Rituality and Social (Dis)Order

Rituality and Social (Dis)Order
Author: Alessandro Testa
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2020-11-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000223728

Carnival has been described as one of the foundational elements of European culture, bearing an emblematic and iconic status as the festive phenomenon par excellence. Its origins are partly obscure, but its stratified and complex history, rich symbolic diversity, and sundry social configurations make it an exceptional object of cultural analysis. The product of more than 12 years of research, this book is the first comparative historical anthropology of popular European Carnival in the English language, with a focus on its symbolic, religious, and political dimensions and transformations throughout the centuries. It builds on a variety of theories of social change and social structures, questioning existing assumptions about what folklore is and how cultural gaps and differences take shape and reproduce through ritual forms of collective action. It also challenges recent interpretations about the performative and political dimension of European festive culture, especially in its carnivalesque declension. While presenting and exploring the most important features and characteristics of European pre-modern Carnival and discussing its origins and developments, this thorough study offers fresh evidence and up-to-date analyses about its transversal and long-lasting significance in European societies.

The Dangers of Ritual

The Dangers of Ritual
Author: Philippe Buc
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2009-07-26
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0691144427

Central to current understandings of medieval history is the concept of political ritual, encompassing events from coronations to funerals, entries into cities, civic games, banquets, hunting, acts of submission or commendation, and more. ''Ritual?'' asks Philippe Buc. In The Dangers of Ritual he boldly argues that the concept shouldn't be so central after all. Modern-day scholars, gently seduced by twentieth-century theories of ritual, often misinterpret medieval documents that ostensibly describe such events, in part because they fail to appreciate the intentions behind them. The book begins with four case studies whose arrangement--backward from texts on tenth-century kingship to fourth-century representations of Christian martyrdom--allows for the line of development to be peeled back layer by layer. It then turns to an analysis of the formation of the intellectual traditions that contemporary historians have employed to interpret medieval documents. Tracing the emergence of the concept of ritual from the Reformation to the mid-twentieth century, Buc highlights the continuities yet also the profound transformations between the early medieval understandings and our own, social-scientific models. Medieval historians will find this book an indispensable resource for its insights into methodological issues crucial to their discipline. As Buc demonstrates, only rigorous attention to the contexts within which authors worked can allow us to reconstruct from medieval documents how ''rituals'' might have functioned. Ultimately, he argues, too swift an application of contemporary models to highly complex textual artifacts blinds us to the specificities of early medieval European political culture.

Ritual: A Very Short Introduction

Ritual: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Barry Stephenson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 143
Release: 2015-01-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199943583

Ritual is part of what it means to be human. Like sports, music, and drama, ritual defines and enriches culture, putting those who practice it in touch with sources of value and meaning larger than themselves. Ritual is unavoidable, yet it holds a place in modern life that is decidedly ambiguous. What is ritual? What does it do? Is it useful? What are the various kinds of ritual? Is ritual tradition bound and conservative or innovative and transformational? Alongside description of a number of specific rites, this Very Short Introduction explores ritual from both theoretical and historical perspectives. Barry Stephenson focuses on the places where ritual touches everyday life: in politics and power; moments of transformation in the life cycle; as performance and embodiment. He also discusses the boundaries of ritual, and how and why certain behaviors have been studied as ritual while others have not. Stephenson shows how ritual is an important vehicle for group and identity formation; how it generates and transmits beliefs and values; how it can be used to exploit and oppress; and how it has served as a touchstone for thinking about cultural origins and historical change. Encompassing the breadth and depth of modern ritual studies, Barry Stephenson's Very Short Introduction also develops a narrative of ritual's place in social and cultural life. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Exposure and Response (Ritual) Prevention for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Exposure and Response (Ritual) Prevention for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Author: Edna B. Foa
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2012-03-02
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0199714991

An estimated 2-3% of the population is affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This is a chronic condition that significantly affects daily functioning and quality of life. Many people with OCD would greatly benefit from receiving professional help to learn how to successfully manage this debilitating condition. This book guides clinicians in treating individuals with OCD through the use of exposure and ritual (response) prevention, one of the most effective and the most studied treatments for OCD. Designed to be used in conjunction with its companion patient workbook titled Treating Your OCD with Exposure and Ritual (Response) Prevention Therapy, this Therapist Guide includes supporting theoretical, historical and research background information, diagnostic descriptions, differential diagnoses, session by session treatment outlines, case examples, sample dialogues, practice assignments, and tailored application to the vast variety of presentations and nuances of the disorder. The manual contains the 'nuts and bolts' of how to provide the treatment and is a comprehensive resource for therapists. It is an invaluable guide for clinicians in overcoming the barriers and difficulties that are part and parcel of every treatment. "Exposure and ritual (response) prevention (EX/RP) is the best treatment we have for obsessive compulsive disorder. The Therapist Guide and Workbook by Foa, Yadin, and Licher will do two very important things. The first is to make EX/RP much more available to people suffering from OCD. The second is to help ensure that the treatment that is made more available is a treatment that should really work."--Michael R. Liebowitz M.D., Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia University and Former Director, Anxiety Disorders Clinic, New York State Psychiatric Institute "In this well-organized and succinct manual, leading experts describe exposure and ritual (response) prevention (EX/RP), a proven first-line treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). They detail how to evaluate clients for EX/RP treatment, provide session-by-session instructions for treatment delivery, and offer invaluable advice on handling problems like patient nonadherence. This outstanding therapist manual, together with its accompanying client workbook, provides state-of-the-art tools for transforming the lives of people with OCD."--H. Blair Simpson, M.D. Ph.D., Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia University Director of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic and the OCD Research Program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute "A concise, up-to-date, and extremely useful clinical guide to understanding and treating people struggling with OCD. State-of-the-art essentials for how to provide the most effective intervention for this often difficult to treat condition are covered in a clear and practical manner that is certain to facilitate positive outcomes."--Jonathan S. Abramowitz, Ph.D., ABPP, Professor of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders

