The Rites of Rulers
The Rites of Rulers
$49.00
USDAlthough considerable attention has been paid to those cultural revolutions which result in fundamental social upheavals, the less spectacular silent cultural revolutions which leave the existing social structure intact, focusing instead on the behavioural dimension of ideology, have been neglected. In this book, which was originally published in 1981, Christel Lane examines such a silent revolution, exploring the ways in which it was achieved in the Soviet society of the time through the instrument of ritual. Dr Lane argues that ritual in the Soviet Union serves as a means of rendering sacred the existing social and political order; and her comparison of Soviet ritual with the rituals of other societies highlights the way in which ritual mirrors both the problematic social relations of society and political leaders' major concerns. This book will interest sociologists of religion, anthropologists, political sociologists, and Soviet studies.
Product details
June 1981Paperback
9780521283472
320 pages
229 × 152 × 18 mm
0.47kg
Available
Table of Contents
- List of illustrations
- Acknowledgements and abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I. The Theory and Organisation of Ritual:
- 1. Ritual and related concepts
- 2. Ritual in Soviet society: a theoretical analysis
- 3. The beliefs and ritual of Soviet Marxism-Leninism as political religion
- 4. The organisation of Soviet ritual
- Part II. The Nature of Soviet Socialist Rituals:
- 5. Familial life-cycle ritual
- 6. Rituals of initiation into social or political collectives
- 7. Labour ritual
- 8. Holidays of the calendric cycle and their ritual
- 9. Ritual of the military-patriotic tradition
- 10. The mass political holidays of the revolutionary tradition: a historical review, 1918–1978
- Part III. Selected Theoretical Issues in Soviet Ritual:
- 11. Analysis of Soviet ritual symbolism
- 12. Syncretism in Soviet symbolism
- 13. The impact of Soviet socialist ritual
- 14. Conclusion: ritual in modern society - a comparative analysis
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Index.
