Historically, canonic studies of ritual have discussed and explained ritual organization, action, and transformation primarily as representations of broader cultural and social orders. In the present, as in the past, less attention is given to the power of ritual to organize and effect transformation through its own dynamics. Breaking with convention, the contributors to this volume were asked to discuss ritual first and foremost in relation to itself, in its own right, and only then in relation to its socio-cultural context. The results attest to the variable capacities of rites to effect transformation through themselves, and to the study of phenomena in their own right as a fertile approach to comprehending ritual dynamics.

A macabre, spectacular and thought-provoking survey of human remains used in decorative, commemorative or devotional contexts across the world today, from the author of Heavenly Bodies and The Empire of Death. Memento Mori takes the reader on a ghoulish but beautiful tour of some of the world's more unusual sacred sites and traditions, in which human remains are displayed for the benefit of the living. From burial caves in Indonesia festooned with bones, to skulls smoking cigarettes, wearing beanie hats and sunglasses, and decorated with garlands of flowers in South America, Paul Koudounaris ventures beyond the grave to find messages of hope and salvation. His glorious colour photographs and informed commentaries reveal that in many places, the realms of the living and the dead are nowhere near so distinct as contemporary Western society would have us believe.

A concise history of smoking in British popular culture from the early nineteenth century to the present day.. Provides the historical backdrop to the current debates about the politics of tobacco and health, demonstrating that both pro- and anti-smokers have consistently failed to understand the position of smoking within popular culture.. Important themes explored include: the importance of consumption to constructions of masculinity and femininity, the role of the state in the official regulation of the 'minor vices', the morality of consumption and the position of scientific knowledge within popular culture.. Traces the production, promotion and consumption of tobacco as well as outlining the arguments that have variously opposed this ever-controversial drug.. Genuinely interdisciplinary, combining elements of social, cultural and economic history whilst contributing to debates in sociology and cultural studies, the anthropology of material culture, design history, medical history and public health policy. -- .

Thailand is rapidly industrializing, dramatically improving the living standards of its people, and gradually developing a more democratic society. Despite such profound changes, traditional Thai culture has not only survived, but has also, in many respects, prospered. Although famous for its food, and despite its increasing popularity as a tourist destination, Thailand remains relatively unknown to most Westerners. Culture and Customs of Thailand presents the traditional culture and customs against the backdrop of modern times. Thailand has always been an important Southeast Asian country. With a long-reigning monarchy, it is the only country in the region that has never been colonized by a Western power or suffered bloody revolutions and wars. It was the first Asian country to establish diplomatic relations with the United States, and has remained a constant ally. Thailand has emerged as a considerable economic force as the world's largest rice and rubber producer and remains a regional political power. Against this historical framework, Kislenko deftly introduces the traditional and modern strands of the dominant Buddhist faith and other religions, such as animism. Coverage includes literature, the arts, architecture--including the Thai Wat--food and dress, gender and marriage, festivals and fun, and social customs. Kislenko also balances the portrait with discussions of threats from globalization, AIDS and sex tourism, the drug trade, and corruption in business and government. Evocative photos, a country map, a timeline, and a chronology complete the coverage. This reference is the best source for students and general readers to gain substantial, sweeping insight into the Thais andtheir "land of smiles."

This original and authoritative text reveals how chivalry was part of the problem of violence in medieval Europe, not merely it's solution. If one ideal was to internalize restraint in knights, chivalry also worshipped hands-on violence, as a close reading of chivalric literature shows. In a developing society, chivalric ideals and practices were both praised and feared by those who sought its reform.

View the Table of Contents. Read the Chapter One.

"All of the entries are well written and should intrigue a broad range of students because they run the gamut from the very academic to the more popularly written. . . . Overall this is an enjoyable collection that does a great deal to put to rest Emile Durkheimas assumption of a close, positive correlation between the occurrence of and participation in holidays and societal integration."
--"Choice"

"[P]rovides readers with a deeper insight into the ways in which holidays have been used and misused throughout American history. We learn of how Americans come together on their special days and how those days, sometimes, reveal social strains. A necessary volume for anyone who cares about how Americans reveal community and perform civic obligation."
--Gary Alan Fine, author of "Difficult Reputations: Collective Memories of the Evil, Inept, and Controversial"

"Fascinating in what it says about the holidays as mechanisms of socialization, prisms through which identity can be refracted, even changed."
--"Chicago Tribune ""[A] new and welcome framework for understanding the meanings of holidays in our multi-cultural society. Any simple explanation of even the most familiar celebrations will be challenged in reading this wide-ranging collection."
--Penne L. Restad, author of "Christmas in America: A History"

"[O]ffers an effervescent mix of sociological and historical reflections on the state of holidays and rituals in American culture."
--Leigh E. Schmidt, author of "Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays"

How did Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday become a national holiday? Why do we exchangepresents on Christmas and Chanukah? What do bunnies have to do with Easter? How did Earth Day become a global holiday? These questions and more are answered in this fascinating exploration into the history and meaning of holidays and rituals. Edited by Amitai Etzioni, one of the most influential social and political thinkers of our time, this collection provides a compelling overview of the impact that holidays and rituals have on our family and communal life.

