RS260 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Arnold Van Gennep, Clifford Geertz, Mary Douglas
Document Summary
Meaning depends on the context (e. g. brushing one"s teeth in a religious ceremony would be bizarre) durkheim. Culturally constructed doesn"t lessen their value. A heuristic/learning category helps us understand what"s going on (c. bell) System of symbolic communication they point to something else. Patterned and ordered sequences of words and acts. Some argue that myth is inextricably tied to ritual this is highly debated. Some think rituals do not always require a myth. Ren girard myths can come after the ritual: an innocent victim becomes a criminal because he or she is blamed for the violence in the community (i. e. becomes a scapegoat and is exiled/killed). The myth is created afterwards to hide the killing and the criminal becomes a hero who has died for the community. Durkheim ritual enables the individual to participate in the community (e. g. singing the national anthem) Arnold van gennep rites of passage as transition from one point in life to another.
