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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Despite being outdated at times, this was a fascinating read! Although some parts definitely flew over my head a little as someone with almost no knowledge of cultural anthropology.
maybe it was the writing, which i found quite hard to follow. maybe it was the evidence, which seemed quite unsystematic and rather sporadic. or maybe it’s just that i’m not compelled by mid-century structural anthropology. either way, i struggled my way through this short book and found myself continually bored at the countless random examples with vague points about pollution. i’m probably just massively a product of my contemporary post-structural environment but i don’t feel like this book is particularly helpful for today’s moment in religious studies.
challenging
Lucid and compelling. Interesting implications for ideas about cultural and racial differences along the axis of order and disorder. Her book, Leviticus as Literary Text is a good follow up to her methodological errors in chapter three of this text.
informative
slow-paced
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
My first-ever nonfiction read ever! Was it for a class? Yes! But I don’t care! I feel like a fucking genius. I would have never expected a book about theory could be so funny. I don’t agree with everything Douglas has to say by a long shot, but hell, I’m proud of myself for finishing it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Incest, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Colonisation
informative
reflective
medium-paced
An absolute contemporary classic of anthropological study, Douglas shamelessly chides and yet rationally justifies common conceptions about the need for cleanliness and psychological differentiation based upon outward appearance. A must read for any looking to support a moral code of character over superficiality.
I rarely read these older anthropology monographs, but the premise at the heart of this book, that "dirt is matter out of place" is an idea so simple and powerful that it still resonates today.
informative
slow-paced