Editorial Committee:
Paul Anderson
(Series Editor, 2014-present)
Donn Weinholtz
Abigail E. Adams
Ben Pink Dandelion
Barbara Addison
Don Smith
Jean Mulhern
Stephen W. Angell
As a venture of the Friends Association for Higher Education, the Quakers and the Disciplines series gathers collections of essays featuring the contributions of Quakers to one or more of the academic disciplines. Noting historic values embraced within the Religious Society of Friends regarding particular fields of inquiry, each volume includes essays highlighting contributions by Quakers as means of addressing the needs of contemporary society. Each volume is designed to be serviceable within classroom and other discussion settings, fostering explorations of how pressing issues of the day might be addressed with creativity and passionate concern, informed by a rich heritage of faith, discovery, and action.
Quakers, Social Work, and Justice Concerns
Quakers and the Disciplines: Volume 7
Available now on Amazon.
In this volume of the Friends Association for Higher Education’s series on Friends and the academic disciplines, ten authors apply theory and history of Quaker work for social change in offering insight into how Friends have approached social work.
This collection of essays is divided into three sections. The first considers theory of social work and change. Christy Randazzo applies the work of John Paul Lederach to a theological understanding of Quaker testimony and social action. Daniel Rhodes shares about his application of Quaker principles in his educational work with social work students. Douglas Bennett describes the history and development of Quaker organizations in addressing social issues.
A second section looks at individual Quakers’ lives and their work. Paul Anderson examines the life of prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, Mark Bredin discusses progressive reformer Lucretia Mott, and Wendy Grab considers the Quaker influences on social work pioneer Jane Addams.
The third section considers collective work of Friends in addressing social issues. Nelson Bingham explores the creation of the first mental hospital, the York Retreat, begun by Friends in England. Max L. Carter describes the work of Friends among Midwestern Indians in the early 1800s. Linda B. Selleck draws from her book Gentle Invaders to share the history of Quaker women’s educational work among African Americans before and after the Civil War. Jennifer Buck details Quaker involvement in the women’s Suffrage movement.
About the Editors:
Max L. Carter taught in Friends secondary schools in Ramallah and Philadelphia and at Earlham College and Guilford College, retiring in 2015 from Guilford as the William R. Rogers Director of Friends Center and Quaker Studies.
Jennifer M. Buck is an Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Azusa Pacific University. She holds a PhD in Philosophy of Religion and Theology from Claremont Graduate University and an MDiv from Fuller Theology Seminary.
Daniel Rhodes is currently the undergraduate director of the Social Work program at UNC-Greensboro. Daniel received his PhD in Educational Leadership with a graduate certificate in Women and Gender Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2008.
Erin Johnson, MSW is currently BSW Director of Field Education, Assistant Professor of Social Work at George Fox University.
Contributors:
Christy Randazzo, Doug Bennett, Daniel Rhodes (editor), Paul Anderson (series editor), Mark Bredin, Wendy Grab, Nelson Bingham, Max L. Carter (editor), Linda B. Selleck, Jennifer M. Buck (editor)
Quakers, Creation Care, and Sustainability
Quakers and the Disciplines: Volume 6
From the Introduction:
“Perhaps the Quaker tradition’s activist tactics coupled with contemplative spirituality could prove a useful offering as future Friends and others seek ways to engage in the work of personal and societal transformation.”
About This Collection:
In this unprecedented gathering of essays on ecology, creation care, and sustainability, over two dozen Quaker authors and scholars address some of the most pressing concerns of our day. Beginning with Quaker themes historically, essays also move toward developing a Quaker ecotheology, discuss Quaker approaches to the environment within academic disciplines, and share stories of sustainability—both individually and organizationally. As a disciplinary contribution to the world from the Friends Association for Higher Education, this book not only reports on ecotheology in action, it also contributes to its furtherance with the discussion questions at the end of each section and an expansive bibliography. An excellent resource for study groups or the classroom, readers concerned about the environment, climate change, and the role of people of faith in caring for the planet will find this volume a must-read.
Critical Acclaim for this Volume:
“This is the richest resource on Quakerism and creation care to date! Rooted in deep spirituality and practical experience, the chapters canvas the topic from history to theology, from academics to activism. I have never seen the case for a distinctively Quaker call to stewardship presented with this breadth and force before.”
―Philip Clayton, Ingram Professor of Theology at the Claremont School of Theology and author of Adventures in the Spirit
“On page two of George Fox’s Journal, he talked about the three great loves of our religion: love of God, love of neighbor, and love of God’s good earth. This remarkable collection speaks to all three loves in the Quaker past, present, and future. I was inspired and moved by the insights, wisdom, and faithfulness evidenced in this book.”
—Steve Chase, Manager of Academic Initiatives at the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict and author of Letters to a Fellow Seeker
About the Editors:
Cherice Bock teaches in the Creation Care Program at Portland Seminary of George Fox University and served as visiting professor of environmental studies at the Oregon Extension in 2018.
Stephen Potthoff serves as associate professor of religion and philosophy at Wilmington College in Ohio.
Quakers, Politics, and Economics
Quakers and the Disciplines: Volume 5
For over 350 years, Quakers (members of the Religious Society of Friends) have offered unapologetic prophetic witness to the formation of public policy and to scholarly discourse in political science and economics. This volume offers 18 new essays on aspects of that engagement, with topics including:
- Religion as not just a private commitment but also a public witness.
- Explorations of the moral dimensions of economic and political life.
- Exemplary thought and practice in the lives of individual Quakers.
