Engaging Modernity is the definitive history of Asante royal regalia and music ensembles. This second edition includes an ethnographical account of the 2014 Asanteman Grand Adae festival that prominently features the complex heritage of the visual and the performing arts in motion. Ampene's contextual account illuminates the historical narratives the regalia objects render as they move through space and time, as well as the metalanguage embodied in the objects and the symbolic language they convey in Akanland. The book combines text with over three hundred color photographs to construct subtle and nuanced views of the material culture associated with Asante royal court in the twenty-first century. Engaging Modernity is an essential and a vast transdisciplinary resource for the humanities and beyond.

The key theme addressed by all the contributors to this book is the relationship between South Africa's indigenous churches (AICs) to modernity. The key question asked by each of the contributors is to what extent, if any, do AICs serve as bridges to tradition or as facilitators for modernizing practices? Although the researchers do not agree on the answer to this question—some argue for the return to tradition, others argue for the facilitation perspective—they do provide provocative and timely insights for prospective researchers interested in exploring concepts and methodologies for understanding modernity and modernization. Based on a number of case studies of AICs in South Africa, this book will also be of great interest to scholars of comparative religion and the role churches play in negotiating the complex terrains of politics, society, and economy in this era of globalization.

Seizing the space opened by the early 1990s democratization movement, Muslim women are carving an active, influential, but often-overlooked role for themselves during a time of great change. Engaging Modernity provides a compelling portrait of Muslim women in Niger as they confronted the challenges and opportunities of the late twentieth century. Based on thorough scholarly research and extensive fieldwork—including a wealth of interviews—Ousseina Alidou’s work offers insights into the meaning of modernity for Muslim women in Niger. Mixing biography with sociological data, social theory and linguistic analysis, this is a multilayered vision of political Islam, education, popular culture, and war and its aftermath. Alidou offers a gripping look at one of the Muslim world’s most powerful untold stories. Runner-up, Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize, Women’s Caucus of the African Studies Association, 2007

Seizing the space opened by the early 1990s democratization movement, Muslim women are carving an active, influential, but often-overlooked role for themselves during a time of great change. Engaging Modernity provides a compelling portrait of Muslim women in Niger as they confronted the challenges and opportunities of the late twentieth century. Based on thorough scholarly research and extensive fieldwork—including a wealth of interviews—Ousseina Alidou’s work offers insights into the meaning of modernity for Muslim women in Niger. Mixing biography with sociological data, social theory and linguistic analysis, this is a multilayered vision of political Islam, education, popular culture, and war and its aftermath. Alidou offers a gripping look at one of the Muslim world’s most powerful untold stories. Runner-up, Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize, Women’s Caucus of the African Studies Association, 2007

Provides a new and much needed appraisal of Ireland's engagement with the phenomenon of modernity. The path we have traveled from being a rural-based, religious, traditional, insular country, to a secular, highly prosperous economic hi-tech centre has brought in its wake both problems and advantages. 'Engaging Modernity' evaluates how in the realms of politics, culture and literature, Ireland has undergone a major paradigm shift. This book is composed of a selection of papers from a conference held under the auspices of EFACIS (European Federation of Centres and Associations of Irish Studies) in Aarhus (Denmark) in 2001 and organized by Michael B""ss. It brought together academics and commentators from many European countries and the book bears witness to a diversity of opinions on Ireland's recent evolution.

In many parts of the contemporary world, spirit beliefs and practices have taken on a pivotal role in addressing the discontinuities and uncertainties of modern life. The myriad ways in which devotees engage the spirit world show the tremendous creative potential of these practices and their innate adaptability to changing times and circumstances. Through in-depth anthropological case studies from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, the contributors to this book investigate the role and impact of different social, political, and economic dynamics in the reconfiguration of local spirit worlds in modern Southeast Asia. Their findings contribute to the re-enchantment debate by revealing that the “spirited modernities” that have emerged in the process not only embody a distinct feature of the contemporary moment, but also invite a critical rethinking of the concept of modernity itself.

This book explores issues shaping and defining modern Bruneian identity. It addresses the research gap regarding Brunei studies in terms of the language, literature, and culture of Brunei which, with its bilingual education, is uniquely positioned at the intersection of the Malay and western worlds. The book analyses the linguistic, literary, and cultural modes that provide the backdrop for modern-day instantiations of local identity, as expressed through printed and online materials, film, art, and social practices. It compares Brunei English and Brunei Malay in the context of the literature and culture of Brunei. Readers will find it useful as an essential resource for academic scholars, university students, and others interested in the study of Brunei Darussalam's language, literature, and culture. It provides critical insights from an insiders' perspective into the local identity of the culturally diverse Bruneian society.