Between Life and Thought

Existential Anthropology and the Study of Religion

Don Seeman, Devaka Premawardhana

$62.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

University of Toronto Press
01 March 2024

Phenomenology & Existentialism; Islamic & Arabic philosophy; Philosophy of religion

Existential anthropology is an approach inspired by existential and phenomenological thought to further our understanding of the human condition. Its ethnographic methodology emphasises embodied experience and focuses on what is at stake for people amid the contingencies, struggles, and uncertainties of everyday life.

While anthropological research on religion abounds, there has been little systematic attention to the ways anthropology and religious studies might benefit from better consideration of one another or from the adoption of a shared existential perspective.

Between Life and Thought gathers leading anthropologists and religion scholars, including some of existential anthropology's most recognised advocates and thoughtful critics. The collection opens with a comprehensive introduction to phenomenology and existentialism in anthropology and religious studies, and concludes with an analysis of how existential anthropology might address the long-standing problem of constructivism and perennialism in religious studies. The chapters altogether present existential anthropology as an especially generative paradigm within which to rethink and remake both anthropology and the academic study of religion.

A timely and significant intervention across multiple areas of research, Between Life and Thought is an invaluable source for critically exploring the prospects, as well as the limits, of an anthropological approach to religion grounded in experiential ethnography and existential thought.

Edited by: Don Seeman, Devaka Premawardhana
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 400g
ISBN: 9781487554750
ISBN 10: 1487554753
Pages: 278
Publication Date: 01 March 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Don Seeman is an associate professor in the Department of Religion and the Tam Institute for Jewish Studies at Emory University. Devaka Premawardhana is an associate professor in the Department of Religion and current occupant of a Winship Distinguished Research chair at Emory University.

Reviews for Between Life and Thought: Existential Anthropology and the Study of Religion

"""This is a timely and important connection of a humanistic philosophy with cultural anthropology. Anthropologists often tend to think that philosophy is too divorced from everyday life to be useful - and philosophers, in turn, rarely think about the value of their work for the study of culture - making this book valuable in its focus on a significant meeting place between these two disciplines.""--Kevin Schilbrack, Professor of Religious Studies, Appalachian State University ""This is a wonderful volume, with essays by leading scholars, and a homage to one of the most original voices of anthropology and religious studies, Michael D. Jackson. Far beyond being a traditional festschrift, Between Life and Thought offers novel, future-oriented contributions from several different parts of the world. The essays themselves are a joy to read, thoughtful, well-crafted, and perhaps most crucially, each individual essay is of a high quality and relates closely to the overall theme, both in terms of inheriting the thoughts and provocations offered by Michael D. Jackson's work, and in signalling broader contributions to anthropology, religious studies, and to the humanities at large.""--Bhrigupati Singh, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Sociology, Ashoka University, and Visiting Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Brown University"