Contemporary Studies of Ritual in Anthropology and Related Disciplines

Abstract

Studies of ritual continue to be of critical interest in anthropology and allied disciplines. Recent approaches to ritual highlight its internal logic, its close relation to exchange and political power, its emotional energy, its centrality in social life, and the difficulty or possibilities in grasping ritual and evidence of past rituals scientifically. Nevertheless, common ground can be seen in such studies, particularly their continuity with and redevelopment of classic theories of ritual, including foundational Durkheimian theories. Fundamentally, contemporary research poses the question: to what degree is ritual distinct or autonomous from its social (including economic, religious, and political) contexts?