Where does 'the self' in 'myself' begin and end? And what do ideas of 'spirit' tell us about the nature of human selfhood? To investigate these poorly understood matters, veteran anthropologist, neo-shaman and paranormal healer Roy Willis spent five months in a remote part of northern Zambia exploring human consciousness in a fascinating and sometimes terrifying series of adventures.
This absorbing book tells the story of Willis' and his three local colleagues' quest, as they participate in and film rituals of ecstatic union with nature spirits and talk in depth with experts in managing the awesome powers of a world beyond the ordinary. The narrative follows the research team's day-to-day involvement with rituals of spirit revelation, healing, and exorcism, their encounters with the evil powers of sorcery, and the sometimes troubled relations between team members.
The African healers in this book emerge both as exceptional individuals and as pioneering explorers of consciousness. Their experience is surprisingly congruent with our present sense of multiple and shifting selfhoods in the age of global electronic communication.

This book explores the interrelations between food, technology and knowledge-sharing practices in producing digital food cultures. Digital Food Cultures adopts an innovative approach to examine representations and practices related to food across a variety of digital media: blogs and vlogs (video blogs), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, technology developers' promotional media, online discussion forums and self-tracking apps and devices. The book emphasises the diversity of food cultures available on the internet and other digital media, from those celebrating unrestrained indulgence in food to those advocating very specialised diets requiring intense commitment and focus. While most of the digital media and devices discussed in the book are available and used by people across the world, the authors offer valuable insights into how these global technologies are incorporated into everyday lives in very specific geographical contexts. This book offers a novel contribution to the rapidly emerging area of digital food studies and provides a framework for understanding contemporary practices related to food production and consumption internationally.

Actress, storyteller, and priestess Luisah Teish dramatically re-creates centuries-old African-American traditions with music, memoir, and folk wisdom.

Das Ritual der Preisverleihung ist langst ein wichtiges Machtinstrument im Kulturbetrieb geworden. In Deutschland werden jahrlich allein uber siebenhundert Literaturpreise vergeben. Die Analyse beschaftigt sich mit Struktur, Durchfuhrung und sozialer Wirkung von Preisverleihungen im Allgemeinen. Daruber hinaus wird exemplarisch die bedeutendste Auszeichnung fur deutschsprachige Literatur untersucht: der Georg-Buchner-Preis. Im Mittelpunkt stehen u. a. die Geschichte und die jeweilige gesellschaftspolitische Funktion des Buchnerpreises seit 1923 im Zusammenspiel mit der deutschen Geschichte von der Weimarer bis zur Berliner Republik sowie die Bedeutung des Namenspatrons Georg Buchner fur die nach ihm benannte Auszeichnung. Auf diese Weise tritt das vielschichtige Portrait eines bedeutenden Impulsgebers im deutschen Kulturleben hervor, dessen politisch-literarischer Doppelcharakter den Buchnerpreis immer wieder zum Politikum gemacht hat. Ausgehend vom ritualwissenschaftlichen Ansatz unternimmt die Analyse mit Hilfe kultursoziologischer Determinanten Pierre Bourdieus den Versuch, den klassischen Methodenkanon der Literaturwissenschaft um ethnologisch-anthropologische und soziologische Denk- und Arbeitsweisen zu erweitern.

The deep and abiding sectarian divide splintering Northern Ireland has been the focus of considerable attention recently. In particular, the role parades and visual displays play in underscoring opposition has come into the spotlight with the emergence of heightened tensions, close on the heels of a tentative peace. Providing penetrating insights into the historical roots of Northern Ireland's ethnic hostilities, this timely book explores the role of images and material culture in shaping present attitudes. Ritual, identity, class and memory are shown to be potent forces informing trenchant animosities -- animosities which are visually reflected in banners and murals for unionists and nationalists alike. The pivotal role of the Twelfth of July parade in Belfast, when an estimated 100,000 either parade or watch the Orangemen, is highlighted. Anyone interested in the future of Northern Ireland and concerned about escalating conflict across the globe will warmly welcome this impressive study.

