RLG101H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Jacques Derrida, Stanley Fish, Roland Barthes
Document Summary
Ritual theories: john beattie (instrumental/expressive, turner and jung (symbolism, emile durkheim (society, sigmund freud (neurosis, harvey whitehouse (memory, various theorists (power) John beattie: instrumental vs. expressive action (p. 134- Some actions may be instrumental or expressive, some actions may be both. Note: this theory only tells you actions can have different meanings; does not help you interpret the actions. Symbolism (p. 135-7: tur(cid:374)er: s(cid:455)(cid:373)(cid:271)ols as (cid:862)lo(cid:449)est u(cid:374)it(cid:455) of ritual(cid:863) Rituals involve symbolic acts / items: jung: universal archetypes (little evidence, meanings are culturally determined and affected by context, each symbol can/does have many meanings. Emile durkheim: ritual binds people together (p. 141-2) Ritual does not just express relationships: (cid:862)the perfor(cid:373)a(cid:374)(cid:272)e of rituals a(cid:272)tuall(cid:455) (cid:272)reates those relatio(cid:374)ships(cid:863) Sigmund freud: ritual = neurosis (p. 143) Might be true sometimes (not always): but need to know context. Harvey whitehouse: rituals and memory (p. 143-4) (cid:862)i(cid:373)agisti(cid:272)(cid:863) (cid:373)ode: high i(cid:374)te(cid:374)sit(cid:455) (dramatic and/or traumatic) Power: rituals involve power relations (p. 149)
