Mock ritual in the modern era / Reginald McGinnis and John Vignaux Smyth.
| Author/creator | McGinnis, Reginald, 1959 |
| Other author | Smyth, John Vignaux. |
| Other author | Oxford University Press. |
| Format | Electronic |
| Publication Info | New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2022] |
| Description | 253 pages ; 25 cm. |
| Supplemental Content | Full text available from Oxford Scholarship Online |
| Subjects |
| Series | Oxford ritual studies Oxford ritual studies. ^A1107898 |
| Abstract | Beginning with the French eighteenth century and concluding in the present, this book explores complex interrelations between ritual and mockery, which is not infrequently the unofficial face of claims to rationality. The book is particularly concerned with how the mocking and parodying of ritual often associated with modern rationalism may itself become ritualized, and other ways in which supposedly sham ritual may survive its "outing." Just as the very concept of ritual is seen by anthropologists and others as intimately related to modernity (at once the site of its invention and the reflection of an antiritualism associated with secular societies), so this book traces the evolution of what the authors call mock ritual, in various forms, throughout the modern era, relying on literary, historical, and anthropological texts as well as encyclopedias, newspapers, and films. It places famous eighteenth- and nineteenth-century authors in dialogue with contemporary popular culture, from Diderot, Sterne, and Flaubert to the TV shows Survivor and Judge Judy, and from Voltaire to the Charlie Hebdo tragedy of 2015. The authors' use of literary texts in addressing anthropological questions has precedents in the work of Georges Bataille, among others, who viewed literature as "the principal heir" and a continuation of "the game of religions." Ritualistic and mock ritualistic aspects of comedy and ridicule are considered along with those, notably, of sexuality, medicine, art, education, and justice. In addition to a chapter on dueling, the book contains a postscript that considers various aspects of these subjects in the contemporary world. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-236) and index. |
| Access restriction | Available only to authorized users. |
| Technical details | Mode of access: World Wide Web |
| Genre/form | Electronic books. |
| LCCN | 2022900150 |
| ISBN | 0197637434 hardcover |
| ISBN | 9780197637432 hardcover |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Resources | Access Content Online | ✔ Available |