Carnival songs resemble a tabloid newspaper in their verve, spirit and range of themes. They are a measure of social change and an annual summary of events and opinion. The songs involve considerable artistry and are renowned as well for their raucous humor and vulgar concerns. (Promiscuity and sexual misalliances are common subjects.)
Banned by Franco during the Spanish Civil War, the Cádiz carnival began a revival in the 1960's following decades of repression. This fascinating book examines carnival song and society during the last years of the Franco dictatorship and the succeeding period of the new constitutional monarchy, when the Andalusians found their voice and Carnival enjoyed an extraordinary florescence. Songs from rural and urban carnivals in several locales throughout the province of Cádiz provide a compelling picture of Andalusian life in both troubled and more flourishing times.

The deep and abiding sectarian divide splintering Northern Ireland has been the focus of considerable attention recently. In particular, the role parades and visual displays play in underscoring opposition has come into the spotlight with the emergence of heightened tensions, close on the heels of a tentative peace. Providing penetrating insights into the historical roots of Northern Ireland's ethnic hostilities, this timely book explores the role of images and material culture in shaping present attitudes. Ritual, identity, class and memory are shown to be potent forces informing trenchant animosities -- animosities which are visually reflected in banners and murals for unionists and nationalists alike. The pivotal role of the Twelfth of July parade in Belfast, when an estimated 100,000 either parade or watch the Orangemen, is highlighted. Anyone interested in the future of Northern Ireland and concerned about escalating conflict across the globe will warmly welcome this impressive study.

Carnival songs resemble a tabloid newspaper in their verve, spirit and range of themes. They are a measure of social change and an annual summary of events and opinion. The songs involve considerable artistry and are renowned as well for their raucous humor and vulgar concerns. (Promiscuity and sexual misalliances are common subjects.)
Banned by Franco during the Spanish Civil War, the Cá diz carnival began a revival in the 1960's following decades of repression. This fascinating book examines carnival song and society during the last years of the Franco dictatorship and the succeeding period of the new constitutional monarchy, when the Andalusians found their voice and Carnival enjoyed an extraordinary florescence. Songs from rural and urban carnivals in several locales throughout the province of Cá diz provide a compelling picture of Andalusian life in both troubled and more flourishing times.

Sociology on the Menu is an accessible introduction to the sociology of food. Highlighting the social and cultural dimensions of the human food system, from production to consumption, it encourages us to consider new ways of thinking about the apparently mundane, everyday act of eating. The main areas covered include:
* The origins of human subsistence and the development of the modern food system
* Food, the family and eating out
* Diet, health and the body image
* The meanings of meat and vegetarianism.
Sociology on the Menu provides a comprehensive overview of the literature, particularly helpful in this interdisciplinary field. It focuses on key texts and studies to help students identify major concerns and themes for further study. It urges us to re-appraise the taken for granted and familiar experiences of selecting, preparing and sharing food and to see our own habits and choices, preferences and aversions in their broader cultural context.

India in the Italian Renaissance provides a systematic, chronological survey of early Italian representations of India and Indians from the late medieval period to the end of the 16th century, and their resonance within the cultural context of Renaissance Italy. The study focuses in particular on Italian attitudes towards the inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent and questions how Renaissance Italians, schooled in the admiration of classical antiquity, responded to the challenge of this contemporary pagan world. Meera Juncu draws from a wide-ranging selection of contemporary travel literature to trace the development of Italian ideas about Indians both before and after Vasco Da Gama's landing in Calicut. After an introduction to the key concepts and a survey of inherited notions about India, the works of a diverse range of writers and editors, including Marco Polo, Petrarch and Giovanni Battista Ramusio, are analysed in detail. Through its discussion of these texts, this book examines whether 'India' came in any way to represent a pagan civilization comparable to the classical antiquity celebrated in Italy during the Renaissance. India in the Italian Renaissance offers a new and exciting perspective on this fascinating period for students and scholars of the Italian Renaissance and the history of India.

