Ritual as a Missing Link: Sociology, Structural Ritualization Theory and Research

ISBN-13: 9781594518560 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 208 str.

J. David Knottnerus

Opis

Why do people behave the way they do?" Up to now, ritual has been seriously underutilized for studying human behavior, i.e., ritual. The structural ritualization theory, attempts to narrow this gap in our understanding of the social causes and consequences of our actions by focusing on the ritualized behaviors that define much of our daily lives. Taking a broad approach to science in sociology this perspective is grounded in a commitment to three goals: the development of theory, substantiating these concepts through empirical evidence, and the application of this knowledge to social problems, dehumanizing conditions in contemporary society, and enriching our personal lives. This book is the first to comprehensively describe the structural ritualistic theory, which since its inception a decade ago, has developed in several directions involving different lines of cumulative research. This book shows how structural reproduction has occurred throughout the world, how rituals can be strategically used and power can influence rituals, and how the disruption of ritualized practices and the reconstitution of ritual subsequent to such events are of crucial importance for human beings. Weaving its way through the book Knottnerus discusses why ritual provides a missing link in sociology and helps us better explain the extreme complexity of human action and social reality.

Spis treści

1 Understanding Rituals in Everyday Life: Sociology and Structural Ritualization Theory 2 Analysis of Ritual Dynamics 3 Structural Reproduction in the World and Throughout History 4 Strategic Ritualization and Power: Nazi Germany, the Orange Order, and Native Americans 5 Disruption and Deritualization: Concentration Camp Internment and the Breakdown of Social Order 6 Ritual as a Missing Link Within Sociology: Current and Future Research 7 Social and Personal Life: Applications and Implications

O autorze

J. David Knottnerus is Professor of Sociology at Oklahoma State University. He earned an undergraduate degree in sociology from Beloit College and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in sociology from Southern Illinois University–Carbondale. Knottnerus has published in the areas of social theory, social psychology, group processes, social structure and inequality, and collective behavior/social movements. Most of his efforts in recent years have focused on the development of structural ritualization theory and research. He is currently the coeditor—with Bernard Phillips—of the series Advancing the Sociological Imagination, with Paradigm Publishers. His most recent books are, coedited with Bernard Phillips, Bureaucratic Culture and Escalating World Problems: Advancing the Sociological Imagination (Paradigm Publishers) and, coedited with Sing C. Chew, Structure, Culture, and History: Recent Issues in Social Theory (Rowman & Littlefield). His new book, with Jason S. Ulsperger, Elder Care Catastrophe: Rituals of Abuse in Nursing Homes—And What You Can Do About It, is forthcoming with Paradigm Publishers. Excerpts from his work are on the website www.sociological-imagination.org. His email address is david.knottnerus@okstate.edu.