있어서의 적용 등인 것으로 나타났다. 
마지막으로 한국 현장에 AR을 도입하기 위해서 유의할 점으로 조사연구자로서의 실천가의 역량강화, 공동협력연구의 필요, 현장과 실천중심 연구를 강조하는 인센티브 제공, 구체적인 액션리서치의 한국형 모델 구축 등 4개의 과제를 제언하였다.

사회사업에서의 Participatory Action Research(PAR)와 Action Research(AR) 모델 적용 필요성에 관한 연구

Africa since 1940 is the flagship textbook in Cambridge University Press' New Approaches to African History series. Now revised to include the history and scholarship of Africa since the turn of the millennium, this important book continues to help students understand the process out of which Africa's position in the world has emerged. A history of decolonisation and independence, it allows readers to see just what political independence did and did not signify, and how men and women, peasants and workers, religious and local leaders sought to refashion the way they lived, worked and interacted with each other. Covering the transformation of Africa from a continent marked by colonisation to one of independent states, Frederick Cooper follows the 'development question' across time, seeing how first colonial regimes and then African elites sought to transform African society in their own ways. He shows how people in cities and villages tried to make their way in an unequal world, through times of hope, despair, renewed possibilities, and continued uncertainties. Looking beyond the debate over what or who may be to blame, Cooper explores alternatives for the future.

Africa Since 1940: The Past of the Present

How institutions think

With Christian revivals (including Evangelicals in the White House), Islamic radicalism and the revitalisation of traditional religions it is clear that the world is not heading towards a community of secular states Nowhere are religious thought and political practice more closely intertwined than in Africa African migrants in Europe and America who send home money to build churches and mosques, African politicians who consult diviners, guerrilla fighters who believe that amulets can protect them from bullets, and ordinary people who seek ritual healing: all of these are applying religious ideas to everyday problems of existence, at every level of society Far from falling off the map of the world, Africa is today a leading centre of Christianity and a growing field of Islamic activism, while African traditional religions are gaining converts in the West One cannot understand the politics of the present without taking religious thought seriously Stories about witches, miracles, or people returning from the dead incite political action In Africa religious belief has a huge impact on politics, from the top of society to the bottom Religious ideas show what people actually think about the world and how to deal with it Ellis and Ter Haar maintain that the specific content of religious thought has to be mastered if we are to grasp the political significance of religion in Africa today, but their book also informs our understanding of the relationship between religion and political practice in general

Worlds of Power: Religious Thought and Political Practice in Africa

The resilience of religion in developing countries is now plain to see. In Africa, religion shows no sign of disappearing or diminishing in public importance, as development theorists have generally supposed. The European Union has normally excluded consideration of the religious dimension in formulating development policies towards Africa. This article explores the possible role of religion in Africa's development. It looks at a number of specific fields that are widely debated in the literature on development to consider ways in which religious ideas may be relevant to development thinking. It concludes with some general considerations on how policymakers might be able to encompass religion as a factor in their strategic outlook. L'impact de la religion dans les pays en developpement est maintenant evident. En Afrique, la religion ne montre aucun signe de disparition ou de declin, comme les theoriciens du developpement l'ont generalement presume. L'Union europeenne a, en principe, exclu la prise en comp...

/pdf/the-role-of-religion-in-development-towards-a-new-1rgppsj17l.pdf

The Role of Religion in Development: Towards a New Relationship between the European Union and Africa

In the considerable number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa in which political institutions have largely broken down, religious discourse can be seen as an attempted remedy by means of a reordering of power. The numerous popular texts on witchcraft and other perceived forms of evil reflect the preoccupations of Africans with the way in which power is exercised in their societies. Since these texts are particularly concerned with the dangers that can arise when power is not properly organized and controlled, they can be considered a commentary on a world in which power is seen as being too often an instrument of evil people who use it to destroy peace and harmony. This article sketches a theory which clarifies the relationship between religion and politics in Africa. It first discusses what religion is, and how it may best be studied. Then it examines a couple of popular religious texts chosen by way of illustration, before passing on to some further observations on the way in which power is organized and perceived in various African societies. Finally, it draws some conclusions about religion as a political idiom.

/pdf/religion-and-politics-in-sub-saharan-africa-4q7t7at974.pdf

Religion and Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa

Religious modes of thinking about the world are widespread in Africa, and have a pervasive influence on politics in the broadest sense. We have published elsewhere a theoretical model as to how the relationship between politics and religion may be understood, with potential benefits for observers not just of Africa, but also of other parts of the world where new combinations of religion and politics are emerging. Application of this theoretical model requires researchers to rethink some familiar categories of social science.

/pdf/religion-and-politics-taking-african-epistemologies-1j8n81urnb.pdf

Religion and politics: taking African epistemologies seriously

Ce livre de G. Ter Haar publie en 1998 a Cardiff, est la premiere analyse erudite de la signification du christianisme africain et des Eglises africaines independantes sur le continent europeen, et le premier a relater ce phenomene nouveau, dans l'histoire religieuse de l'Europe, de la migration internationale et de l'histoire socio-politique et religieuse d'Afrique. L'A. le recommande vivement tout en lui apportant quelques critiques.

Gerrie ter Haar

Papers

Worlds of Power: Religious Thought and Political Practice in Africa

The Role of Religion in Development: Towards a New Relationship between the European Union and Africa

Religion and Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa

Religion and politics: taking African epistemologies seriously

Halfway to Paradise: African Christians in Europe