From community solidarity to ethnic relations to religious traditions, We Are What We Celebrate argues that holidays such as Halloween, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, New Year's Eve, and Valentine's Day play an important role in reinforcing, and sometimes redefining, our values as a society. The collection brings together classic and original essays that, for the first time, offer a comprehensive overview and analysis of the important role such celebrations play in maintaining a moral order as well as in cementing family bonds, building community relations and creating national identity. The essays cover such topics as the creation of Thanksgiving as a national holiday; the importance of holidays for children; the mainstreaming of Kwanzaa; and the controversy over Columbus Day celebrations.

Compelling and often surprising, this look at holidays and rituals brings new meaning to not just the ways we celebrate but to what those celebrations tell us about ourselves and our communities.

Contributors: Theodore Caplow, Gary Cross, Matthew Dennis, Amitai Etzioni, John R. Gillis, Ellen M. Litwicki, Diana Muir, Francesca Polletta, Elizabeth H. Pleck, David E. Proctor, Mary F. Whiteside, and Anna Day Wilde.

Don't just see the sights-get to know the people. Botswana is a country of contrasts. Culturally, the people are overwhelmingly Bantu, but with more than twenty different ethnic groups and over thirty languages spoken, the society is by no means homogeneous. Culture Smart! Botswana introduces you to the lives of the people. It looks at the history that has shaped the society and shows the importance of traditional customs and values for both travelers and businesspeople alike. It describes how the Batswana live, work, and play, and how to avoid the pitfalls of cultural misunderstanding. Have a more meaningful and successful time abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on values, attitudes, customs, and daily life will help you make the most of your visit, while tips on etiquette and communication will help you navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

Creating Social Cohesion in an Interdependent World examines the ways in which two very different societies, Australia and Japan, have dealt with challenges to their cultural and institutional fabric, as well as the social cohesion arising from the acceleration of global interdependence during recent decades. Deepening globalization has generated great social dislocation and uncertainty about collective identity and to anxiety about how to accommodate apparently unstoppable external influences. The studies in this volume explore areas which have experienced significant impact from globalization, including immigration policy, ethnic and racial intermarriage, attitudes towards ethnic and racial minorities, national and cultural identity, education policy and labor relations. The approach used is innovative in juxtaposing two societies which, although developed, are contrasting in their historical origins and contemporary cultural legacies.

Although numerous studies of religious rituals have been conducted by religious studies scholars, anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists, it is rare to find a work that brings scholars from different disciplines together to discuss the similarities and differences in their research. This book represents contributions by leading scholars from several disciplines that show the diversity of approaches to religious rituals, while also providing cross-disciplinary perspectives on this topic.

The goals of the chapters are to consider where the field currently stands in understanding religious rituals and what novel ideas can improve our knowledge about these practices; and furnish innovative applications of theory by discussing particular examples which are drawn from the authors? fieldwork. The chapters cover Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, and Islamic rituals, thus providing a view of how ritual practices vary across the globe, but also how they share some important characteristics.

All Year Round is brimming with things to make, activities, stories, poems and songs to share with your family. It is full of well-illustrated ideas for fun and celebration: from Candlemas to Christmas and Midsummer's day to the Winter solstice.Observing the round of festivals is an enjoyable way to bring rhythm into children's lives and provide a series of meaningful landmarks to look forward to. Each festival has a special character of its own: participation can deepen our understanding and love of nature and bring a gift to the whole family. All Year Round invites you to start celebrating now!

"Culture and Customs of the Philippines" provides the best general overview to the Asian archipelago and to a people with close ties to the United States and a long history of emigration and contributions to this country. The volume emphasizes how the strong indigenous Philippine culture meshes with constant influences from the West. Rodell, a specialist in Philippine history and society, superbly evokes the breadth of the Philippines for students and the general public. The wide variety of Philippine traditions is seen in each topic covered: the land, people, and history; religion and thought; literature and art; architecture; cuisine and fashion; gender, marriage, and family; festivals, media, film, and leisure activities; music and dance; and social customs and lifestyle.

"Culture and Customs of the Philippines" is crucial to multicultural reference collections today needing authoritative information on contemporary Asia that will capture readers' attention. Interest in the Philippines, a former U.S. colony, is especially high. Some highlights of the volume include discussion of the Tagalog, the principal ethnic group; the amalgamation of Christian, folk, and Muslim beliefs; the "bahay kubo," the rural house style; and the all-important Philippine family. A chronology, glossary, and numerous photos enhance the text.

