A central element in her interpretation is that each of the. Abstract the cultural anthropologist mary douglass book purity and danger is an influential exegesis of the ways in which concepts of purity. Its significance was in laying out a durkheimian program for social science, in. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Grounded in a cultural logic that seeks distance from suburban evangelicalism, the urban missional sense of place exists as a lived critique of modernity, which i explore through mary douglass classic analysis of purity and danger. Dirt is the byproduct of a systematic ordering and classification of matter.
In 1995 the book was included among the times literary supplements hundred most influential nonfiction works since wwii. The rise of the farright in europe over the past decade has attracted the attention of both academics and police. Click below to download the full study guide for purity and danger. The correct form for the bibliographic reference element of a citation for the selected resource is shown in a variety of the most widelyaccepted citation styles below. Export to refworks export to endnote reference manager export to easybib export to endnote reference. It is widely considered a classic in the field of cultural anthropology. Join researchgate to find the people and research you need to help your work. Whether it appears in a story about a man killing his girlfriend while calling her a whore or in trying to battle conservative claims that emergency contraception or the hpv vaccine will make girls promiscuous, the purity myth in america underlies. It has gone through numerous reprints and reeditions 1969, 1970. Purity and danger this remarkable book, which is written in a very graceful, lucid and polemical style, is a symbolic interpretation of the rules of purity and pollution. Male sexual purity does not carry this responsibility. Purity, danger and miasmata david armstrong correspondence. In contrast to popular images of the tropics as verdant edens, forest dwellers face various pollutants with littleunderstood environmental health impacts. Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda.
Purity, pollution, and systems of classification forth. In 1991 the times literary supplement listed it as one of the hundred most influential nonfiction books published since 1945. Purity, danger and miasmata european journal of public. Mary douglas shows that to examine what is considered as unclean in any culture is to take a lookingglass approach to the ordered patterning which that culture strives to. Apa style uses both a reference page that collects all the sources used in your research and intext citations for any information in your paper that draws from your sources. The negative implications of the purity movement on young women.
In this respect, some anthropologists have interpreted systems of classification as integral to notions of purity and pollutiona position first argued at length by douglas in her widely read book purity and danger. It is widely cited in nonanthropological works and gave rise to a body of application, rebuttal and development within anthropology. Purity definition is the quality or state of being pure. Formlessness is also credited with powers, some dangerous, some good. The human body is always treated as an image of society. Douglas 19212007, a british anthropologist with an interest in comparative religion, pursues the idea that dirt.
Export to refworks export to endnote reference manager export to easybib. Originally published in 1966, purity and danger, by mary douglas, is a treatise on the concepts of purity and uncleanness in various societies and cultures. Drawing upon longterm ethnographic research in northern guatemala through the lens of mary douglas work on purity, danger, and culture, this paper describes how the inventive reuse of modern waste exposes. An analysis of concepts of pollution and taboo is a 1966 book by the anthropologist and cultural theorist mary douglas. Her basic argument is that a major problem that societies face is that many events are seen as ambiguous and anomalous and this material is hard to interpret. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. This detailed study guide includes chapter summaries and analysis, important themes, significant quotes, and more everything you need to ace your essay or test on purity and danger. Type book authors mary douglas date 2003 publisher routledge pub place london, new york volume v. The full text of this article hosted at is unavailable due to technical difficulties. Apr 17, 2017 american psychological association, or apa, style is a citation format widely used in the field of the humanities. An analysis of concepts of pollution and taboo routledge classics. Drawing upon longterm ethnographic research in northern guatemala through the lens of mary douglas work on purity, danger, and culture, this paper describes how the inventive reuse of modern waste exposes rural people to new and unknown. The purity myth quotes by jessica valenti goodreads.
She suggested that these notions of defilement are rules of separation that symbolize and help maintain the biblical notion of the distinctness of the hebrews from other societies. The sextrafficking discourses also serve to establish borders between innocence and guilt, between belonging and unbelonging, and between purity and danger. Purity and danger are two concepts one can find in any society and any culture. In this book i have tried to show that rituals of purity and impurity create unity in. Purity and danger is an anthropological argument about how these concepts are created douglas work in the book is wideranging and touches on a number of different cultures and examples. Other articles where purity and danger is discussed. An analysis of concepts of pollution and taboo, was my sheer enjoyment of the thing. This exchange is written up in richard fardon, citations out of place, or. It is widely cited in nonanthropological works and gave rise to a body of application, rebuttal and development within. This is a theoretical work, written less for a lay audience than for douglass fellow cultural anthropologists, and yet her style is clean and lively, with barbs of wit to keep things interesting. An analysis of concepts of pollution and taboo first published 1966 is the best known book by the influential anthropologist and cultural theorist mary douglas. Steven shapin, who wrote her citation for the award cited purity and danger and natural symbols as the works that contributed most to her achieving the bernal prize.
