shift 4. ritual - wordpress.com · 04/10/2019 · ritual 2: ritual studies 37 ritual studies •...
TRANSCRIPT
• How does Nye define “ritual”? How can the same action be a ritual sometimes but not others?
• What shift took place in ritual studies during the 1990s? Illustrate your answer by using a theory of ritual in relation to any specific action.
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4. Ritual
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Today
• Ritual
1. What is ritual?
2. Ritual studies 3. Theories of ritual
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• RLG101H Facilitated Study Groups
➡ Eligible for course participation marks
➡ Run by former RLG101H students
• When + where:
➡ Mondays at 1–2pm in DV3131
➡ Tuesdays at 12–1pm in MN3140
➡ Wednesdays 1–2pm in MN2130
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FSGs
• Due October 11➡ Available on Quercus
➡ Find 1 or 2 partners!
➡ Pick a place to visit!
• Also file with advice for making (and thinking about) observations
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Field Research Contract
• Due October 22
• Instructions coming very soon!
• 4 paragraphs in total:
1. Belief (revised!)
2. Ritual
3. Text
4. Reflection
Film Analysis
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Anonymous Feedback
• Nice note from “DepressedCollegeKid420”
• Song request
• Please slow down
➡ When was it too fast?
➡ Don’t write what’s on the slides!
➡ Note: slide #s
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Belief?
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1. Meaning of “belief”?
2. Theories of belief
3. Belief + the study of religion
Belief
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1. What is ritual?
2. Ritual studies
3. Theories of ritual
Ritual
Ritual 1: What is “Ritual”?
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What is Ritual?
• Ritual = stuff people DO➡ But which stuff?? (Nye p. 129–33)
➡ Not necessarily repeated (e.g., rite of passage)
➡ Many definitions!
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• Nye: ritual as “meaningful action” (p. 133–34)
➡ Meaning is not about the act itself
➡ About relation between act and person
➡ Same action might be meaningful for one person/time/place but not others
➡ Examples?
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What is Ritual? John Beattie
• Instrumental vs. expressive action (p. 134-5)
➡ “Literal” vs. “symbolic” action
➡ Expressive/symbolic action = “ritual”
➡ Some actions may be instrumental OR expressive, some actions may be both
➡ Driving a car; cutting/growing hair
➡ Wearing/removing shoes; washing dishes
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Today’s Song
• “New Shoes” by Paolo Nutini (2006)
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“New Shoes”Woke up cold one Tuesday,
I’m looking tired and feeling quite sick, I felt like there was something missing
in my day to day life
Hey, I put some new shoes on, And suddenly everything is right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody’s smiling, it’s so inviting,
Oh, short on money,but long on time,Slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine
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Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City
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Ordinary items used in religious rituals?
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Rev. Dawn Leger (Anglican) Christ Church in Stouffville, ON
Eucharist
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Eid al-Fitr(Tajikistan)
Langar (Sikhism)
• Vegetarian food service in Gurdwara
• Free to all
• Principles of equality / no discrimination
• “the light of God is in all hearts”(Guru Granth Sahib)
• Golden Temple (Amritsar): feed approx. 80,000 people / day (on average)
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What is Ritual?
• Ritual = stuff people DO (i.e., actions)
➡ But which stuff??
➡ Many definitions!
• Ritual as meaningful (or expressive) action
➡ Meaning is relational➡ Meaning depends on the people and the
context
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Ritual 2: Ritual Studies
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Ritual Studies
• Ritual studies challenged academic assumption that religion was only about belief➡ Focus on
ACTIONS
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Ritual Studies
• Crisis in the 1990s (Nye p. 148)
• If so many things can be called “ritual,” is this really a useful term?
• Change in focus: ritual theories used for interpretation, not as description
➡ Theories as tools for understanding actions, and not for labelling them as “ritual” (or not “ritual”)
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Old question: “Is this action a ritual?”
New question: “What does this action mean?”
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Ritual Studies1. Ritual studies showed that actions were
important in religion
➡ Religion was not only about belief
2. Shift in focus within ritual studies
➡ From “Is this action a ritual?” to “What does this action mean?”
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Ritual 3: Theories of Ritual
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Theories of Ritual
• Emile Durkheim (society)
• Sigmund Freud (neurosis)
• Harvey Whitehouse (memory)
• Malory Nye (power)
• Arnold van Gennep (rites of passage)
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Theories of Ritual
• Many theories focus on the FUNCTION of ritual (not “content”)
➡ Not about (symbolic) meaning (e.g., bread = body of Christ)
➡ About the effect of the action(s) on participants
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Emile Durkheim
• Ritual binds people together (p. 141-2)
➡ Ritual does not just express relationships: “the performance of rituals actually creates those relationships”
➡ Regular attendance at religious site (church, mosque, synagogue, temple, etc.)
➡ Other examples?
➡ Lion King? 45 46
Hakuna Matata
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Sigmund Freud
• Ritual = neurosis (p. 143)
➡ Repetition brings comfort; avoids real problem(s)
➡ Might be true sometimes (not always): but need to know context
➡ Examples?
➡ Lion King?
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Hakuna Matata
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Harvey Whitehouse
• Rituals and memory (p. 143-4)
1. “Imagistic” mode: high intensity (dramatic and/or traumatic)
❖ E.g., wedding, funeral, assault
2. “Doctrinal” mode: mundane repetition (routine)
❖ E.g., daily prayer, national anthem
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Imagistic
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Doctrinal
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Imagistic
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Doctrinal Imagistic
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Doctrinal
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Doctrinal
Power
• Rituals involve power relations (p. 149)
➡ Can express power or challenge power
➡ (Note: this is not Nye’s theory)
➡ Royal wedding, Indigenous rites of passage
➡ NFL: taking a knee
➡ Elections?
➡ Lion King? 61 62
Power
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Power
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Power