Imagery, Ritual, and Birth - Ontology Between the Sacred and the Secular

Every human being is born and has gone through a process of birth. This book explores how imagery is used in religious, secular, and nonreligious ways during the contemporary rituals of birth, through analysis of a wide variety of art, iconography, poetry, and material culture.

List of contents

List of Figures
List of Tables
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Birth Imagery and Ontological Transformation
Chapter One: Birth and Death in the Arts and Humanities
Chapter Two: Religious Objects and the Sheela-na-gig
Chapter Three: The Social Ontology of Birth
Chapter Four: The Secularization of Religious Objects During Birth
Chapter Five: Art as Sacred Symbol in Birth as a Rite of Passage
Chapter Six: Nonreligion and the Sacred in New Images of Birth
Chapter Seven: New Feminisms and Decolonizing Birth 
Conclusion: Transforming the Culture of Birth Through Imagery
Bibliography
Index
About the Author

About the author

Anna Hennessey, PhD, is a visiting scholar at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley.

Product details

• Authors: Anna Hennessey, Anna M Hennessey, Anna M. Hennessey
• Assisted by: Davis-Floyd Robbie E. (Foreword)
• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.12.2018
• EAN: 9781498548731
• ISBN: 978-1-4985-4873-1
• No. of pages: 218
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Miscellaneous; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology; Sociology, RELIGION / Spirituality, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Women's Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology of Religion, RELIGION / Sexuality & Gender Studies, Spirituality & religious experience, Gender studies: women, Spirituality and religious experience, Gender studies: women and girls, Religious groups: social & cultural aspects, Social groups: religious groups and communities