
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
The Hidden Powers of Ritual is an engaging introduction to ritual studies that presents ritual as an evolved form of human behavior of almost unimaginable significance to our species. Every day across the globe, people gather to share meals, brew caffeinated beverages, or honor their ancestors. In this book, Bradd Shore, a respected anthropologist, reaches beyond familiar "big-R" rituals to present life's humbler, overshadowed moments, exploring everything from the Balinese pelebon to baseball to family Zoom sessions in the age of Covid to the sobering reenactment rituals surrounding the Moore's Ford lynchings. In each ritual, Shore shows how our capacity to ritualize behavior is a remarkable part of the human story.
Encompassing both the commonly unlabeled "interaction rituals" studied by sociologists and the symbolically elaborated sacred rituals of religious studies, Shore organizes his conception around detailed case studies drawn from international research and personal experience, weaving scholarship with a memoir of a life encompassed by ritual. A probing exploration that matches breadth with accessibility, The Hidden Powers of Ritual is a provocative contribution to ritual theory that will appeal to a wide range of readers curious about why these unique repetitive acts matter in our lives.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Contents
- Preface
- 1âDiscovering the Power of Ritual
- 2âRethinking Behavior
- 3âThe Balinese Pelebon: The Ritual Dissolution of a Body
- 4âDo Nonhuman Animals Have Rituals?
- 5âRitual Combat: Gift Exchange as Revenge
- 6âTen Powers of Ritual
- 7âNostalgic Commemoration: Salem Camp Meeting
- 8âUnforgettable: The Mooreâs Ford Lynching Reenactment
- 9âRitual Baseball
- 10âFamily Zoom: Virtual Rituals in the Age of the Internet
- 11âDoes a Ritual Always Have a Meaning?
- 12âHarnessing the Powers of Ritual
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- References
- Suggested Resources in Ritual Studies
- Index