In spite of Islam's long history in Europe and the growing number of Muslims resident in Europe, little research exists on Muslim pilgrimage in Europe. This collection of eleven chapters is the first systematic attempt to fill this lacuna in an emerging research field. Placing the pilgrims' practices and experiences centre stage, scholars from history, anthropology, religious studies, sociology, and art history examine historical and contemporary hajj and non-hajj pilgrimage to sites outside and within Europe. Sources include online travelogues, ethnographic data, biographic information, and material and performative culture. The interlocutors are European-born Muslims, converts to Islam, and Muslim migrants to Europe, in addition to people who identify themselves with other faiths. Most interlocutors reside in Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Norway. This book identifies four courses of developments: Muslims resident in Europe continue to travel to Mecca and Medina, and to visit shrine sites located elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa. Secondly, there is a revival of pilgrimage to old pilgrimage sites in South-eastern Europe. Thirdly, new Muslim pilgrimage sites and practices are being established in Western Europe. Fourthly, Muslims visit long-established Christian pilgrimage sites in Europe. These practices point to processes of continuity, revitalization, and innovation in the practice of Muslim pilgrimage in Europe. Linked to changing sectarian, political, and economic circumstances, pilgrimage sites are dynamic places of intra-religious as well as inter-religious conflict and collaboration, while pilgrimage experiences in multiple ways also transform the individual and affect the home-community.

Romancing the Honeymoon is the first comprehensive look at the North American honeymoon from a multidisciplinary academic perspective. Using theoretical and methodological approaches from sociology, history, and cultural studies, this benchmark study presents a compelling discussion of the cultural significance of the honeymoon ritual. The authors present data on the origins of the honeymoon, historical changes in cultural narratives about honeymooning, honeymoon advertising, the symbolic meanings of contemporary honeymoon sites (architecture, space planning, and decorating), and the individual pre-honeymoon expectations and post-honeymoon realities of a sample of contemporary newlyweds. This book is about more than honeymoons, however, as historical changes and contemporary experiences in honeymooning are related to such issues as identity construction, gender conflict, interpersonal risk, and rationality in late modern society. This highly readable volume provides a unique study and demonstrates the relevance of social theory in an approachable manner. This multidisciplinary, multi-method application will provide students and scholars in family studies, gender studies, family sociology, and cultural studies with valuable insight in to this unique custom.

The Orthodox Christian tradition has all too often been sidelined in conversations around contemporary religion. Despite being distinct from Protestantism and Catholicism in both theology and practice, it remains an underused setting for academic inquiry into current lived religious practice. This collection, therefore, seeks to redress this imbalance by investigating modern manifestations of Orthodox Christianity through an explicitly gender-sensitive gaze. By addressing attitudes to gender in this context, it fills major gaps in the literature on both religion and gender. Starting with the traditional teachings and discourses around gender in the Orthodox Church, the book moves on to demonstrate the diversity of responses to those narratives that can be found among Orthodox populations in Europe and North America. Using case studies from several countries, with both large and small Orthodox populations, contributors use an interdisciplinary approach to address how gender and religion interact in contexts such as, iconography, conversion, social activism and ecumenical relations, among others. From Greece and Russia to Finland and the USA, this volume sheds new light on the myriad ways in which gender is manifested, performed, and engaged within contemporary Orthodoxy. Furthermore, it also demonstrates that employing the analytical lens of gender enables new insights into Orthodox Christianity as a lived tradition. It will, therefore, be of great interest to scholars of both Religious Studies and Gender Studies.

It is often claimed that we live in a secular age. But we do not live in a desacralized one. Sacred forms - whether in 'religious' or 'secular' guise - continue to shape social life in the modern world, giving rise to powerful emotions, polarized group identities, and even the very concept of moral society. Analyzing contemporary sacred forms is essential if we are to be able to make sense of the societies we live in and think critically about the effects of the sacred on our lives for good or ill. The Sacred in the Modern World is a major contribution to this task. Re-interpreting Durkheim's theory of the sacred, and drawing on the 'strong program' in cultural sociology, Gordon Lynch sets out a theory of the sacred that can be used by researchers across a range of humanities and social science disciplines. Using vividly drawn contemporary case material - including the abuse and neglect of children in Irish residential schools and the controversy over the BBC's decision not to air an appeal for aid for Gaza - the book demonstrates the value of this theoretical approach for social and cultural analysis. The key role of public media for the circulation and contestation of the sacred comes under close scrutiny. Adopting a critical stance towards sacred forms, Lynch reflects upon the ways in which sacred commitments can both serve as a moral resource for social life and legitimate horrifying acts of collective evil. He concludes by reflecting on how we might live thoughtfully and responsibility under the light and shadow that the sacred casts, asking whether society without the sacred is possible or desirable.

