The Great Escape: A Modern Charismatic Movement within the Presbyterian Church

The present thesis examines the relationship between Youth Conference Ministries (YCM) and the Presbyterian Church. YCM is a charismatic organization that organizes youth retreats for students in middle school and high school, with the goal of charismatically educating the youth of America. The focus of this thesis is on the Great Escape Southwind, a middle school retreat that caters to the southern portion of United States. My thesis first traces the biblical and historical underpinnings of charismatic Christianity. Next it provides an ethnographic case study of the Great Escape, focusing on its ability to foster spiritual growth of students through an enthusiastic response to the Holy Spirit. Finally it examines the relationship between YCM and the Presbyteries that populate its retreats. Overall this thesis shows how YCM provides a charismatic service to the local Presbyterian Churches, allowing for its adolescent parishioners to remain enthusiastically active as they progress towards adulthood.

Shaping the at-risk youth

The category of the `at-risk' youth currently underpins a good deal of youth policy. Primarily, it centres around a range of programs associated with the need for state intervention. The `at-risk' youth tenuously appears at the intersection of a variety of knowledges/problematisations, such as vocational guidance, youth welfare, family management, and so on. Whilst it is argued that in some ways, the `at-risk' youth simply replaces older characterisations used in the policing of the young, it will also be argued that the preventative policies associated with `risk' are constituted in terms of factors rather than individuals, that prevention is no longer primarily based upon personal expertise, but rather upon the gathering and collation of statistical knowledge which identifies `risks' within given populations, and that `risk' legitimates unlimited governmental intervention. Importantly, the category of the `at-risk' youth underpins crucial sections of policy documents such as the Finn Report (into credentialling/education and vocational competency). In this case, youth is deemed to be `at-risk' of not making the transition to adulthood successfully. It will be argued that not only is the Finn Report significant in the administrative and cultural shaping of the category of `youth', but also by employing the notion of `risk', the Report puts in place yet another element of an effective network of governmental intelligibility covering the young. Finally, it will be argued that young women, as a specific an example of a `risk' group (vis-a-vis obtaining certain types of employment), require particular forms of intervention, primarily through changing the vocational aspirations of their parents.

Tennyson and youth

This paper will examine the prominence of Alfred Tennyson's work in several textual accounts of youth penned between 1892 and the present day, by writers including T. S. Eliot, Virgina Woolf, Joseph Conrad, James Joyce, Kingsley Amis, J. M. Coetzee, William Faulkner and Andrew Motion. The young Woolf broke in her new pens by copying out Tennyson's 'Tithonus'; Eliot had a taste for Tennyson's 'martial and sanguinary poetry; as a young man. Kingsley Amis was singular among his contemporaries precisely because he admired the work of a poet considered outdated, and a reference for Modernist verse over that of Tennyson is seen as a sign of sophistication (however ironically presented) in the writings of people as diverse as Auden, Motion and Coetzee. [From the Author]

Combating homophobia : preliminary results of a school-based program to reduce discrimination against same-sex attracted youth

Two key determinants of mental health are (a) freedom from discrimination and (b) social connectedness. Same-sex attracted youth who are subjected to violence and discrimination, or who experience homophobia in their everyday lives are at greater risk of mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts and behaviours. As one of the most significant sites of homophobia is the school, a 6-week school-based program designed to help students explore their attitudes to gays and lesbians was developed, called “Pride & Prejudice”. In order to evaluate the usefulness of the program, students’ attitudes were measured before and after their participation. Variables assessed were: beliefs about gender roles, social desirability, attitudes to gay men and lesbians, social connectedness, self-esteem, and attitudes to race. Attitudes towards gay men held by students were significantly more positive after the program, and the level of attendance during the program significantly predicted > this change. A significant positive change also occurred in attitudes towards lesbians. Process evaluation showed that students generally viewed the program positively. From this preliminary data, it can be concluded that school-based programs delivered to individual classes in which students are given the opportunity to explore their attitudes towards lesbians and gay men are likely to lead to a significant reduction in homophobia. Health-promoting schools now have available to them an effective tool for promoting opportunities for students to reflect on their attitudes towards gay men and lesbians, and other aspects of “social diversity”. It is hoped that school-wide implementation of such a program will eventually lead to a reduction in the discrimination same-sex attracted youth often experience (either directly, or indirectly), and improve the social-connectedness of all students.

Levante sua bandeira! o estatuto da juventude no Brasil: teoria e prática no contexto juvenil (2004-2011)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

[Proceedings]

Mode of access: Internet.

Report of the Governor's Conference on Youth Fitness : Robert Allerton Park, Monticello, May 5,6,7, 1957.

Cover title.