Library Catalog

The Limits of Meaning : Case Studies in the Anthropology of Christianity /

The Limits of Meaning : Case Studies in the Anthropology of Christianity / ed. by Matt Tomlinson, Matthew Engelke. - 1 online resource (252 p.)

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- 1. Meaning, Anthropology, Christianity -- 2. When Silence isn’t Golden: Charismatic Speech and the Limits of Literalism -- 3. Clarity and Charisma: On the Uses of Ambiguity in Ritual Life -- 4. Rituals without Final Acts: Prayer and Success in World Vision Zimbabwe’s Humanitarian Work -- 5. Nationalism and Millenarianism in West Papua: Institutional Power, Interpretive Practice, and the Pursuit of Christian Truth -- 6. The Limits of Meaning in Fijian Methodist Sermons -- 7. Converting Meanings and the Meanings of Conversion in Samoan Moral Economies -- 8. Dusty Signs and Roots of Faith: The Limits of Christian Meaning in Highland Bolivia -- 9. Paranomics: On the Semiotics of Sacral Action -- Afterword: On Limits, Ruptures, Meaning, and Meaninglessness -- List of Contributors -- Index

restricted access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

Too often, anthropological accounts of ritual leave readers with the impression that everything goes smoothly, that rituals are "meaningful events." But what happens when rituals fail, or when they seem "meaningless"? Drawing on research in the anthropology of Christianity from around the globe, the authors in this volume suggest that in order to analyze meaning productively, we need to consider its limits. This collection is a welcome new addition to the anthropology of religion, offering fresh debates on a classic topic and drawing attention to meaning in a way that other volumes have for key terms like "culture" and "fieldwork.


Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.


In English.

9781845455071 9780857457097

10.1515/9780857457097 doi


Anthropology of religion--Congresses.
Christianity and culture--Congresses.
Christianity and culture.
Ethnology--Religious aspects--Christianity--Congresses.
Ethnology--Religious aspects--Christianity.
Meaning (Philosophy)--Religious aspects--Christianity--Congresses.
RELIGION / Christianity / Pentecostal & Charismatic.

Anthropology of Religion, Anthropology (General).