In this encyclopedia, two experienced world travelers and numerous contributors provide a fascinating worldwide survey of street foods and recipes to document the importance of casual cuisine to every culture, covering everything from dumplings to hot dogs and kebabs to tacos. Street foods run deep throughout human history and show the movements of peoples and their foods across the globe. For example, mandoo, manti, momo, and baozi: all of these types of dumplings originated in Central Asia and spread across the Old World beginning in the 12th century. This encyclopedia surveys common street foods in about 100 countries and regions of the world, clearly depicting how "fast foods of the common people" fit into a country or a region's environments, cultural history, and economy. The entries provide engaging information about specific foods as well as coverage of vendor and food stall culture and issues. An appendix of recipes allows for hands-on learning and provides opportunities for readers to taste international street foods at home. Presents an international survey of street foods in representative countries and regions that includes interesting facts and recipe to illustrate many of them Supplies the historical and environmental background of the country's street food Includes sidebars with fun facts and statistics about street foods Provides highly useful information for students studying geography and for travelers

Culture Smart guides help travellers have a more meaningful and successful time abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on values, attitudes, customs, and daily life will help you make the most of your visit, while tips on etiquette and communication will help you navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

Blackfoot Ways of Knowing is a journey into the heart and soul of Blackfoot culture. As a scholar and researcher, Betty Bastien places Blackfoot tradition within a historical context of precarious survival amid colonial displacement and cultural genocide. In sharing her personal story of reclaimed identity, Bastien offers a gateway into traditional Blackfoot ways of understanding and experiencing the world.For the Siksikaitsitapi, knowledge is experiential, participatory, and ultimately sacred. Bastien maps her own process of coming to know, stressing the recovery of the Blackfoot language and Blackfoot notions of reciprocal responsibilities and interdependence. Rekindling traditional ways of knowing is essential for Indigenous peoples in Canada to heal and rebuild their communities and cultures. By sharing what she has learned, Betty Bastien hopes to ensure that the next generation of Indigenous people will enjoy a future of hope and peace.

For hundreds of years, Barcelona and Madrid have shared a deep rivalry. Throughout history, they have competed in practically every aspect of social life, sport, politics, and culture. While competition between cities is commonplace in many nations around the world, in the case of Barcelona and Madrid it has been, on occasion, excessively antagonistic. Over time they have each tried to demonstrate that one was more modern than the other, or more avant-garde, or richer, or more athletic, and so on. Fortunately, the Spain of today is a democracy and every nation and region of the State has the liberty to act. As such, the rivalry between these two capitals has become productive not only for the cities themselves, but also for Spain as a whole. One hundred years ago, at the onset of the Historical Avant-Garde in Spain, the connections between Barcelona and Madrid consisted of a complicated web of politics, friendships, publications, and inter-art collaborations. Over the last century, the antagonistic relationship between these two cultural capitals has been dismissed as simply a fact of life and thereby scholars, for the most part, have focused only on Barcelona or Madrid when addressing this cultural moment. By delving deep into the myriad of cultural and political complexities that surround these two cities from the onset of Futurism (1909) to the arrival of Surrealism in Spain (1929), a complex social and cultural network is revealed. Networking between artists, poets, journalists and thinkers connected avant-garde Barcelona and Madrid, thereby creating synergy for this artistic and literary movement. In a hybrid, transdisciplarian, translingual and historical approach using a wide range of visual and textual artifacts, the complexity of interactions described here opens our imagination to new ways of thinking about culture.

Don't just see the sights get to know the people. Divided along the 38th parallel, modern Korea is the subject of two very different political, social, and economic experiments. Today the military might of the Marxist-Leninist North confronts the soft power and prosperity of the uber-capitalist South. Yet family and cultural ties bind the peoples of both Koreas, and reunification remains a cherished goal. Culture Smart! Korea helps you to navigate your way through the complexities of life in these non-identical twin societies, where, even in the affluent westernized South, sensitive issues can cause misunderstanding. By introducing visitors to the Koreans at home and at work, their customs, attitudes and values, this book paves the way for an incomparably more engaging experience, whatever your reason for traveling. Have a more meaningful and successful time abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on values, attitudes, customs, and daily life will help you make the most of your visit, while tips on etiquette and communication will help you navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

This book provides an excellent introduction to the Japanese tea ceremony, or "Cha-no-yu," Topics include the origins of tea-drinking, training in etiquette, partaking of the first bowl, the serving of Koicha and new methods. A glossary of terms is also included. Readers will gain a new appreciation for the uniquely Japanese aspects of an international custom.