How and why books matter : essays on the social function of iconic texts /
Religious and secular communities ritualize some books in one, two or three dimensions. They ritualize the dimension of semantic interpretation through teaching, preaching and scholarly commentary. This dimension receives almost all the attention of academic scholars. Communities also ritualize a te...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Sheffield, UK ; Bristol, Connectcticut :
Equinox Publishing Ltd.,
2019.
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| Series: | Comparative research on iconic and performative texts.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | Religious and secular communities ritualize some books in one, two or three dimensions. They ritualize the dimension of semantic interpretation through teaching, preaching and scholarly commentary. This dimension receives almost all the attention of academic scholars. Communities also ritualize a text's performative dimension through public reading, recitation and song, and also be reproducing its contents in art, theater and film. This dimension is receiving increasing scholarly attention, especially in religious studies and anthropology. A third textual dimension, the iconic dimension, gets ritualized by manipulating the physical text, decorating it and displaying it. This dimension has received almost no academic attention, yet features prominently in the most common news stories about books, whether about e-books, academic libraries, rare manuscript discoveries or scripture desecrations. By calling attention to the iconic dimension of books, this book argues that we can better understand how physical books mediate social value and power within and between religious communities, nations, academic disciplines and societies both ancient and modern. |
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| Physical Description: | viii, 218 pages : chiefly color illustrations ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-203) and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781781797679 1781797676 9781781797686 1781797684 |