_______________ 'An autobiographical meditation on feminism, power and womanhood ... Full of Isabel's wisdom and warm words' - Grazia 'In her small, potent polemic . . . Isabel Allende writes about the toxic effects of "machismo", combining wit with anger as she picks apart the patriarchy' - Independent 'Allende has everything it takes: the ear, the eye, the mind, the heart, the all-encompassing humanity' - New York Times An Independent, Guardian and Grazia Highlight for 2021 _______________ The wise, warm, defiant new book from literary legend Isabel Allende - a meditation on power, feminism and what it means to be a woman When I say that I was a feminist in kindergarten, I am not exaggerating. As a child, Isabel Allende watched her mother, abandoned by her husband, provide for her three small children. As a young woman coming of age in the late 1960s, she rode the first wave of feminism. She has seen what has been accomplished by the movement in the course of her lifetime. And over the course of three marriages, she has learned how to grow as a woman while having a partner, when to step away, and the rewards of embracing one's sexuality. So what do women want? To be safe, to be valued, to live in peace, to have their own resources, to be connected, to have control over their bodies and lives, and above all, to be loved. On all these fronts, there is much work to be done, and this book, Allende hopes, will 'light the torch of our daughters and granddaughters with mine. They will have to live for us, as we lived for our mothers, and carry on with the work still left to be finished.' _______________ 'Her thoughts, language and ideas traverse fluidly through ideas of gender, historic injustices, her marriages and bodily experiences and literary references . . . Allende's love for women is palpable' - Sydney Morning Herald

This lecture deals with the three domains of food which raise complex epistemological, political and moral issues. Through an examination of a wide range of material drawn from anthropology, history, literature and political economy, there is discussion of the relationship between food and entitlement, gender, notions of the body, and development. Food is shown to be a powerful metaphor for our sense of self, our social and political relations, our cosmology and our global system.

Taking his inspiration from a 16th century French manual on etiquette, young George Washington compiled his own set of instructions under the title, The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior. These concise rules to live by have been studied and copied by millions of readers eager to absorb Washington s secrets of success in life and work. Neither unduly severe nor sentimental, the rules have stood the test of time and still reverberate today.

Combining recipes from the bestselling Irish Granny's Pocket Recipe Book, Pocket Irish Potato Recipe Book and the Irish Granny's Pocket Farmhouse Kitchen, this large-format cookbook is your complete guide to traditional Irish cooking. Granny has selected her best, most popular recipes to create the ultimate recipe book, something that belongs on every kitchen shelf. Let her teach you all you need to know about delicious, nutritious country cooking. Includes traditional recipes like soda bread, Irish stew, bacon and cabbage, and the best recipe for scones.

Winner, 2013-2014 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Adult Non-Fiction presented by the Asian Pacific American Librarian Association During the Cold War, Soviet propaganda highlighted U.S. racism in order to undermine the credibility of U.S. democracy. In response, incorporating racial and ethnic minorities in order to affirm that America worked to ensure the rights of all and was superior to communist countries became a national imperative. In Citizens of Asian America, Cindy I-Fen Cheng explores how Asian Americans figured in this effort to shape the credibility of American democracy, even while the perceived "foreignness" of Asian Americans cast them as likely alien subversives whose activities needed monitoring following the communist revolution in China and the outbreak of the Korean War. While histories of international politics and U.S. race relations during the Cold War have largely overlooked the significance of Asian Americans, Cheng challenges the black-white focus of the existing historiography. She highlights how Asian Americans made use of the government's desire to be leader of the "free world" by advocating for civil rights reforms, such as housing integration, increased professional opportunities, and freedom from political persecution. Further, Cheng examines the liberalization of immigration policies, which worked not only to increase the civil rights of Asian Americans but also to improve the nation's ties with Asian countries, providing an opportunity for the U.S. government to broadcast, on a global scale, the freedom and opportunity that American society could offer.

