Taboo, Truth and Religion

Name: Taboo, Truth and Religion
Brand: Berghahn Books, Incorporated

Berghahn Books, Incorporated

Taboo, Truth and ReligionAuthor(s): Jeremy Adler, Richard Fardon\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Berghahn Books, Incorporated, United States\nImprint: Berghahn Books, Incorporated\nISBN-13: 9781571817112, 978-1571817112\nSynopsis\nFranz Steiner's study of Taboo is internationally recognized as a classic in its field. In a newly researched introductory chapter, based on a thorough study of Steiner's unpublished papers, this edition for the first time places the book in its context and offers a new reading of the text. More than just a critique of existing taboo theories, as it has often been seen, this study offers a profound analysis of danger behavior and pollution in \""non-civilized\"" societies. This provided an important starting-point for Mary Douglas' Purity and Danger. A key aspect of Steiner's achievement lies in his attempt to reconcile detailed, faithful ethnographic analysis with anthropological comparison. His analysis of taboo thus provides a case study with wide-ranging ra.