Disciples and Friends: Investigations in Disability, Dementia, and Mental Health

John Swinton has indelibly shaped the discipline of practical theology not only in the United Kingdom but globally, and has been especially influential in the areas of disability theology, dementia, healthcare, and chaplaincy. Swinton presses one question with a special intensity: What does it mean to be human? The chapters in this volume display why this question unifies his wide-ranging corpus of work and show how Swinton has answered it in the various domains he has explored. The chapters range as widely as his work, from Swintonian practical theological methodology, to specific themes like friendship, peace, and belonging. Several chapters offer concrete testimonies of how Swinton’s work has influenced scholars and practitioners alike. Contributors identify the pivotal moves in Swinton’s work and draw together into a single volume an account of how these themes have been developed in different material discussions.

Disciples and Friends, as a survey of John’s key methodological and theological stances, will become an indispensable resource for students and scholars of practical theology, disability theology, mental health, dementia, and cognate fields. The volume brings together renowned scholars who know not only John Swinton’s work but also him as a person. This knowledge enables contributors to insightfully link Swinton’s work to the life he has lived and to suggest promising avenues for further development of his signature ideas. In compiling for the first time an accessible survey of and introduction to one of the most important voices to emerge in disability theology for many decades, Disciples and Friends represents a seminal scholarly undertaking and a fitting tribute to Swinton’s legacy.