Communitas The Anthropology of Collective Joy

Communitas is inspired fellowship; a group's pleasure in sharing common experiences; being ?in the zone?- as in music, sport, and work; the sense felt by a group when their life together takes on full meaning. The experience of Communitas, almost beyond strict definition and with almost endless variations, often appears unexpectedly. In concrete circumstances, it may be found when people engage in a collective task with full attention. They may find themselves "in flow," experiencing a merging of action and awareness. This book is an opportunity for readers to get a purchase on its elusive nature, with classifications grouped into scenes in everyday life, in history, and in nature. How does Communitas relate to the field of mainstream anthropology? Turner argues that good anthropology rests on humanism - that is, respect for the ideas and religions of other cultures and, where possible, the willingness to experience through the eyes of others. Analysis therefore must take into consideration local exegesis (interpretation), and local statements of experience. We may look upon these experiential moments as crossing points into a culture's familiar world of the spirits.

Edith Turner is a lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Virginia, specializing in the study of ritual, religion, and consciousness. She has been researching the field of symbol/ritual for nearly 60 years - formerly in collaboration with her husband, renowned anthropologist Victor Turner - and has conducted fieldwork in Zambia, Northern Alaska, rural Ireland, Central and South America, Europe, and Asia. She was editor in chief of the journal, Anthropology and Humanism, and is author of Heart of Lightness: The Life of an Anthropologist (2006), Among the Healers: Stories of Spiritual and Ritual Healing around the World (2005), and a contributor to Shamanism: A Reader (2003).

Introduction: Communitas and the Study of Anthropology * The Experience of Communitas * The Method of "Showing Through Stories" * Contrasts: Communitas and False Communitas * Festivals: July 4th, Carnival, and Clown * Music and Sport: Being in the Zone * The Communitas of Work: Surprising Conclusions * The Communitas of Disaster * The Sacredness of the People: The Communitas of Revolution and Liberation * The Communitas of Nonviolence * Nature and Spirit * Rites of Passage: Communitas in Times of Change * Conclusion: A Natural History of Joy