The Book Depository The Ritual Process by Victor Turner
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Price: £39.99
Brand: The Book Depository
Description: The Ritual Process : Paperback : Taylor & Francis Inc : 9780202011905 : 0202011909 : 31 Dec 1995 : In The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure, Victor Turner examines rituals of the Ndembu in Zambia and develops his now-famous concept of Communitas. The Book Depository The Ritual Process by Victor Turner - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: The Book Depository
Product ID: 9780202011905
MPN: 0202011909
GTIN: 9780202011905
Author: SW
Rating: 5
Review: As described. Arrived well packaged and on time. Thank you.
Author: Abner Rosenweig
Rating: 4
Review: In the introduction, Roger Abrahams makes a point to express what a warm, jovial, theatrical personality Victor Turner had. I suspect he does this because these traits--in fact, any detectable hint of personality--are largely absent from Turner's writing. This is a dry, academic work, and as a non-anthropologist, much of it didn't pertain to me. I'm simply not concerned with the finer points of Ndembu ritual. Nevertheless, I found much value in parts of the book (namely, chapters 3 through 5). I got the book to investigate Turner's distinction between structure and anti-structure (or communitas or liminality, as he variously calls it). Building on Van Gennep's Rites of Passage, Turner identifies a universal psychosocial dynamic running through the human personality and human society: a rational, hierarchical, analytical structure, and a holistic, communal, sacred totality. Turner argues that a dialectic between structure and anti-structure is present in all of our lives and all societies, and that an alternating fluctuation through both elements are integral parts of human life. Neither can rise to ascendancy without creating a distortion, and the wisest approach is a careful balance between the two principles. This is a fascinating discussion with profound implications in anthropology, psychology, politics, economics, and beyond. As a writer, I originally purchased the work to relate its ideas to story structure, and the book doesn't disappoint here, either. For whatever reason you're reading the book, if you can sort through the dry spells and the irrelevant material, there's much here for any student of the humanities to ponder.
