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Ritual: A Very Short Introduction [#421]
Ritual: A Very Short Introduction [#421]
¥1,969
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  • A concise and informative introduction to ritual from both a theoretical and historical perspectives.
  • Explores how ritual functions in modern culture and society
  • Discusses how ritual is part of what it means to be human
  • Describes a number of specific rites.

Ritual is part of what it means to be human. Like sports, music, and drama, ritual defines and enriches culture, putting those who practice it in touch with sources of value and meaning larger than themselves. Ritual is unavoidable, yet it holds a place in modern life that is decidedly ambiguous. What is ritual? What does it do? Is it useful? What are the various kinds of ritual? Is ritual tradition bound and conservative or innovative and transformational?

Alongside description of a number of specific rites, this Very Short Introduction explores ritual from both theoretical and historical perspectives. Barry Stephenson focuses on the places where ritual touches everyday life: in politics and power; moments of transformation in the life cycle; as performance and embodiment. He also discusses the boundaries of ritual, and how and why certain behaviors have been studied as ritual while others have not. 

Stephenson shows how ritual is an important vehicle for group and identity formation; how it generates and transmits beliefs and values; how it can be used to exploit and oppress; and how it has served as a touchstone for thinking about cultural origins and historical change. Encompassing the breadth and depth of modern ritual studies, Barry Stephenson's Very Short Introduction also develops a narrative of ritual's place in social and cultural life. 

Index: 

List of illustrations
Introduction

Chapter 1 Ritualization
Chapter 2 Ritual and the Origins of Culture
Chapter 3 Ritual and Society
Chapter 4 Ritual and Transformation
Chapter 5 Definitions, Types, Domains
Chapter 6 Ritual as Performance
Chapter 7 The Fortunes of Ritual
References
Further reading
Index

About the author: 

Barry Stephenson, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Memorial University, St. John's, Canada
 
Barry Stephenson is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland, and coeditor of the Oxford Ritual Studies Series. He is the author of Performing the Reformation: Public Ritual in the City of Luther and Veneration and Revolt: Hermann Hesse and Swabian Pietism.

Product details

ISBN : 9780199943524

Author: 
Barry Stephenson
Pages
144 Pages
Format
Paperback
Size
111 x 174 mm
Pub date
Feb 2015
Series
Very Short Introductions
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Ritual: A Very Short Introduction [#421]

Ritual: A Very Short Introduction [#421]

Ritual: A Very Short Introduction [#421]