George Levine

Michael Rectenwald

Rochelle Almeida

Global Secularisms addresses the state of and prospects for secularism globally. Drawing from multiple fields, it brings together theoretical discussion and empirical case studies that illustrate "on-the-ground," extant secularisms as they interact with various religious, political, social, and economic contexts. Its point of departure is the fact that secularism is plural and that various secularisms have developed in various contexts and from various traditions around the world. Secularism takes on different social meanings and political valences wherever it is expressed. The essays collected here provide numerous points of contact between empirical case studies and theoretical reflection. This multiplicity informs and challenges the conceptual theorization of secularism as a universal doctrine. Analyses of different regions enrich our understanding of the meanings of secularism, providing comparative range to our notions of secularity. Theoretical treatments help to inform our understanding of secularism in context, enabling readers to discern what is at stake in the various regional expressions of secularity globally. While the bulk of the essays are case-based research, the current thinking of leading theorists and scholars is also included.

Global Secularisms in a Post-Secular Age

This study is an interdisciplinary inquiry that combines an examination of multi-ethnic literature from a vast variety of cultural environments together with contemporary psychotherapy. We live in an age in which mass grief - both the direct experience of it through natural and man-made disasters and the vicarious viewing of it through the media - has become a major cultural phenomenon. Posttraumatic loss resulting from terrorism, a relatively new site for the shared activity of mourning, makes it pertinent to examine the lessons that fiction can teach us about bereavement therapy and loss resolution. Does one's gender, race, skin color, nationality, cultural upbringing, or religious background have any impact upon the manner in which people from varying cultural environments choose to mourn their loss and resolve grief? By using the comparative literary approach, the author has been able to throw light on the manner in which mainstream Western mourning practices and behavior have been influenced and altered by exposure to those of minorities. Similarly, the author has argued that an examination of multi-ethnic literature teaches us that there is a need for counselors to apply sensitivity and understanding to the dictates of the socio-cultural background of their minority patients as they recommend methods of therapeutic healing. Finally, the book recommends the employment of international short fiction in the bereavement clinic as a means by which patients might resolve loss and achieve healing.

Rochelle Almeida

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