An imaginative investigation into a historical crime that sheds new light on Jewish history.

In 1734 a pedlar turned smuggler named Jacob Harris slit the throats of three people in a pub in Sussex. This triple-murder, for which he was hanged and gibbeted, remains the most violent crime ever committed by a British Jew. Yet today it is all but forgotten.

In The Jewish pedlar, Tony Kushner goes in search of the enigmatic Harris. Digging into a remarkable range of sources, from law records and newspaper reports to ballads and folktales, he follows the traces of Harris's legend across three hundred years of British history. In doing so, he reconstructs the world of Jewish pedlars and criminals across many continents. The lives these figures eked out at the margins of society paint a picture of persistent antisemitism - but also of remarkable integration.

Intellectually bold and deeply humane, The Jewish pedlar takes a new, grassroots approach to the history of Jews in the modern world, shedding light on everyday lives from the Enlightenment to the Holocaust and beyond.

The Routledge Handbook of Field Research presents a comprehensive, go-to resource for staff and students in preparing for and thinking about the doing of field research, including both individual fieldwork and group field classes.

Framed by rapidly evolving debates relating to environmental and social justice, decolonialism, the climate crisis, and post-truth society, as well as taking into account ethical, health and safety, and other practical considerations, researchers are faced with a complex and evolving set of factors when making decisions. Working from foundational questions relating to the need for and importance of field research, of where the 'field' is, through logistical and practical concerns, to complex debates around equality and diversity, power relations, sustainability and ethical conundrums, this book is not a simple, formulaic 'how to' guide. Instead, the handbook offers a more critical and reflective approach - acting more as a 'how to start to think critically about' text. In providing a comprehensive and cutting-edge overview of key debates and considerations in the planning, doing, and wrapping up of field research, the handbook shares examples and reflections from experienced field researchers and field class leaders as well as scenarios, debates, and critical questions to help guide field researchers through their research journey. While there is a rapidly expanding array of books on research methods and epistemologies, this handbook offers a unique contribution that addresses distinct gaps in the current literature. Through a strong emphasis on field class and group-based field research, this handbook offers a unique resource to support field class leaders in thinking through the design and doing of field classes, and adopts a pedagogical approach in 'asking difficult questions' of the reader rather than offering 'the answer'. In so doing, we promote a deeper, reflective engagement with the complexities of the research journey.

The Routledge Handbook of Field Research includes contributions from over 50 leading authors, culminating in an essential resource for both experienced field researchers and field class leaders as well as newcomers to lone and group-based field research.

Empirical art: Filmmaking for fieldwork in practice is an insightful exploration of what the craft of filmmaking brings to social science research. Providing creative avenues on how to narrate encounters, relationships, and experiences during fieldwork, this comprehensive volume offers a rich tapestry of theoretical explorations and explorative methodologies. Skilfully connecting the worlds of ethnography, art and cinema, the contributors in this book act as a compass for filmmakers and researchers venturing to use a camera and microphone to relate and narrate their research collaborations and fieldsites.

Drawing from the authors' extensive experience in disciplines like social anthropology, environmental humanities, and political science, "Empirical Art" breaks down the intricate process of crafting ethnographic films that departs from the researcher's subjectivity. Covering aspects of filmmaking from conceptualisation to production and distribution, readers are equipped with a treasure trove of collaborative techniques, innovative approaches, and ethical considerations necessary to generate and examine storytelling practices in contemporary fields of study.

The authors discuss the significance of the multiple roles that technologies of filmmaking play in reflecting on cultural practices, social dynamics, and (beyond) human storytelling and their transformative potentials. Whether a seasoned filmmaker, an aspiring ethnographer, or an academic seeking new dimensions for their research, Empirical Art serves as a guide to integrating visual storytelling, cinema craft and empirical research.