Mental Disorders in the Social Environment

Mental Disorders in the Social Environment
Author: Stuart Kirk
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2004-09-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0231128711

Social workers provide more mental health services than any other profession, yet recent biomedical trends in psychiatry appear to minimize the importance of their traditional concerns, which focus on the social environment that accompanies mental disorders and their treatment. This book calls attention to this emerging problem and challenges social workers and other health care professionals to be more skeptical about diagnosis, community treatment, evidence-based practice, psychotherapy, medications, and managed care.

Shakespeare and Social Theory

Shakespeare and Social Theory
Author: Bradd Shore
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2021-08-23
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1000429784

This book provides a bridge between Shakespeare studies and classical social theory, opening up readings of Shakespeare to a new audience outside of literary studies and the humanities. Shakespeare has long been known as a “great thinker” and this book reads his plays through the lens of an anthropologist, revealing new connections between Shakespeare’s plays and the lives we now lead. Close readings of a selection of frequently studied plays—Hamlet, The Winter’s Tale, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, and King Lear—engage with the texts in detail while connecting them with some of the biggest questions we all ask ourselves, about love, friendship, ritual, language, human interactions, and the world around us. The plays are examined through various social theories including performance theory, cognitive theory, semiotics, exchange theory, and structuralism. The book concludes with a consideration of how “the new astronomy” of his day and developments in optics changed the very idea of “perspective,” and shaped Shakespeare’s approach to embedding social theory in his dramatic texts. This accessible and engaging book will appeal to those approaching Shakespeare from outside literary studies but will also be valuable to literature students approaching Shakespeare for the first time, or looking for a new angle on the plays.

Ageing, Ritual and Social Change

Ageing, Ritual and Social Change
Author: Assoc Prof Daniela Koleva
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2013-10-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1409470830

Exploring European changes in religious and secular beliefs and practices related to life passages, this book provides a deeper understanding of the impacts of social change on personal identity and adjustment across the life course, According to latest research, Europeans who consider religious services appropriate to mark life passages significantly outnumber those who declare themselves as believers. Drawing on fascinating oral histories of older people's memories in both Eastern and Western Europe, this book presents illuminating views on peoples' quests for existential meaning in later life. Ageing, Ritual and Social Change presents an invaluable resource for all those exploring issues of ageing, including those looking from perspectives of sociology and psychology of religion, social and oral history and East-Central European studies.

Ritual, Play and Belief, in Evolution and Early Human Societies

Ritual, Play and Belief, in Evolution and Early Human Societies
Author: Colin Renfrew
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2017-12-21
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1108547516

The origins of religion and ritual in humans have been the focus of centuries of thought in archaeology, anthropology, theology, evolutionary psychology and more. Play and ritual have many aspects in common, and ritual is a key component of the early cult practices that underlie the religious systems of the first complex societies in all parts of the world. This book examines the formative cults and the roots of religious practice from the earliest times until the development of early religion in the Near East, in China, in Peru, in Mesoamerica and beyond. Here, leading prehistorians and other specialists bring a fresh approach to the early practices that underlie the faiths and religions of the world. They demonstrate the profound role of play ritual and belief systems and offer powerful new insights into the emergence of early civilization.

How to Be Yourself

How to Be Yourself
Author: Ellen Hendriksen
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2018-03-13
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1250122236

Picking up where Quiet ended, How to Be Yourself is the best book you’ll ever read about how to conquer social anxiety. “This book is also a groundbreaking road map to finally being your true, authentic self.” —Susan Cain, New York Times, USA Today and nationally bestselling author of Quiet Up to 40% of people consider themselves shy. You might say you’re introverted or awkward, or that you're fine around friends but just can't speak up in a meeting or at a party. Maybe you're usually confident but have recently moved or started a new job, only to feel isolated and unsure. If you get nervous in social situations—meeting your partner's friends, public speaking, standing awkwardly in the elevator with your boss—you've probably been told, “Just be yourself!” But that's easier said than done—especially if you're prone to social anxiety. Weaving together cutting-edge science, concrete tips, and the compelling stories of real people who have risen above their social anxiety, Dr. Ellen Hendriksen proposes a groundbreaking idea: you already have everything you need to succeed in any unfamiliar social situation. As someone who lives with social anxiety, Dr. Hendriksen has devoted her career to helping her clients overcome the same obstacles she has. With familiarity, humor, and authority, Dr. Hendriksen takes the reader through the roots of social anxiety and why it endures, how we can rewire our brains through our behavior, and—at long last—exactly how to quiet your Inner Critic, the pesky voice that whispers, "Everyone will judge you." Using her techniques to develop confidence, think through the buzz of anxiety, and feel comfortable in any situation, you can finally be your true, authentic self.

Casting Down the Host of Heaven

Casting Down the Host of Heaven
Author: Cat Quine
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2020-03-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004424393

In Casting Down the Host of Heaven Cat Quine analyses the ambiguous nature of the Host and explores the role of ritual in the polemic against their worship.