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The Magico-Religious Ritual Of Our Time
102 years ago, Arnold Van Gennep published The Rites Of Passage, a book examining patterns of ritual practice. In this book, Gennep noted the symbolic role of territorial security rites. He wrote: “The...
View ArticleA Green Party Of Displaced Meaning?
Anthropologist Grant McCracken, in his book Culture and Consumption, describes a cultural phenomenon he calls “displaced meaning”. In this practice, individuals, but also organizations and the culture...
View ArticleCan You Spot The Fake Ethnography?
One of the following titles is not from a real ethnography. Can you pick the fake study? Sociable robots, jazz music, and divination: Contingency as a cultural resource for negotiating problems of...
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Is There Another Species Of Humans – Homo capensis – Enslaving Us All?
Recent episodes of Doctor Who have featured a strange race of humanoid beings, a part of a conspiracy called The Silence. These beings have small faces and huge skulls. They live among us, controlling...
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Is An Anthropological Study of Atheists Possible?
Over at Social Analysis: The International Journal of Social and Cultural Practice, the editors have recently published an entire issue devoted to the ethnographic study of atheists. This single issue...
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Theism, Even For Atheists, Courtesy of Anthropology
Yesterday, I came upon the latest issue of the journal Social Analysis, which focuses on the anthropology of atheists. The issue, with the title: Being Godless: Ethnographies of Atheism and...
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