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The Digital Party as a Vehicle for Transformational Political Change in Arab Spring Countries: Opportunities for Syria
Get PDFIn “The Digital Party as a Vehicle for Transformational Political Change in Arab Spring Countries: Opportunities forSyria”, Dina Ramadan notes correctly that “instead of assuming their role in modernizing Syrian society, raising awareness, educating citizens and building a common national identity...” Syria’s political parties chose to follow “narrow ethnic or ideological interests, and sometimes foreign agendas”. A viable and convincing alternative to the current status of political misrepresentation is identified by Ramadan: the digital party. The digital party, with “its open, easily accessible, participatory platform allowing for transparent bottom-up policies and decision-makingprocesses” might succeed in reversing the trend of “popular apathy and distrust, and motivate the masses to participate again”
Theology in lockdown
Get PDFThe starting point for this paper is to reflect on Karl Barth’s assertion that that, when faced with a major crisis, the most appropriate response for Christian theology is to carry on as if nothing has happened. David Fergusson emphasises the need for humility and very careful thought in a situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic, however this does not mean that we must remain silent. Three points for reflection are offered: (1) an examination of how ideas about God’s providence, and our ability to give meaning to calamitous events, have changed over time; (2) consideration of what lessons might be learned from the experience of living through a pandemic in terms of what it means to be human; and (3) thoughts on the theme of hope in the teaching and life of Jesus, and implications and opportunities for the church
Rev Prof D. W. D. Shaw OBE (1928–2020)
Get PDFIn honour of the late Rev Prof D. W. D. Shaw, a founding member of the Editorial Board of Theology in Scotland, we are pleased to publish this tribute by Rev Prof George Newlands. This is a shortened version of George’s contribution to the Conference held at New College in 2018 to celebrate Bill’s 90th birthday
Scottish lenses, languages and landscapes: Engaging evangelicals with environmentalism
Get PDFThis article points out the dissonance between young people’s environmental and justice concerns, and the lack of sufficient interest in the ecological aspects of Christian witness in Scottish evangelical circles. Reminding us that language matters enormously – as illustrated by the tensions even around the terminology used to describe the current ecological challenge – it explores the anthropological lens through which evangelicals tend to view the created world, and suggests a pragmatic response in terms of the kind of images and language that would naturally speak and relate to evangelical believers
Neurodiverse Minds and Ethnographic Practice
Get PDFEarthling and Autisman
Once upon a time on a small, green quiet planet.
Autisman: So – welcome to my home world.
Earthling: Don’t you feel weighed down? It feels as if I’ve got weights strapped to my arms and legs.
Autisman: Ah, but on your planet, I always feel as if I’m swimming around in space, weightlessly.
Earthling: Okay. Now I understand you. I really understand.
(Higashida, 2007:74
Student Use of Facebook Messenger in St Andrews: Cultural Symbolism, Language and Image
Get PDFI am sitting in my flat’s lounge, at the large table across from two of my flat mates. The sunshine gleams in and out through the clouds and our large bay windows, reflecting off our computer screens as Ella stands up to close the drapes. This is a familiar scene in my flat: a few of us gathered around the wooden table that has become our designated shared space to do coursework whilst engaging each other socially every now and then. Julia begins to talk about how she needs to message someone about an upcoming event that she been promoting, and then complains at their response to her message with a “heart react”
Preface
No full textSyria stands on a precipice between change and stagnation. Both, at times, seem equally ominous. March 2021 marked the tenth anniversary of the Syrian civil war which has taken hundreds of thousands of lives and has displaced millions more. Wednesday 26th May marks the date of the next Syrian presidential elections
The Digital Party as a Vehicle for Transformational Political Change in Arab Spring Countries: Opportunities for Syria
Get PDFThe Ba\u27ath Party has dominated the political sphere in Syria since the rule of Hafiz Al-Assad. It prevented any kind of social or political practices or organizational experiences at any level, except under the approval and full scrutiny of the regime. This kind of oppression continued after Bashar Al-Assad took over the presidency in 2000, which in turn played a crucial role in the opposition’s evident inexperience after the 2011 Uprising. Supporters of the Uprising were looking for structured, organized leadership to represent and develop their movement, but the opposition formations, official and nonofficial, proved incapable of fulfilling that role