Christmas is the favourite time of the year for many of us, with present exchanges, food & drink and socialising with friends & family at the top of the agenda. But what are the true origins and meaning of this seemingly inexhaustible celebration? Although most of our current customs only go back a few hundred years - Father Christmas as we know him dressed in red and white much less - there has been a festival at this time in the year for thousands of years. Although these days it is taken to mean the commemoration of the birth of Jesus, the date of December 25 was that of the winter solstice in Roman times, and other cultures have celebrated the darkest winter night for millennia. This book looks at all aspects of what the festive period means for people all over the world, beginning with a history of Christmas that looks at Yule, Nativity and Christmas as well as pagan celebrations. The embodiment of Christmas, Father Christmas, has a whole chapter, and this jolly character we know and love has a long history, not to mention a big bag of presents! But wait - there's myrrh(!): quotes, jokes, sayings and words of wisdom and fun from around the world, as well as fun facts about how, where, when and why we celebrate - and we look at curious customs from around the world. SAMPLE FACT: The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, has been tracking Santa's journey around the world since 1958.

This book takes a critical glance at the ways in which we attend to the corpse, tracing a trajectory from encounter toward considering options for disposal: veneered mortuary internment, green burial and its attendant rot, cremation and alkaline hydrolysis, donation and display, and ecological burial. Through tracing the possible futures of the dead that haunt the living, through both the stories that we tell and physical manifestations following the end of life, we expose the workings of aesthetics that shape corpses, as well as the ways in which corpses spill over, resisting aestheticization. This book creates a space for ritualized practices surrounding death: corpse disposal; corpse aesthetics that shape both practices attendant upon and representations of the corpse; and literary, figural, and cultural representations that deploy these practices to tell a story about dead bodies-about their separation from the living, about their disposability, and ultimately about the living who survive the dead, if only for a while. There is an aesthetics of erasure persistently at work on the dead body. It must be quickly hidden from sight to shield us from the certain trauma of our own demise, or so the unspoken argument goes. Experts-scientists, forensic specialists, death-care professionals, and law enforcement-are the only ones qualified to view the dead for any extended period of time. The rest of us, with only brief doses, inoculate ourselves from the materiality of death in complex and highly ritualized ceremonies. Beyond participating in the project of restoring our sense of finitude, we try to make sense of the untouchable, unviewable, haunting, and taboo presence of the corpse itself.

In this intriguing blend of the commonplace and the ancient, Jean Bottero presents the first extensive look at the delectable secrets of Mesopotamia. Bottero's broad perspective takes us inside the religious rites, everyday rituals, attitudes and taboos, and even the detailed preparation techniques involving food and drink in Mesopotamian high culture during the second and third millennia BCE, as the Mesopotamians recorded them.

Offering everything from translated recipes for pigeon and gazelle stews, the contents of medicinal teas and broths, and the origins of ingredients native to the region, this book reveals the cuisine of one of history's most fascinating societies. Links to the modern world, along with incredible recreations of a rich, ancient culture through its cuisine, make Bottero's guide an entertaining and mesmerizing read.

In contextualizing the Dutch funerary practice in its wider legal, national and local governance framework, this book describes the historical context for current practices, provides data on trends in burial and cremation, and examines recent developments including natural burial, increasing religious diversity and changing national legislation. Chapters provide an overview of funerary history and contemporary practice, alongside photographs, charts and tables of key information. Topics explored include: the death care industry; the Corpse Disposal Act; a typical funeral including funeral costs and insurance; cemetery and crematorium provision; and, the practices, technicalities and legalities of burial and cremation. The book also analyses and illustrates the commemorative practice of public mourning events related to World War II, the Holocaust and the MH17 plane crash. This book provides a broad frame of reference on funeral practices, making it a useful resource for academics, policy makers and practitioners interested in the historic, legal, technical and professional aspects of the funerary industry.