In 1910, when Khedive Abbas II married a second wife surreptitiously, the contrast with his openly polygamous grandfather, Ismail, whose multiple wives and concubines signified his grandeur and masculinity, could not have been greater. That contrast reflected the spread of new ideals of family life that accompanied the development of Egypt’s modern marriage system. Modernizing Marriage explores the evolution of marriage and marital relations, shedding new light on the social and cultural history of Egypt. Family is central to modern Egyptian history and in the ruling court did the “political work.” Indeed, the modern state began as a household government in which members of the ruler’s household served in the military and civil service. Cuno discusses political and sociodemographic changes that affected marriage and family life and the production of a family ideology by modernist intellectuals, who identified the family as a site crucial to social improvement, and for whom the reform and codification of Muslim family law was a principal aim. Throughout Modernizing Marriage, Cuno examines Egyptian family history in a comparative and transnational context, addressing issues of colonial modernity and colonial knowledge, Islamic law and legal reform, social history, and the history of women and gender.

Written by two leading authorities in the field, The Law of Contract is the perfect student companion, providing a concise overview of the fundamental principles of contract law, demystifying complex areas without oversimplification. Accessible and engaging, this invaluable text is the ideal guide to the core of this key subject.

The Core Text Series takes the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing an invaluable and reliable guide for students of law at all levels. Written by leading academics and renowned for their clarity, these concise texts explain the intellectual challenges of each area of the law. The Law of Contract provides you with a clear, straightforward, and comprehensive account of the core principles of contract law to give you a sound understanding of the subject. Written by Janet O'Sullivan, Director of Studies at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and Jonathan Hilliard, barrister at Wilberforce Chambers, this text covers all the key topics on LLB and GDL courses and introduces you to current debates in the field. The authors break down complex problems into manageable steps and self-test questions are provided at the end of each chapter to help you reinforce your learning and aid revision. You can find answer guidance to these questions as well as additional support for your studies, including author podcasts discussing key cases, additional chapters, and web links on the accompanying Online Resource Centre.

It is often said that marriage in Islamic law is a civil contract, not a sacrament. If this is so, this means that the marriage contract is largely governed by the same rules as other contracts, such as sale or hire. But at the same time marriage is a profound concern of the Islamic scriptures of Qur’an and Sunna, and thus at the very core of the law and morality of Islam and of the individual, familial, and social life of Muslims. This volume collects papers from many disciplines examining the Muslim marriage contract. Articles cover doctrines as to marriage contracts (e.g., may a wife stipulate monogamy?); historical instances (e.g., legal advice from thirteenth-century Spain); comparisons with Jewish and canon law; contemporary legal and social practice; and projects of activists for women worldwide. Demonstrating a new and powerful focus for comparative and historical inquiries into Islamic law and social practices, this book marks a fresh point of departure for the study of Muslim women.

Marriage, Sexuality, and Gender examines contemporary debates about the meaning and value of marriage. The book analyzes arguments for traditional marriage, including those of neonaturalists, utilitarians, and communitarians or virtue theorists. The volume also considers a range of feminist, welfarist, and liberationist arguments for ending the institution altogether. It evaluates two major reform movements: one focused on expanding marriage to include same-sex couples and the other focused on the use of law to render marriage more internally just. The book concludes with a plea to activists to redirect "marriage equality" movements toward the creation of an entirely secular "civil union law" that would respect a broader range of private life-long commitments, including but not limited to same- and opposite-sex couples, without threatening the role of religious marriage in the lives of those who embrace it and without penalizing nonparticipants.

People are said to acquire their affiliations of ethnicity, race, and sex at birth. Hence, these affiliations have long been understood to be natural, independent of the ability of political societies to define who we are. Reproducing the State vigorously challenges the conventional view, as well as post-structuralist scholarship that minimizes state power. Jacqueline Stevens examines birth-based theories of membership and group affiliations in political societies ranging from the Athenian polis, to tribes of Australia, to the French republic, to the contemporary United States. The book details how political societies determine the kinship rules that are used to reproduce political societies. Stevens analyzes the ways that ancestral and territorial birth rules for membership in political societies pattern other intergenerational affiliations. She shows how the notion of ethnicity depends on the implicit or explicit invocation of a past, present, or future political society. She also shows how geography is used to represent political regions, including continents, as the seemingly natural underpinning for racial taxonomies perpetuated through miscegenation laws and birth certificates. And Stevens argues that sex differences are also constituted through membership practices of political societies. In its chronological and disciplinary range, Reproducing the State will reward the interest of scholars in many fields, including anthropology, history, political science, sociology, women's studies, race studies, and ethnic studies.

Joseph and Mary is about two people telling you the story of their own lives as individuals with their hopes, fears, emotions, and faith in the face of the unknown. Jesus is the common thread in both stories. While Joseph's story is shorter, Mary's story goes to the bitter end of Jesus's life, which is also a sweet beginning for us.Even though the stories are fictional, they are based on biblical quotes and references. For instance, how do you think Joseph felt or reacted when he found out Mary was pregnant and knew that he was not the father? What do you think Mary did as her son was being crucified? This book delves into these types of topics and asks you to react. There are questions at the end of each chapter for you to consider or ponder upon.The faith of Mary and Joseph, as individuals and as a family, is explored further. They see and reach the mountaintop but also go through the deep valleys of life, both apart and together. As a family, how would you deal with being refugees in Egypt after running away from the Romans? You will think about the stories you know, but from a different perspective, one that allows you to see the reactions and emotions that could have been.The hopes, fears, and thoughts of Mary and Joseph are fictional since we do not know what occurred two thousand years ago. However, you will have a sense of Mary and Joseph talking to you, about how they felt and what their lives were like.Dave Keim brings the story of Joseph and Mary together in an easy to read text with thought provoking questions at the end of each chapter. This is an ideal gift for both the young and adult reader, particularly at Christmas.Pastor Peter KaltenbaughThis book provides a new perspective into the thoughts, fears and questions that Joseph and Mary may have experienced in their lives. An easy read that would also be a great option for Bible studies, class discussions or Advent.Bonnie Heathole