How can qualitative research methods be a tool for social change? Echoing the 'scandal of particularity' at the heart of the Christian tradition, theologians and ethicists involved in ethnographic research draw on the particular to seek out answers to core questions of their discipline.
This new edition features a dynamic selection of nuanced and provocative voices in this area of ethics and theology, showing how, in the past decade, the kinds of qualitative methodologies employed have become more varied and sophisticated. The leading and emerging scholars featured in this book have much to share how they approach this kind of work, what they are learning in the process, and what sorts of change is possible as a result. This volume also pays tribute to the life and work of a pathbreaker in qualitative methods for the sake of theological imagination and social change, the Rev. Dr. Melissa D. Browning (1977-2021).
Foreword - Traci West (Drew University, USA) Reflections on the Life, Works, and Legacy of Rev. Dr Melissa Brown Browning Damaris S. Parsitau (Egerton University, Kenya) and Emily Reimer-Barry (University of San Diego, USA) Part I – Revised Versions from Vol. 1 Chapter 1: What is Ethnography? Aana Marie Vigen (Loyola University, USA) Chapter 2: The Ethnographic Turn in Theology and Ethics Christian Scharen (PThU, the Netherlands) Chapter 3: Critiques of the Use of Social Science in Theology and Ethics, Christian Scharen (PThU, the Netherlands) Chapter 4: Theological Justifications for Turning to Ethnography Aana Marie Vigen (Loyola University, USA) Part II - New Exemplars Chapter 5: A Conversation Between the Researcher and the Research Assistant on Ethnographic Praxis Elina Hankela & Clementine Nishimwe (University of Johannesburg, South Africa) Chapter 6: Ethnography and Crucified Bodies: A Liberationist-Incarnational Approach Sunder John Boopalan (Canadian Mennonite University, Canada) and RC Jongte (Princeton Theological Seminary, USA) Chapter 7: A Trauma-Ridden Body Lifted High: Eschatological Imagination in a Public Square Hee-Kyu Heidi Park, Ewha Women’s University, South Korea) Chapter 8: Theodicies at the Border: Grasping with Evil in the Lives of Indonesian Female Migrant Workers in Singapore Lailatul Fitriyah (Claremont School of Theology, USA) Chapter 9: Fieldnotes from the Garden: Methods, Ethics, and Rants Nikki Hoskins (University of Scranton, USA) Chapter 10: The Curious Case of the Swedish Woman: Ethnographic Reflexivity and Accountability in Transnational Feminism Sara A. Williams (Fairfield University, USA) Chapter 11: Qualitatively Studying Evangelical Whiteness Nicole Symmonds (Columbia Theological Seminary, USA) Chapter 12: Inhabiting the Aftermath of Violence: Guns and the Practice of Vigil Keeping Michael Grigoni (Wake Forest University, USA) Chapter 13: Making Lemonade with Substitute Sugar: Towards an Ethics of Receptivity AnneMarie Mingo (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, USA) Part III - Method Chapter 14: Benedictions: For Those Willing to Give Ethnography a Try Bibliography About the Contributors Index
Christian Scharen is Vice-President of Applied Research at Auburn Theological Seminary, USA. Aana Marie Vigen is Professor of Christian Social Ethics at Loyola University Chicago, USA.
Reviews for Ethnography as Christian Theology and Ethics: A Fully Revised 2nd Edition
This 2nd edition of the volume is no less important than the first one. Then, it was an inspiration for many of us who looked for ways of integrating theology, ethics, and ethnography. Now, by including contemporary examples and adding new and relevant research to the arguments, it offers stimulating reading for anyone who wants to read and do embodied modes of theology. In a culture obsessed by separation, this volume does the important work of suggesting how we might do theology in ways that hold together reflection and ethics as well as research and discipleship. * Jonas Ideström, University College Stockholm, Sweden *
