This book is a photo journal written by a teacher throughout the 2010/11 school year and an anthropological analysis. The diary shows the fragility of life on this French island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is marked in part by insecurity and by the influx of illegal immigrants from some of the poorest countries in the world. The author takes the reader into the life of a teacher, of a class, of a high school, of the national education system, and into his intimate life.

What do you do when you realise that your church is more interested in profit than prophet? This was the question facing Frank McIvor. The Shining Light Christian Church had told him that his finances would increase sevenfold if he tithed diligently. For ten years he tithed diligently, and not one cent of return had he received. He hires lawyer Michael Henderson to explore the possibility of suing the church for not honouring their promises of financial increase. To prove this, Henderson has to challenge the church and show that its promises were but one of the many examples of instant coffee theology, the contextually inaccurate use of scripture that the church used to justify its ideology, theology, and worship practises.

Schools and National Identities in French-speaking Africa showcases cutting-edge research to provide a renewed understanding of the role of schools in producing and reproducing national identities. Using individual case studies and comparative frameworks, it presents diverse empirical and theoretical insights from and about a range of African countries. The volume demonstrates in particular the usefulness of the curriculum as a lens through which to analyse the production and negotiation of national identities in different settings. Chapters discuss the tensions between decolonisation as a moment in time and decolonisation as a lengthy and messy process, the interplay between the local, national and international priorities of different actors, and the nuanced role of historiography and language in nation-building. At its heart is the need to critically investigate the concept of "the nation" as a political project, how discourses and feelings of belonging are constructed at school, and what it means for schools to be simultaneously places of learning, tools of socialisation and political battlegrounds. By presenting new research on textbooks, practitioners and policy in ten different African countries, this volume provides insights into the diversity of issues and dynamics surrounding the question of schools and national identities. It will be of particular interest to scholars, researchers and postgraduate students of comparative and international education, sociology, history, sociolinguistics and African studies.

A poignant account of everyday polygamy and what its regulation reveals about who is viewed as an "Other" In the past thirty years, polygamy has become a flashpoint of conflict as Western governments attempt to regulate certain cultural and religious practices that challenge seemingly central principles of family and justice. In Forbidden Intimacies, Melanie Heath comparatively investigates the regulation of polygamy in the United States, Canada, France, and Mayotte. Drawing on a wealth of ethnographic and archival sources, Heath uncovers the ways in which intimacies framed as "other" and "offensive" serve to define the very limits of Western tolerance. These regulation efforts, counterintuitively, allow the flourishing of polygamies on the ground. The case studies illustrate a continuum of justice, in which some groups, like white fundamentalist Mormons in the U.S., organize to fight against the prohibition of their families' existence, whereas African migrants in France face racialized discrimination in addition to rigid migration policies. The matrix of legal and social contexts, informed by gender, race, sexuality, and class, shapes the everyday experiences of these relationships. Heath uses the term "labyrinthine love" to conceptualize the complex ways individuals negotiate different kinds of relationships, ranging from romantic to coercive. What unites these families is the secrecy in which they must operate. As government intervention erodes their abilities to secure housing, welfare, work, and even protection from abuse, Heath exposes the huge variety of intimacies, and the power they hold to challenge heteronormative, Western ideals of love.

Based on 20 years of teaching experience and research in schools across the country, Teaching and Learning on the Verge demonstrates how educators in all disciplines can integrate civic engagement, multicultural literacy, and leadership into their classrooms and programs. Featuring voices from literature and philosophy in dialogue with the living stage of classrooms, streets, and community spaces, this book offers an imaginative and practical guide to democratic education. Teaching and Learning on the Verge will help educators to: Apply models for breaking down walls between school and society. Provide students with experiences that deepen their understanding of identity, justice, and relationships. Make learning meaningful to students by bridging communities, generations, and other social divides. Resist a narrow focus on achievement and make space for students as independent thinkers and leaders of social change. Make schools stronger by challenging the processes that people in power use to thwart movements for equality. “Teaching and Learning on the Verge exemplifies the giddiness, unpredictability, and intrinsic messiness of democratic action and civic learning. Elliott offers an engaging whirlwind of examples and ideas in examining civic action among and with youth in a multicultural democracy.” —Meira Levinson, associate professor of education, Harvard Graduate School of Education “One teacher’s efforts to practice democracy in her classroom, becomes a scholarly, yet sparkling, exploration of the thought and practice and real difficulties involved in enacting varieties of democratic learning. Personal testimony goes hand in hand with intellectual depth to produce this vital handbook for adventurous teachers everywhere.” —Jay Featherstone, poet, writer, and educator, former editor of The New Republic

With more than two thousand languages spread over its territory, multilingualism is a common reality in Africa. The main official languages of most African countries are Indo-European, in many instances Romance. As they were primarily brought to Africa in the era of colonization, the areas discussed in this volume are thirty-five states that were once ruled by Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, or Spain, and the African regions still belonging to three of them. Twenty-six states are presented in relation to French, four to Italian, six to Portuguese, and two to Spanish. They are considered in separate chapters according to their sociolinguistic situation, linguistic history, external language policy, linguistic characteristics, and internal language policy. The result is a comprehensive overview of the Romance languages in modern-day Africa. It follows a coherent structure, offers linguistic and sociolinguistic information, and illustrates language contact situations, power relations, as well as the cross-fertilization and mutual enrichment emerging from the interplay of languages and cultures in Africa.

Written by a born prophet of almighty god and reputable spiritual scientist and consultant on issues related to nature and the universe at large, His Lordship Bishop Bassey Effiong Oroks Eternal Mysteries of Nations: Volume 3 gives in-depth information of 256 portions of the earth herein referred to as nations, as it unveils their true nature, irrespective of their present-day populations or status regarding any effort carried out by human beings and other creations dwelling within a specific part or portion of the earth. The volume goes deep into unveiling a Supernatural Being whose physical presence on earth is the most profitable but dangerous event that had ever happened to all physical creations. And the earth can come to total collapse if this Supernatural Being is not acknowledged and reverenced by all of humanity in general. It also unveils the unlimited powers embedded in this Supernatural Being. He is natural and supernatural in all ramifications; hence, his authority covers all creations and the universe at large, and he is seen in all planes and manifested worlds at the same time. Basically, the three volumes of Eternal Mysteries of Nations are a well-composed spiritual record, as they also detail the attention of spiritual beings and creations within the different nations and portions of the earth. It unveils the potential powers from the spirits as vested upon every section of the earth as mentioned by their earthly names; it moves forward to unveil the natural plan of most portions and nations of the earth, as it was from the beginning. Other Books written by the same author includes Holy Book of Revelations, Everlasting Arts and Sciences Volumes 1 and 2, Salt of the Earth and Eternal Mysteries of Nations volumes 1 and 2. The authors upcoming book is The Final World Government. www.BeoSpiritual.org