Performative Animism: New Directions for a Contested Concept in Religious Studies
In this article we suggest a shift to a performative perspective on animism. After identifying problems with essentialism, agency, and the object/subject dichotomy in previous animism studies, we engage with posthumanist theorists and bring in perspectives from new materialism and ritual studies. Fr...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2023
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| In: |
Method & theory in the study of religion
Year: 2023, Volume: 35, Issue: 2/3, Pages: 111-139 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Animism
/ Post-humanism
/ Performativity (Cultural sciences)
/ Essentialism
/ Anthropology of religion
/ Kognitive Religionswissenschaft
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| IxTheo Classification: | AA Study of religion AE Psychology of religion BB Indigenous religions |
| Further subjects: | B
Materiality
B Religious Studies B Ritual Studies B Animism B Performativity B Posthumanism B new animism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | In this article we suggest a shift to a performative perspective on animism. After identifying problems with essentialism, agency, and the object/subject dichotomy in previous animism studies, we engage with posthumanist theorists and bring in perspectives from new materialism and ritual studies. From the perspectives we suggest, performative animism exists in a variety of contexts, which should be acknowledged even when studying “religion.” Performative animism also allows us to explore normative modern, technological, secular animism, which most take for granted and which is even at times naturalized. Finally, we suggest that the concept “performative animism” can be used as an analytical tool in religious studies and that it has potential to overcome the shortcomings of the concept “religion” itself. |
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| ISSN: | 1570-0682 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Method & theory in the study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15700682-bja10096 |