Synopses & Reviews
The black social gospel emerged from the trauma of Reconstruction to ask what a andldquo;new abolitionandrdquo; would require in American society. It became an important tradition of religious thought and resistance, helping to create an alternative public sphere of excluded voices and providing the intellectual underpinnings of the civil rights movement. This tradition has been seriously overlooked, despite its immense legacy.
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In this groundbreaking work, Gary Dorrien describes the early history of the black social gospel from its nineteenth-century founding to its close association in the twentieth century with W. E. B. Du Bois. He offers a new perspective on modern Christianity and the civil rights era by delineating the tradition of social justice theology and activism that led to Martin Luther King Jr.
Review
andldquo;A magisterial treatment of a neglected stream of American religious history presented by one of this generationandrsquo;s premier interpreters of modern religious thought performing at the top of his game.andrdquo;andmdash;William Stacy Johnson, Princeton Theological Seminary andnbsp;andnbsp;
Review
andldquo;This is classic Dorrienandmdash;beautifully written, cogent, and moving.andnbsp; Ever the careful historian, ethicist, and astute cultural critic, Dorrien has penned another must read book for general readers and scholars alike.andrdquo;andmdash;Emilie M. Townes, Vanderbilt Divinity School
Review
andldquo;Gracefully written and carefully researched, Dorrienand#39;s
The New Abolition is an impressive recovery of W.E.B. Du Boisand#39;s relationship to the black social gospel. Anyone seeking to understand the historic contours of race, religion, and social activism in the 20th century absolutely must read this book.andrdquo;andmdash;Juan M. Floyd-Thomas, Vanderbilt University
Review
andldquo;Gary Dorrienandrsquo;s impressively researched and riveting account of W. E. B. DuBois and the black social gospel is the most comprehensive treatment of an extremely crucial, yet woefully overlooked dimension of black political history and the role of black churches and religious thinkers within it. It changes our understanding of the religious and political history of African Americans and challenges churches and political institutions of today to reclaim the mantle and of the prophetic, at times even radical, mission of the black social gospel.andrdquo;andmdash; Obery M. Hendricks, Jr., Columbia University
Synopsis
In the waning months of the cold war, shortly before an expiring Soviet Union finally disintegrated, a group of neoconservative policymakers and intellectuals began to argue that the moment had come to create an American-dominated world order. Some of them called it "the unipolarist imperative." Instead of reducing military spending, they contended, the United States needed to expand its military reach to every region of the world, using America's tremendous military and economic power to create a new Pax Americana. This book describes how the ideology of American global preeminence originated during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, developed in the 1990s, gained power with the election of George W. Bush, and reshaped American foreign policy after September 11, 2001.
Structured as a narrative, this account deals with government policymakers and outside advocates. It tells the story of the development of unipolarist ideology and its role in recent American Foreign policy. It makes an argument about the nature and problems of this ideology, emphasizing that an unrivaled superpower makes the whole world its geopolitical neighborhood. It offers a critique of the unilateralist militarism of the second Bush administration. And it contends that the problem of imperial expansiveness, though dramatically heightened by the Bush administration, did not begin with it. The problem is inherent in the anxiety of being a global hegemon.
Synopsis
This work argues that the influence of neoconservatives has been none too small and all too important in the shaping of this monumental doctrine and historic moment in American foreign policy. Through a fascinating account of the central figures in the neoconservative movement and their push for war with Iraq, he reveals the imperial designs that have guided them in their quest for the establishment of a global Pax Americana.
About the Author
Gary Dorrien is the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Religion at Columbia University. He lives in New York.