‘The World Renewal’ English Monthly Spiritual Magazine Published by Brahma Kumaris

‘The World Renewal’ English Monthly Spiritual Magazine Published by Brahma Kumaris

‘The World Renewal’ English Monthly Spiritual Magazine Published by Brahma Kumaris

‘The World Renewal’ English Monthly Spiritual Magazine Published by Brahma Kumaris

This volume examines a category of Japanese divinities that centered on the concept of “world renewal” (yonaoshi). In the latter half of the Tokugawa period (1603–1867), a number of entities, both natural and supernatural, came to be worshipped as “gods of world renewal.” These included disgruntled peasants who demanded their local governments repeal unfair taxation, government bureaucrats who implemented special fiscal measures to help the poor, and a giant subterranean catfish believed to cause earthquakes to punish the hoarding rich. In the modern period, yonaoshi gods took on more explicitly anti-authoritarian characteristics. During a major uprising in Saitama Prefecture in 1884, a yonaoshi god was invoked to deny the legitimacy of the Meiji regime, and in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the new religion Ōmoto predicted an apocalyptic end of the world presided over by a messianic yonaoshi god. Using a variety of local documents to analyze the veneration of yonaoshi gods, Takashi Miura looks beyond the traditional modality of research focused on religious professionals, their institutions, and their texts to illuminate the complexity of a lived religion as practiced in communities. He also problematizes the association frequently drawn between the concept of yonaoshi and millenarianism, demonstrating that yonaoshi gods served as divine rectifiers of specific economic injustices and only later, in the modern period and within the context of new religions such as Ōmoto, were fully millenarian interpretations developed. The scope of world renewal, in other words, changed over time. Agents of World Renewal approaches Japanese religion through the new analytical lens of yonaoshi gods and highlights the necessity of looking beyond the boundary often posited between the early modern and modern periods when researching religious discourses and concepts.

Reinventing the Museum: Relevance, Inclusion, and Global Responsibilities is the third edition following the 2004 and 2012 versions of the Reinventing series. More than a decade since the prior volume was published, this edition features all new content written since 2017 relevant to this pivotal time for museums operating in a complex world. This anthology features leading thinkers from across the globe who expertly discuss the realities facing museums, the urgency to take action, and museums as essential contributors to a more equitable and socially responsible world. The introduction highlights the issues of our times, and frames the structure of the book and intentional order of the contents. A dramatically revised Reinventing the Museum Tool serves as a springboard for discussions within museum staff and trustees, among students and faculty, and with emerging to seasoned museum professionals. The curated approach of the book unfolds with a sequence of thinking that frames the subsequent sections and chapters. The range of topics in this volume cover global realities, shifts in institutional mindset, the urgency to achieve inclusion and equity in museums, and fresh perspectives of practical approaches to actualize the reinvented museum.

This handbook initiates fresh debates on poverty and its impact in a constantly changing Global South society. It studies the concept, theories, and causes of poverty, as well as the design and delivery of social welfare policies related to specific groups, such as women, children, and the elderly. The chapters are theoretical, evidence-based, and empirical in nature and bring together a holistic understanding of social problems and issues in developing countries. The volume brings together researchers, educators, and practitioners from across the globe to develop a hands-on reference work that will be requisite for several social science disciplines concerned with poverty and the welfare of poor people. The first of its kind, the handbook will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of development studies, economics, social work, political studies, poverty studies, population and demographic studies, sociology, social anthropology, public policy, and political economy, especially those concerned with the Global South.