Steve de Gruchy, Nico Koopman and Sytse Strijbos (Editors) From Our Side Emerging Perspectives on Development and Ethics

16,5 x 24 cm 320 pag. € 39,50 ISBN 978 90 5170 974 2 NUR 740 2008

From our side is a collaborative effort of younger scholars in southern Africa and the Netherlands who are interested in the relationship between development and ethics, from a Christian point of view. The 17 chapters that make up the book have been produced through a unique set of partnerships, in which the authors have intentionally worked with practitioners who are working in the development arena. The essays were also shared in a number of settings with the authors, so that they have also benefited from this creative partnership process, and these partnerships have embraced people in both the South and the North, signalling a desire for a global dialogue led by Africa on matters which have a strong impact upon the continent. The chapters are grouped around three important themes: identity, culture and gender; globalisation, poverty and the market; and power and the struggle for life. An introduction and epilogue, together with the guest foreword from Archbishop Ndungane draw the themes together and signal the contribution of the book to wider debates. Throughout the text, the reader is reminded of the contribution of the Christian faith to matters of development and ethics. The editors Steve de Gruchy is Professor of Theology and Development at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Nico Koopman is Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Sytse Strijbos has lectured philosophy at VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands and at the North West University (Potchefstroom Campus), South Africa, and is currently chairman of the International Institute for Development and Ethics (Europe). This is an important book, which needed to be written. It now needs to be read by everyone with any interest in development issues within southern Africa and beyond, and especially in the role that the Church, alongside other faith communities, has the potential to play. Njongunkulu Ndungane, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Bestel/Order