To Take Place: Toward Theory in Ritual (Chicago Studies in the History of Judaism)
Language: English
Published by University of Chicago Press, 1992
- Softcover
- Used

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- Title
- To Take Place: Toward Theory in Ritual (Chicago Studies in the History of Judaism)
- Author
- Smith, Jonathan Z.
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Publication year
- 1992
- Condition
- Near fine
- Binding
- Soft cover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0226763617
- ISBN 13
- 9780226763613
- Item weight
- 10.406 ounces
- Dimensions
- 5.5 inches width by 8.5 inches height by 0.51 inches depth
In this broad-ranging inquiry into ritual and its relation to place, Jonathan Z. Smith prepares the way for a new approach to the comparative study of religion.
Smith stresses the importance of place—in particular, constructed ritual environments—to a proper understanding of the ways in which "empty" actions become rituals. He structures his argument around the territories of the Tjilpa aborigines in Australia and two sites in Jerusalem—the temple envisioned by Ezekiel and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The first of these locales—the focus of one of the more important contemporary theories of religious ritual—allows Smith to raise questions concerning the enterprise of comparison. His close examination of Eliade's influential interpretation of the Tjilpa tradition leads to a powerful critique of the approach to religion, myth, and ritual that begins with cosmology and the category of "The Sacred."
In substance and in method, To Take Place represents a significant advance toward a theory of ritual. It is of great value not only to historians of religion and students of ritual, but to all, whether social scientists or humanists, who are concerned with the nature of place.
"This book is extraordinarily stimulating in prompting one to think about the ways in which space, or place, is perceived, marked, and utilized religiously. . . . A provocative example of the application of humanistic geography to our understanding of what takes place in religion."—Dale Goldsmith, Interpretation
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
In 2013, when he was named to an Honorary Lifetime Membership in the International Association for the History of Religions, the citation read, in part: "Smith's enormous contributions to the field from the 1960s to the present have unwaveringly insisted upon, and been exemplary of, methodological rigor and self consciousness. He has probably done more than any single scholar to promote an analytic or critical approach to the study of religion."
He was the author of numerous works, including some published by the University of Chicago Press.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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