This is a theoretical work, written less for a lay audience than for douglass fellow cultural anthropologists, and yet her style is clean and lively, with. Popular sports tend to reflect societal trends so it is not bizarre that a popular european cultural practice such as football has. Mary douglass major contribution to science and technology studies were tied to her careerlong interests in the cultural study of risk, ritual, and pollution. Purity and danger are two themes that concern everybody in ones daily encounters, from the miraculous to the quotidian. Douglas accepts the approach of medical materialism as long as it does not rule out. Violence, memory, and national cosmology among hutu refugees in tanzania, liisa h. Sex trafficking thus seems to function as a morality tale, which verbalizes a concern about moral and bodily pollution from foreigners. Purity and danger the formation of a persecuting society. David armstrong ffphm, london university, department of general practice, umds, guys hospital, london se1 9rt, uk, tel.
Among anthropologists, purity and danger is mary douglass best. The book has been hugely influential in many areas of debate from religion to social theory. In lively and lucid prose she explains its relevance for every reader by revealing its wideranging impact on our attitudes to society, values, cosmology and knowledge. Malkki is published by university of chicago press. Douglas work in the book is wideranging and touches on a number of different cultures and examples. Purity and danger lupton major reference works wiley online. The purity movement is a movement that started in the late 1990s in the midwest with the aim to protect young women from the sexual scandals of the world. Oct 04, 2017 therefor women are the gates of entry ot the caste. On a theoretical level, the article clarifies the basis for expecting such an inverted ushaped curve, taking care to specify key scope conditions on the socialpsychological orientations of the actors, the characteristics of the status structure, and. An analysis of the concepts of pollution and taboo by mary douglas 1966 chapter 6 powers and dangers g ra ntedh iso pl.
Female purity is carefully guarded and a woman who is known to have had sexual intercourse with a man of lower caste is brutally punished. Purity and danger, mary douglas book notes hacking. This paper revisits mary douglas purity and danger. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
Purity and danger by mary douglas, 1970, penguin edition, in english. This research paper discusses the effects of enforced purity on the sexuality of young women. Mary douglass seminal work purity and danger routledge, 1966 continues to be indispensable reading for both students and scholars today. If you want to change the culture, you will have to start by changing the organization. A history of anthropological thought concerning purity, pollution, and classification. Mary douglas argues that all modern cultures have concepts of what is pure and impure, clean and taboo. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. See below for information about citations and references, and how to use them. This article aims to reestablish the longstanding conjecture that conformity is high at the middle and low at either end of a status order. Marking the 50th anniversary of douglass classic, the present volume sheds fresh light upon themes raised by douglas by drawing on recent developments in the social sciences and humanities, as well as current empirical research. Even the graven images of gods are only material emblems of. An analysis of concepts of pollution and taboo routledge classics douglas, mary on.
And yet, each culture has its own taboos, its own rituals, and its own formulations of what constitutes as pure and as dangerous. Purity and danger is an anthropological argument about how these concepts are created. Popular sports tend to reflect societal trends so it is not bizarre that a popular european cultural practice such as football has seen a rise in supporters with neofascist sympathies. Mary douglas shows that to examine what is considered as unclean in any culture is to take a lookingglass approach to the ordered patterning which that culture strives to establish.
Marking the 50th anniversary of douglass classic, the present volume sheds fresh light upon themes raised by douglas by drawing on recent developments in the social sciences and humanities, as well as current. On a theoretical level, the article clarifies the basis for expecting such an inverted ushaped curve, taking care to specify key scope conditions on the socialpsychological orientations of the actors, the characteristics of the status structure, and the. An analysis of concepts of pollution and taboo routledge classics 1 by douglas, mary isbn. Purity and danger, mary douglas book notes hacking the. Jan 12, 2017 mary douglass seminal work purity and danger routledge, 1966 continues to be indispensable reading for both students and scholars today. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. A history of anthropological thought concerning purity, pollution, and. Therefor women are the gates of entry ot the caste. Purity and danger is acknowledged as a modern masterpiece of anthropology.
In lively and lucid prose she explains its relevance. An analysis of the concepts of pollution and taboo. The most surprising thing about reading mary douglass 1966 anthropological classic purity and danger. In purity and danger mary douglas identifies the concern for purity as a key theme at the heart of every society. May 22, 2019 mary douglass major contribution to science and technology studies were tied to her careerlong interests in the cultural study of risk, ritual, and pollution. The historian of late antiquity, peter brown states that purity and danger was a major influence behind his important 1971 article the rise and function of the holy man in late antiquity, which is considered one of the bases for all subsequent study of early christian asceticism. How to cite references in apa format pen and the pad.
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