1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910821070603321

Autore

Bell Catherine M. <1953-2008.>

Titolo

Ritual : perspectives and dimensions / / Catherine Bell

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Oxford, : Oxford University Press, USA, 2009

ISBN

0-19-988990-2

1-282-36607-6

9786612366079

0-19-973947-1

Edizione

[[Rev. ed.]]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (368 p.)

Disciplina

203.8

Soggetti

Ritual

Religion

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

This 2009 edition includes a two page foreword by Reza Aslan.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Part I: Theories: The History of Interpretation; ONE: Myth or Ritual: Questions of Origin and Essence; TWO: Ritual and Society: Questions of Social Function and Structure; THREE: Ritual Symbols, Syntax, and Praxis: Questions of Cultural Meaning and Interpretation; Part II: Rites: The Spectrum of Ritual Activities; FOUR: Basic Genres of Ritual Action; FIVE: Characteristics of Ritual-like Activities; Part III: Contexts: The Fabric of Ritual Life; SIX: Ritual Density; SEVEN: Ritual Change; EIGHT: Ritual Reification; Notes; References; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O

Sommario/riassunto

From handshakes and toasts to chant and genuflection, ritual pervades our social interactions and religious practices. Still, few of us could identify all of our daily and festal ritual behaviors, much less explain them to an outsider. Similarly, because of the variety of activities that qualify as ritual and their many contradictory yet, in many ways, equally legitimate interpretations, ritual seems to elude any systematic historical and comparative scrutiny. In this book, Catherine Bell offers a practical introduction to ritual practice and its study; she surveys the most influential theorie