This book calls for a reformation of the image of monotheism in studies of Japanese religions and in the study of religions in general. According to most scholars, "Japan" and "monotheism" mix like oil and water. Whatever Japanese religion is, we are told, the "Western" category of monotheism cannot not be imposed. The predominance of this standard ruling makes critical the study of Japan's new religious movements (NRMs)-exemplified in this volume by Kurozumikyo, Tenrikyo, and Konkokyo, which have occasionally and controversially been pinned with the monotheism label. However, significant disagreement and confusion have persisted for nearly a century in Western scholarship over precisely how to classify these religions and furthermore over where their monotheism, if it exists, might have come from. Chandler argues that this long history of dissonance in the West is the result of a complex layering of taxonomical, sociocultural, and scholarly issues. Furthermore, he suggests this impasse can be addressed via an updated definition of monotheism that takes into account its nuances and includes new monotheistic subcategories. The book reveals the monotheism of Japan's NRMs in light of this new framework and through a new historical investigation into Japanese sources of monotheism. It is especially relevant to scholars with an interest in Japanese religions and new religious movements as well as the comparative study of religion and philosophy of religion.

Jonathan T. Chow explores the Roman Catholic Church's engagement with transnational human rights norms and how its understandings of Catholic identity and doctrine have profoundly shaped the politics surrounding contraception and human trafficking in the Philippines.

In the global politics of morality, the Catholic Church is one of the world's foremost practitioners, shaping not only the language of transnational moral norms but also how they are implemented at the domestic level. Through "norm thickening"-connecting transnational norms to deeply held local identities and religious teachings and institutionalizing those connections in policies, practices, and organizations-the book argues that the Church can build a more coherent and locally credible moral basis for transnational norms than international consensus alone. While in some cases, this can strengthen transnational norms and facilitate cooperation between the Church and the government, in other cases it can instead harden opposition to those norms and facilitate polarization, with significant consequences for Philippine society. Drawing on field interviews in the Philippines, as well as Vatican and UN documents, Chow paints a compelling picture of how one of the world's largest religions shapes the global moral landscape.

This book will be of particular interest to students of religion, Catholic theology, human rights, international relations theory, and Asian studies, and anyone seeking to better understand the transnational politics of morality.

This book examines African Latin Christianity from the fifth to the thirteenth century, exploring the complex interactions between local Christian communities and Vandals, Byzantines, and Arabs.

Focusing on the resilience of successive generations of African Christians and their capacity to adapt to challenging political circumstances, Marco Cristini delves into their relationships with local rulers, popes, and European sovereigns such as Charlemagne. He argues that the history of Augustine's heirs represents a crucial phase in the transformation of the Mediterranean's religious landscape during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. This book offers readers fresh insights into much-debated topics, including the role of religious otherness under the Vandals, Justinian's religious policies, Christian-Muslim relations, and the impact of Western medieval missionaries on indigenous Christian communities. It also sheds light on the remarkable longevity of African Latin Christianity, demonstrating its ability to not only survive but also thrive under 'heretical' or 'infidel' rulers for nearly eight centuries.

With its accessible, in-depth, and comprehensive analysis, this book is an essential resource for scholars, postgraduates, and undergraduates interested in Late Antiquity, the Early Middle Ages, the history of North Africa, pre-modern Christianity, early Islam, and the Crusades.

Deagon addresses the need for a robust theoretical foundation for religious freedom that accounts for its transcendent nature.

What is the idea of religious freedom? Where does it come from? Why should it be protected? These important questions for understanding religious freedom are usually addressed through secular and immanent foundations which are unable to sufficiently grapple with the religious nature of religious freedom - its connection with the divine. Deagon proposes an alternative approach rooted in Christian Natural Law. In Part I of the book, Deagon defines and develops Christian Natural Law, identifying three consistent themes: Love, the True and the Good. In Part II, Deagon deploys Christian Natural Law to articulate a theological framework for religious freedom which shows that religious freedom is an individual and social good, is oriented to the true and is grounded in love. In doing so, Deagon offers a new foundation for religious freedom which properly considers it as a matter of both human and divine action.

This book will be of interest to those engaged in law and religion studies, in particular scholars of religious freedom, theology and jurisprudence and human rights.