|
Showing 1 - 6 of
6 matches in All Departments
This volume breaks new ground in the study of landscapes, both
rural and urban. The innovative notion of this landscape collection
is rupture. The book explores the ways in which societal, economic
and cultural changes are transforming the meanings and
understandings of landscapes. The text explores both how landscapes
are contesting changes in society and changing society. The volume
combines empirically fine-grained accounts of landscape rupture,
from different parts of the world, with a sustained effort to
explore, rethink and analytically extend the concept of rupture
itself. The book therefore combines fresh empirical data with
innovative theoretical approaches to open understanding of
landscape as a dynamic, living entity subject to abrupt change and
unpredictable disruptions. Through this dual reflection the volume
is able to provide a powerful demonstration of the possibilities
that are available for human action, social change and material
landscape to combine.
This volume breaks new ground in the study of landscapes, both
rural and urban. The innovative notion of this landscape collection
is rupture. The book explores the ways in which societal, economic
and cultural changes are transforming the meanings and
understandings of landscapes. The text explores both how landscapes
are contesting changes in society and changing society. The volume
combines empirically fine-grained accounts of landscape rupture,
from different parts of the world, with a sustained effort to
explore, rethink and analytically extend the concept of rupture
itself. The book therefore combines fresh empirical data with
innovative theoretical approaches to open understanding of
landscape as a dynamic, living entity subject to abrupt change and
unpredictable disruptions. Through this dual reflection the volume
is able to provide a powerful demonstration of the possibilities
that are available for human action, social change and material
landscape to combine.
This book explores the material religion of contemporary Shimla, a
vibrant postcolonial city, famed for its colonial heritage, set
against the backdrop of the North-Western Himalayas. Jonathan
Miles-Watson demonstrates that this landscape is able to peacefully
reconcile the apparent tensions of faith, heritage and identity in
a way that unseats traditional theories of religion, politics and
heritage. It presents a mystery that is written in space through
time; the key to unlocking this mystery lies in clear view, at the
city's heart, in the contemporary material religion that surrounds
nominally Christian sacred sites. Although the material religion
centres on landscapes that are identifiable as Christian, the book
demonstrates that Hindus, atheists and Sikhs all have a role to
play in the mutually constitutive relations that lie at the centre
of these knots of sacred entanglement. This book builds upon over a
decade of research to present an ethnographic account of devotional
practices that speaks to contemporary developments in both the
anthropology of Christianity and material religion. Through this
exploration the book answers the mystery of Shimla's postcolonial
harmony, while complicating established theories in the
anthropology of religion, postcolonial studies, mythography,
heritage studies and material culture.
A little-known lecture by Levi-Strauss is the inspiration for this
work. In this lecture, he intuitively suggested that in medieval
Europe there once existed a set of myths, centred on the grail,
which are structurally the opposite of the goatsucker myths that he
famously analyzed in his mythologiques series. This work uses
Levi-Strauss' inspirational lecture as a launchpad for an
exploration of a group of related medieval Welsh myths, two of
which have been briefly considered previously by Levi-Strauss
himself. The root of the methodological approach this book employs
throughout is the Structuralism of Claude Levi-Strauss; however, it
has been modified to incorporate the suggestions of later
neo-Structuralists. This analysis tool is applied to a group of
myths, which have become conveniently--if somewhat
erroneously--known as the Mabinogion. The name Mabinogion appears
as part of a colophon at the end of one of the myth of Pwyll and it
was later adopted first by Pugh (1835), and then by Lady Charlotte
Guest (1838) as a title for their now famous translations of Welsh
mythology. Consequently, the title has stuck to describe the
material that is contained within their translations and, while it
is a somewhat inaccurate way to describe the myths, it has the
virtues of being both a succinct and widely recognised signifier.
The term has come to signify eight myths, or perhaps more
accurately eight groups of myths, which are all present in the late
fourteenth-century manuscript Llyfr Coch Hergest (The Red Book of
Hergest), and all but one of which can be found in the slightly
earlier Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch (The White Book of Rhydderch). As
such, the Mabinogion is the key collection of medieval Welsh
mythology and an important source for early Arthurian material.
Although Structuralism and the Mabinogion have attracted a good
deal of attention from the academic world, there has been never
been a sustained attempt to follow Levi-Strauss' intuitive insights
with a methodical Structuralist analysis of this material. In the
year of Levi-Strauss' centenary celebrations, this work is the
first sustained attempt to follow his intuitive suggestions about
several Mabinogion myths with a detailed Structuralist analysis of
the Mabinogion. This work is therefore a unique anthropological
presentation and analysis of the Mabinogion, which argues for a
radical, new interpretation of these myths in light of the
existence of a central system of interlocking symbols that has the
Grail at its heart. Through the analysis, the book reveals a
logical organizational principle that underlies a body of material
that has previously been viewed as disparate and confusing. This
underlying structure is demonstrated to be, as Levi-Strauss
suggested it may, the opposite of that which Levi-Strauss himself
uncovered in the Americas. The revelation of this new form of
underlying structure leads to a rethinking of some important
aspects of Structuralism, including the Canonical formula, at the
same time as acting as a tribute to the farsightedness of
Levi-Strauss. This book makes important contributions to the fields
of Arthurian studies, anthropology, Celtic studies, cultural
studies, medieval studies, mythology and religious studies.
What is myth? Why do myths exist? What do myths do? Where are myths
going? This reader is organized into four parts which explore these
questions. Drawing on over 10 years of experience teaching myth in
religious studies and anthropology departments in the UK, USA and
Continental Europe, the editors have brought together seminal works
in the theory of myth. Key features include: - a general
introduction to the reader that outlines a comparative and
interpretative framework - an introduction contextualizing each
part and sub-section - an introduction to each reading by the
editors - supporting online resources that provide discussion
questions and further reading suggestions, including primary
sources. From functionalism to feminism, nationalism to
globalization, and psychoanalysis to spatial analysis, this reader
covers the classic and contemporary theories and approaches needed
to understand what myth is, why myths exist, what they do, and what
the future holds for them.
This book explores the material religion of contemporary Shimla, a
vibrant postcolonial city, famed for its colonial heritage, set
against the backdrop of the North-Western Himalayas. Jonathan
Miles-Watson demonstrates that this landscape is able to peacefully
reconcile the apparent tensions of faith, heritage and identity in
a way that unseats traditional theories of religion, politics and
heritage. It presents a mystery that is written in space through
time; the key to unlocking this mystery lies in clear view, at the
city’s heart, in the contemporary material religion that
surrounds nominally Christian sacred sites. Although the material
religion centres on landscapes that are identifiable as Christian,
the book demonstrates that Hindus, atheists and Sikhs all have a
role to play in the mutually constitutive relations that lie at the
centre of these knots of sacred entanglement. This book builds upon
over a decade of research to present an ethnographic account of
devotional practices that speaks to contemporary developments in
both the anthropology of Christianity and material religion.
Through this exploration the book answers the mystery of Shimla’s
postcolonial harmony, while complicating established theories in
the anthropology of religion, postcolonial studies, mythography,
heritage studies and material culture.
|
You may like...
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|