2705, 2016

Book review: Syriac Christians and the early Muslim world

By Mary Fisk|May 27, 2016|Ancient Near East, Semitics and Judaica, History, Middle East, Central Asia & Islamica, Religions|0 comments

SOAS Library recently acquired Michael Penn’s Envisioning Islam: Syriac Christians and the Early Muslim World. Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015) This  review of Envisioning Islam (by Christopher Sahner, of St John’s College, Cambridge) has just been posted on Indiana University’s The Medieval Review, calling the book a “mighty achievement” in its study of the non-Muslim sources on Islamic origins through the large body of Syriac

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0203, 2016

Church Missionary Society Periodicals: free trial of digital resource

By Mary Fisk|March 2, 2016|Africa, Archival collections, China and Inner Asia, History, Middle East, Central Asia & Islamica, Religions, South Asia, South East Asia|0 comments

  The College of the Church Missionary Society in Islington (London) – image via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:College_of_the_Church_Missionary_Society_-_Shepherd,_Metropolitan_Improvements_%281828%29,_p293.jpg) The new Church Missionary Society Periodicals collection from digital resource provider Adam Matthew allows library users to browse archives of publications from the Church Missionary Society (CMS), the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society and latterly the South American Missionary Society covering the whole scope of their missionary activity from 1804 to 2009 Founded in 1799,

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0802, 2016

Archaeology and religion: two book reviews

By Mary Fisk|February 8, 2016|Ancient Near East, Semitics and Judaica, Anthropology and Sociology, Art and Archaeology, History, Middle East, Central Asia & Islamica, Religions|0 comments

Two books recently acquired by SOAS Library have been reviewed online: Defining the Sacred: Approaches to the Archaeology of Religion in the Near East / edited by Nicola Laneri (Oxford: Oxbow, 2015) Reviewed by Aren M. Maeir (Bar-Ilan University) in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review An “excellent”  collection of studies “dealing with various cultures, finds, issues and periods, ranging from the early Neolithic period until the Iron Age“. Regions studied include ancient

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1712, 2015

Religions – November 2015

By Emma Wilson-Shaw|December 17, 2015|Religions|

Comparative and thematic Die Religionen in vorgeschichtlicher Zeit / von Ina Wunn Discovering religious history in the modern age / Hans G. Kippenberg ; translated from German by Barbara Harshav Modern religious cults and movements / Gaius Glenn Atkins The origin and growth of religion: facts and theories / by W. Schmidt ; translated from the original German by H.J. Rose Les religions de la préhistoire : paléolithique / André

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0511, 2015

Religions – September and October 2015

By Emma Wilson-Shaw|November 5, 2015|Religions|

Comparative and thematic A noble death: suicide and martyrdom among Christians and Jews in antiquity / Arthur J. Droge, James D. Tabor. Bones: ancient men and modern myths / Lewis R. Binford ; with a foreword by F. Clark Howell The study of religion under the impact of fascism / edited by Horst Junginger Hermeneutics, politics, and the history of religions: the contested legacies of Joachim Wach and Mircea Eliade

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0211, 2015

Ancient Near East, Semitics and Judaica – September and October 2015

By Emma Wilson-Shaw|November 2, 2015|Ancient Near East, Semitics and Judaica|

Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations Preludes to urbanism: the Late Chalcolithic of Mesopotamia / edited by Augusta McMahon, Harriet Crawford – Der Garten in neusumerischer Zeit / Karen Focke – Garden administration in the Girsu province during the Neo-Sumerian period / Angela Greco – History of ancient Israel, archaeology, and Bible collected essays = Geschichte Israels, Archäologie und Bibel : gesammelte Aufsätze / Hermann Michael Niemann ; herausgegeben von Meik Gerhards

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0409, 2015

Religions – August 2015

By Emma Wilson-Shaw|September 4, 2015|Religions|

Comparative and thematic Modernities, memory and mutations: Grace Davie and the study of religion / edited by Abby Day, Mia Lövheim Religion in hip hop: mapping the new terrain in the US / edited by Monica R. Miller, Anthony B. Pinn, Bernard “Bun B” Freeman; preface by Michael Eric Dyson. – Religion and power: no logos without mythos / David Martin, London School of Economics, UK Buddhism The Buddha pill:

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0608, 2015

Ancient Near East, Semitics and Judaica – June and July 2015

By Emma Wilson-Shaw|August 6, 2015|Ancient Near East, Semitics and Judaica|0 comments

Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations Altbabylonisches Lehrbuch [2nd edition] / Michael P. Streck The witchcraft series Maqlû / by Tzvi Abusch The gods rich in praise: early Greek and Mesopotamian religious poetry / Christopher Metcalf Following the Man of Yamhad: settlement and territory at Old Babylonian Alalah / by Jacob Lauinger Ancient Assyria: a very short introduction / Karen Radner Incantation and anti-witchcraft texts from Ugarit / Gregorio del Olmo Lete

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1606, 2015

Religions – May 2015

By Emma Wilson-Shaw|June 16, 2015|Religions|0 comments

Comparative & thematic A moving faith: mega churches go South / edited by Jonathan D. James Memento mori: the dead among us / Paul Koudounaris The attraction of religion: a new evolutionary psychology of religion / edited by Jason Slone, James Van Slyke. African religions The public face of African new religious movements in diaspora: imagining the religious other / edited by Afe Adogame Buddhism Spells, images, and mandalas: tracing

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1505, 2015

Religions – April 2015

By Emma Wilson-Shaw|May 15, 2015|Religions|0 comments

Comparative and thematic Religious identities in the Levant from Alexander to Muhammed : continuity and change / edited by Michael Blömer, Achim Lichtenberger, Rubina Raja. From your gods to our gods: a history of religion in Indian, South African, and British courts / Marco Ventura The end of conceit: western rationality after postcolonialism / Patrick Chabal. [also available as a e-book] After secularism: rethinking religion in global politics / Erin

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