- The blend of service, advocacy, and activism experienced by Friends.
- The role of faith in defining and building a just social order.
- The efforts of Quaker organizations and movements to bring about political and economic reforms.
- Visions of constructive and compassionate ways to address global challenges and crises.
The combination of essays and queries is designed to make the book serviceable within classroom and discussion settings and useful to scholars crossing disciplinary boundaries.
“Most people associate Quakers with peace; fewer know the breadth of how we as Friends have practiced our faith from an economic perspective. Simplicity and integrity, of course; but this important volume–Quakers, Politics, and Economics–offers a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the historical, intellectual, environmental, political and spiritual wholeness of economic life. As we confront the cultural and social shifts of our global society that hungers for peace and justice, the economic choices we make in public policy will have significant impact on the welfare of the planet and people throughout the world. This eclectic collection of essays offers the reader material for both thoughtful discussion and spiritual reflection.” -Diane Randall, Executive Secretary Friends Committee on National Legislation
Quakers, Business, and Industry
Quakers and the Disciplines: Volume 4
Quakers, Business, and Industry is Volume 4 of the Friends Association for Higher Education’s “Quakers & the Disciplines” series.
This book focuses on the much-vaunted reputation of Quakers in business and industry. It interrogates some of the myths about Quaker success and their reasons for engaging in commerce, offers case studies of key areas of business, and highlights some of the pioneers of industry. This volume also helps theorize key Quaker understandings of wealth-creation and explores some of the shifting patterns and possibilities that have emerged in the last century and a half.
Royalties from Quakers, Business and Industry (Q&D 4), Quakers and Literature (Q&D 3), Befriending Truth (Q&D 2), Quaker Perspectives in Higher Education (Q&D 1), and all other books in the “Quakers & the Disciplines” series, will accrue to support the Friends Association for Higher Education’s ongoing publishing efforts.
Quakers and Literature
Quakers and the Disciplines: Volume 3
Quakers and Literature: Quaker Perspectives is Volume 3 of the Friends Association for Higher Education’s “Quakers & the Disciplines” series.
For the majority of the more than 350 years of the Society of Friends, Quakers regularly denounced imaginative literature and the arts as at best frivolous and at worst morally depraved. A fundamental friction seems to lie between the Quaker testimonies of simplicity and integrity and the carnivalesque spirit that infuses artistic representation. The essays in this book, however, engage that tension and carefully consider questions surrounding the relationship between Quakerism and the literary, in its multiple forms. From considerations of early Quaker spiritual writings to explorations of Quaker novelists and poets, from historical examinations of literature and peace movements to pedagogical discussions about teaching drama and memoir in a Quakerly manner, the essays in this volume ponder the complex nexus of Quakerism and imaginative literature. These wide-ranging articles address the spiritual, poetic, fictional, and autobiographical work of writers like John Woolman, Mary Neale, Susanna Morris, Virginia Woolf, Jessamyn West, Thomas Kelly, Helen Morgan Brooks, Joan Slonczewski, Rex Stout, Mohandas Gandhi, Dorothy Day, and Marian Wright Edelman. Taken together, the essays suggest that Quakers have a particularly valuable vantage point from which to comprehend the ethical import of such texts.
Royalties from Quakers and Literature (Q&D 3), Befriending Truth (Q&D 2), Quaker Perspectives in Higher Education (Q&D 1), and all other books in the “Quakers & the Disciplines” series, will accrue to support the Friends Association for Higher Education’s ongoing publishing efforts.
Befriending Truth: Quaker Perspectives
Quakers and the Disciplines: Volume 2
Befriending Truth: Quaker Perspectives is Volume 2 of the Friends Association for Higher Education’s “Quakers & the Disciplines” series.
Truth, today, is a highly disputed notion, yet remains a central concern for Friends. This book is an exploration of the meaning and function of the complex notion of “truth” within Quaker life and thought, both historically, and in current practice. In this book a dozen Quaker scholars, from across the theological spectrum, and from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, contribute their voices to this important discussion.
Royalties from Befriending Truth (Q&D 2), Quaker Perspectives in Higher Education (Q&D 1), and all other books in the “Quakers & the Disciplines” series will accrue to support the Friends Association for Higher Education’s ongoing publishing efforts.
Quaker Perspectives in Higher Education
Quakers and the Disciplines: Volume 1
Quaker Perspectives in Higher Education is composed of articles drawn from the first fourteen issues of Quaker Higher Education (QHE), FAHE’s biannual, scholarly journal, which the association launched in 2007.
Initiated as a vehicle for promoting communication among Quaker scholars, QHE has become a popular venue for sharing many of the finest papers and write-ups of presentations from the annual FAHE conference, products that previously too often disappeared following each conference’s conclusion. It also solicits articles addressing a wide variety of topics and issues of interest to Friends. QHE is published in April and November of each year. This book is the first in a planned series sponsored by Friends Association for Higher Education. Each volume in the series will focus on Quaker contributions to a specific academic discipline, such as history or economics, or to a broader academic area, such as the humanities or sciences. There will also be occasional volumes addressing Quaker academicians’ contributions to important concerns such as peacemaking, commerce, and environmental stewardship. While numerous texts and journals have explored the lives and works of Friends who are academicians – for example, Rufus Jones, Howard and Anna Brinton, Kenneth and Elise Boulding and many others – collective Quaker contributions within the various academic disciplines have been largely ignored. This series will address that gap.
Royalties from Quaker Perspectives in Higher Education and all other books in the Friends Association for Higher Education series will accrue to FAHE to support the association’s ongoing publishing efforts.
