Pregnancy and Birth Critical Theological Conceptions
Produktdetaljer
Biographical note
Karen O'Donnell is Academic Dean and Lecturer at Westcott House, Cambridge. A feminist, ecumenical, practical theologian, her interdisciplinary research interests span theology, spirituality, and pedagogy. She is the author of Broken Bodies and The Dark Womb, which was longlisted for the 2023 Michael Ramsey Prize. Claire Williams is a teacher and researcher at Regents Theological College, and the author of Peculiar Discipleship."This beautifully curated collection reveals the ambiguities, privileges, disruptions, pain, trauma, and silences that pregnant and 'un/pregnant' bodies experience in Christian discourse. I was moved and challenged by the poetic, personal, and critical reflections – from surrogacy, abortion, trans pregnancy, single motherhood, fat bodies, Dalit women, to menopause – that centre pregnancy and birth as sites of feminist theological meaning making."
- Dawn Llewellyn,
"While, from Jesus onwards, Christian teachers, mystics and preachers have drawn on the imagery of pregnancy and birth to reflect on faith, these topics have rarely received sustained theological investigation. This magnificent volume finally brings the common yet infinitely varied experiences of pregnancy and birth into the centre of theological and spiritual enquiry, including surrogacy, adoption, single, queer and masculine birthing and parenting, and much more besides. Combining first person autobiographical and autoethnographic reflections, poetry, biblical, historical and theological research with pastoral, liturgical and practical discussion, the book as a whole opens up a dizzying range of perspectives, never closing enquiry down but always opening up fresh angles and important questions. I welcome this groundbreaking text and congratulate the editors and contributors on a fine achievement. I expect it to create a stir of excitement and much ongoing study, reflection and prayer."
- Nicola Slee,
“Ambitious in scope, rigorous in its analysis, and generous in spirit, this book makes a crucial contribution to our understanding of birth, pregnancy, and embodiment itself. Eschewing the binaries that have long defined these subjects, the book achieves a richer, more hospitable, more disruptive, and ultimately more prophetic account of life’s beginnings.”
- Jennifer Banks,